Security is a significant issue of concern whenever you are using the Internet and especially when you need to transmit some confidential information to a particular party using the Internet. With the advancement of technology, solutions for the better safety of websites are coming up, and this problem has been resolved as now people no longer need to be scared of their confidential information getting leaked out.
SSL Certificate is a security protocol which has solved this problem as SSL makes sure that all your incoming and outgoing activities on the Internet are secured from any unauthorized people or access.
SSL means Secure Sockets Layer. It is a security protocol which makes use of encryption to send and receive confidential information through the Internet. SSL creates a secure channel among the user's browser and the website's server with which the user wants to connect or communicate. All the sensitive information which goes through this secure channel is encrypted by the sender and decrypted by the receiver.
Due to this even if a third- party which is not meant to be there but still gets involved in this process will get no understanding of the information and the third- party won't be able to understand the encrypted information anyhow.
To use SSL, websites need to acquire an SSL Certificate first. This will make your Browser to detect the certificate and to get to know that the particular connection is required to be encrypted.
SSL Certificate is a digitally signed file which is issued with a specific domain name. It also contains the signature of the issuer, serial number, Issue and expiry date of the certificate and so on. All the SSL enabled websites shows a tiny lock near the website's URL, and also they use https instead of HTTP protocol.
Despite the benefits of SSL Certificate, many users and website owners do not enable it due to its pricing and its complicated implementation. But they are ignoring that an SSL Certificate comes up with more advantages than the disadvantages and their installation process has also become more comfortable with time. You can get HTTPS SSL Certificate from Cheap SSL Shop at $7/year and can save more.
Benefits of SSL
There are a lot of benefits to using SSL. It is beneficial for both the website owner and the user. As users are nowadays very much concerned about the security of their data over the Internet, for them SSL will undoubtedly prove itself to be very useful and advantageous. Given below are some primary and primary advantages of using SSL Certificate:
1. SSL Encrypts Information
SSL Certificate works to encrypt information so that only the targeted or intended parties can read and understand the data altogether. Usually, when any data is transmitted through the Internet, it goes through a lot of computers and forms, and then finally it reaches its destination, and the more the involvement of ways are there, higher will be the chances of the information getting leaked out to some third- party which can misuse the information severely.
By using an SSL Certificate, you can insert some random characters in the original information so that it would become impossible for any unwanted person to understand it without having a proper encryption key. In this case, even if your data gets leaked out in the hands of some unauthorized person, still they won't be able to read and understand it, and so the information will be of no use to them.
And when the users visit your website, they would know that you have used encryption at various places. One common replacement is of "HTTP" replaced with "https." It gives the idea that the page is protected and is also backed up by a lock option placed at the location bar.
2. SSL is Mandatory For Accepting Payments
Every online business such as E-commerce businesses needs an SSL Certificate with encryption of about 128 bit to meet the required criteria of Payment Card Industry (PCI). PCI standards verify that you have issued the SSL Certificate from a trusted source and it is legal, not fake.
They also check details regarding the right amount of encryption and also provide a private connection on any web page which requires users to enter personal information. If a site does not have a proper SSL Certificate with all these standards, they won't be able to accept payments from any source.
3. SSL Increases The Ranking of Websites on Google
Many companies and businesses spend a lot of their money and efforts on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to improve the ranking of their sites in the Google search results. But people are unaware that by enabling SSL, they can improve the ranking of their website in the Google search results.
Two years ago, Google declared SSL as an important ranking factor in its PageRank algorithm to make the web a safe place for users. So a website having SSL will have a good ranking than the one not having SSL despite all the things being equal.
Although content quality is the major factor in the ranking thing and it is generally more influential in the ranking criteria than the SSL Certificate. Most of the Google results have https protocol, and this will be increasing with time.
4. SSL Provides Authentication
SSL Certificates also provides authentication. It ensures that you are transmitting your information to the right server as you intend to, and not to any hacker or thief who might be trying to steal your information to misuse it.
Users might try to send you information through Internet using various computers and any of those computers might pretend to be your website and can trick users to send them their personal information. To not get involved in this problem, you need to use a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and also issue an SSL Certificate from a trusted SSL Certificate provider company.
5. SSL Makes Website More Professional and Generates More Revenue
Usually all the popular and recognized websites on Internet are secured and they flaunt a tiny lock icon near their website's URL. This is because business people are aware that digital privacy is very important these days. Also they want to convey it to their users as well that they are secured and protected. SSL Certificate carries the message to their uses that the site is safe to use which also helps to make it look more professional.
Security is very much required in the E-Commerce industry as these websites need sensitive information of customers like credit and debit card details. SSL enables websites have around 128 bit encryption so it is safe to make online payments on SSL enabled sites only.
6. SSL Improves Customer's Trust
Your online transactions are secured on SSL enabled websites and this encourages the customers to trust the place with their personal and sensitive details like login information, cardholder's information, passwords, account details etc and they start using online payment option more. This increases the sales and thereby the revenue of businesses.
7. SSL Provides Protection For all Subdomains
There is a particular type of SSL certificate called as Wildcard. Wildcard enables you to secure your main site with all its subdomains by using one single SSL Certificate only. It is very helpful if you own a large number of websites with many subdomains. While, if you install a standard SSL, you need to install separate certificates for all the subdomains.
8. SSL Prevents Phishing
Sometimes users get phishing emails that contains attachments or links which takes them to some other reputable website and tricks them without creating any kind of suspicion. Phishing e-mails are received in the form of advertisements or shipping confirmations and they try to get your credit card details to misuse it.
But people who use and develop these fake sites are unable to get an official and authentic SSL Certificate. And this will make the users to realize that it is not a trusted and secured website and they will move away to other sites without giving any information.
Final Words
Issuing an SSL Certificate is a right decision to make if you are a website owner. It provides you a lot of advantages and security, and whenever the issue is regarding security, you should not be careless. So buy an SSL Certificate as soon as you can (if you do not have it) from a trusted source and then enjoy your business operations with no risks.
