Once upon a time, SSL certificates were only necessary for humongous websites that accepted credit card payments and collected social security numbers, a blood sample and a first born child. Those were the days….

Fast forward to now, and you’re probably hearing from someone (your web developer, your customers, your mom) that you need to get on board and buy a certificate for your website. They’re right. Click here to get started, or keep reading if you remain skeptical.

Are you who you say you are?

You’ve gone to a lot of trouble building a pretty amazing website. You probably want your visitors to feel confident that the site they are browsing is actually yours, and not some phisher infecting their machine with malware. 

To obtain an SSL certificate, site owners pass through an ownership verification process, which varies according to the certificate level.  For sites with a certificate installed, most browsers display a visual cue that assures visitors that they’re in the right place.  Chrome uses a simple lock icon, and Firefox and IE turn the address bar a lovely shade of green.  Careful users of the internet watch for these signals and navigate away from sites that don’t have them.  

You want Google to like you

Since 2014, Google has been giving HTTPS a leg up in their ranking algorithm.  At that time, secure sites were in the minority.  Times have changed (which happens on the interwebs, who knew?), and in 2018, Google began to flag websites that lack an SSL certificate as “not secure”

Where HTTP had been the default and standard protocol, (and HTTPS was given preferential treatment), now HTTPS is the new normal, and your old HTTP site is going to be called out as woefully unsafe.  This means that the first important step in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is to install an SSL certificate.  Literally everything else you do to get a higher Google ranking will be wasted if you don’t.  

Transactions should be secure

Visitors to your website assume that the information they provide will be safe in your hands.  But their computers aren’t directly connected to yours, so that data actually passes through a number of computers (aka: servers) before it gets to where it needs to go. 

An SSL certificate establishes a secure connection, encrypting credit card numbers, user names, and passwords so they remain unreadable until they reach their final destination.

Internet hackery comes in many forms, one of which is a “man-in-the-middle” attack, designed to siphon personal information as it travels between servers.  An SSL certificate protects your visitors from these transit-based hacks.  (Note: If you accept credit card payments, your payment gateway is going to require PCI compliance.  So hop to it.)

Well, there it is. Whether you run a blog, a store, or a non-profit, your site requires a solid security profile. 

At East Valley Web, all SSL certificates include:

  • Strong SHA-2 and 2048-bit encryption.
  • Secure site trustmark to increase customer confidence.
  • Unlimited servers and reissues.
  • Secure padlock in browser.
  • 30-day, risk-free money back guarantee.
  • Compatibility with all major browsers and mobile devices.
  • Unlimited 24/7 award-winning customer support.
  • Easy-to-access resources: FREE SSL Checker, Malware Checker.
  • Removal of Not Secure warning from browsers.

Options to consider

Extended Validation (Premium SSL) – This certificate has the most extensive verification process.  The legitimacy of your organization is validated by confirming the legal name, physical address, phone number and other details. The process takes about a month, and in the meantime your site will be protected by a Standard SSL which is included at no charge.

Wildcard – If you have a website with multiple subdomains, you can protect them all with a Wildcard SSL certificate.  It looks like this: *.myniftysite.com, and it covers www. myniftysite.com, shop.myniftysite.com, blog.myniftysite.com, etc.

Do you really need an SSL Certificate?
Tagged on: