You may have noticed that some URLs say “http” while others say “https.” That “s” on the end stands for secure. It indicates that the site is protected by SSL.
What Is SSL?
What Is SSL?SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer and it’s the backbone of modern internet security. SSL secures data submitted to a website by encrypting the website and the entity that owns the site to key pairs using digital certificates. One key is public and sites distribute it to visitors to allow them to submit data. However, that information is only visible if the public key matches up with the private key kept secure by the website.
How Does SSL Help Me?
This secured key pair allows data to be encrypted the moment it’s entered so no one can access it. Data has to be transferred through multiple intermediaries. SSL makes that data impossible to read for any of those intermediaries. This means when users browse your website, they know that their data is secured. It gives your visitors the comfort of privacy. They don’t have to worry, so they will browse more freely.
What If My Site Doesn’t Take Submitted Data
We’ve seen a lot of websites who say that they don’t need an SSL certificate because they don’t accept user submitted data. They direct their customers to call them, or visit their office, making their website just an elaborate billboard advertising for them. This isn’t true. Even if you don’t have users submit any data, simply visiting your site collects certain elements of metadata for caching and cookie purposes – even if you don’t use tracking cookies. If this data isn’t encrypted, you leave yourself vulnerable to multiple security risks.
It also helps with search engine optimization (SEO).
Google Loves SSL
Having a website is useless if no one can find it. For that, you’re reliant on SEO to make your page rank in searches. Google is the biggest search engine on the internet, so huge that their name has become a verb describing the act of looking something up online. One of the big factors that matters for ranking is whether or not your page is secure. If your site is secure, Google will give preference to your page over others with similar content that aren’t secure. Even if you don’t think your site needs SSL because you don’t collect or ask users to submit data, that SSL certificate will give you an edge over anyone that doesn’t have one. Or, more likely, not having it puts you at a disadvantage against your competitors who do have it.
Can I Get SSL For Free?
A lot of companies will charge you extra for SSL certification. Just how much they charge varies from one hosting company to the next, but it can be a significant extra charge. This is a needless expense. It’s easy to get an SSL certificate and set it up on any WordPress site, and it protects against so many security risks. Why would you not want to make sure everyone has one? Given their importance, we offer free SSL certification to all our clients. This, along with several other free options we offer, lets you save a lot of money on your website.
Get In Touch!
Get In Touch!Are you looking to get a website? Have one ready, but need hosting? Looking for a better hosting plan than what you’re currently on? Do you just have some questions you want answered? Well, whatever it is you need, we’re here to help! If you answered yes to anything above, contact us today. We’ll help you out with whatever you need!