SSL, Secure Sockets Layer, is known for being a protocol that is put into use for the sake of enabling a user to establish a connection that is both encrypted and secure at the same time. A simple way to understand it would be looking at the green padlock at the web address. While many URLS begin with http://, others start with https://. Now the presence of the ‘s’ in the latter prevents your data from being hacked. The technology that makes all this possible is known as SSL.
What is SSL – Secure Sockets Layer
SSL, which is also known as the TLS (Transport Layer Security), is basically a protocol that many enterprises or companies use in order to save the information of their users in the process of transfer of information. The benefit of having an SSL certificate is that it makes all the information sent unreadable and hence can’t be interrupted with by any devices from outside. Since the data sent remains unreadable by any device between the original computer and destination server, any sort of outside attacks can be prevented by the SSL. A secure connection is only established when your server has an SSL certificate. Obtaining a secure connection paves the path for the users to submit their confidential information at complete peace of mind.
Getting Acquainted With the Types of SSL Certificates
The level of security depends on the level of verification performed by the SSL certificate provider. There are basically two types of SSL certifications i.e. basic and extended validation. A basic SSL certificate would simply verify that one has the ownership of the domain. The verification is done with a confirmation email being sent to the email address on record. An Extended Validation (EV) certificate will go an extra mile as they are willing to check the identity of the business or the organization. However, EV certificates take longer time to be approved and may require statements notarized from the authorized attorney depending on the case.
Why you need SSL certification:
The first and foremost thing that is considered before obtaining an SSL certificate is the urge to make the users feel secure as their data remains confidential. Here are the reasons behind the need of the SSL certificate.
- Protecting Passwords and data:
Passwords are gateway to your dashboard in case of many websites. Since your dashboard is the place where all your information regarding credit card and other relevant information are, you better stay protected. SSL always gives you the scope to protect your usernames and passwords. On the other hand, you have less chances of having your credentials stolen as hackers sniff the Wi-Fi. The principle behind an SSL certificate is that it secures information so that the data being sent is only accessible to the specific recipient.
- Safeguarding Your Privacy:
The top three webmail providers, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail and Gmail, offer SSL encryption in addition to end-to-end secure HTML connections. Though they may not encrypt your connection automatically, you can secure your settings manually and safeguard your email conversations.
- Provides Trust:
With lock icon or a green bar, your visitors would know their connection is secured and that will give them a reason to select your website above others.
- Secure Transactions:
Having SSL certification enables you to execute any sort of transaction in compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Inclusion of SSL certification offers a feel of security to the user as security is involved with online transactions.
- Improvement in Search Engine Ranking:
With Google mentioning that it would boost the ranks of the websites that are SSL certified, SSL looks like a pretty good deal. Thus, SSL doesn’t only protect the asset and information of the users but also benefit your business.
- Promotion of More Referral Traffic:
Referral traffic can be defined as the way in which Google tracks visits to the site originating from outside the search engine. Whenever a user comes to the website via other websites or advertisement, that link is considered as referral data. However, secure referral data is preserved when referral traffic passes to an https site. This is important because this will help you to obtain accurate analysis and predict where the major chunk of visitors is coming from.
How to Use SSL Certificate?
Before you buy SSL certificate, you can certainly have a talk with your web developer or the hosting company.
- Purchasing From Verified Seller:
The first step is to buy SSL certificate from a trusted SSL vendor whom you can get to know about either from your developer or hosting company. You can find great deals on ssl certificates here – https://www.ssl2buy.com/
- Installing the Certificate:
In order to make the https work, the SSL certificate needs to be installed on your server. This is usually handled by the hosting company you work with.
- Configuration:
The next step is configuration. In order to configure your website so that it can use the SSL certificate, you will need to get in touch with the web development company that you are working with. Based upon your need of having SSL certification at certain pages, you can also ask an affordable WordPress developer to do the needful.
When to Use SSL Certificate?
Since SSL certificates are applicable to many types of websites, it is absolutely mandatory for sites to have SSL certificates especially if they are working with data of users or need users to put in confidential information like credit card details. You can also have a look at the PCI compliance guide in order to know more about the payment information and SSL.
Having a world class hosting and encryption is a required condition for your website since it will shower upon you with a diverse range of benefits. Before you get an SSL certificate, you will need to decide what kind of certificates you need and certainly the quantity as well. In case, you just want the SSL certificate for your landing page or transaction page, you may have to buy a specific type of SSL certificate.
You may learn it the hard way but you may not need the SSL for the entire website. This is because of the fact that encrypting and decrypting data consumes a lot of time and computer resources which in turn makes the connection slower. A slower connection means you might lose out customers and new leads. Added to that, many applications don’t need SSL encryption as well. So, you need to be careful about putting extra load on the server.
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