Just because you’re a website owner of a brand or company, that doesn’t mean that you are necessarily ‘down’ with the technical jargon or practices. Hey, why should you be? That’s why you have us right? You may have heard the term SSL certified thrown around by another website owner. If this topic has left you feeling a little grey about the whole subject, then we are here to shed a little light on the topic

What Are SSL Certificates?

Secure Sockets Layer Certificates more commonly referred to as SSL Certificates are small data files that digitally bind a cryptographic key to a business’s details. When this is installed onto a web server, it activates the padlock symbol and the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is changed to Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS).

By having this digital certificate installed, it means that you are creating a secure link between your website and a visitor’s browser. This certificate essentially acts as a maximum-security feature that helps to protect sensitive data on your websites, such as visitor’s personal information and credit card numbers.

How Do SSL Certificates Work?

So now that the principle of the certificate has been outlined, let take a look at how it actually works.

Let’s quickly recap.

When an SSL Certificate is in place it creates a secure connection between a visitor’s web browser and the server of the company they are interacting with.

Here are the three main security protocols that the SSL Certificate follows:

• Authentication – the certificate protects website owners from unwanted attacks and breaches and in turn, builds the users trust.

• Encryption – Any personal data such as credit card numbers are automatically encrypted. Meaning that the user’s information cannot be stolen by rouge web-users.

• Data Integrity – By encrypting data, it means that information transferred between the visitor’s browser and the company’s server cannot be corrupted.

Benefits Of An SSL Certificate

So, not only is it very important to have an SSL Certificate in place to ensure that your data is protected but it also has other benefits.

• Increases Your Google Rankings – Google’s algorithm actually favours websites which have an SSL certification in place. Thus improving your websites SEO and positioning.

• Secure Shopping – If you are a retailer, selling products through your website, it’s mandatory practice to have an SSL Certificate in place to meet PCI security standards.

• Customer Trust – Alarm bells will start to ring if a customer tries to enter a site that’s not secure. By securing your website you are building trust and loyalty with your customers.

• Authentication – Alongside all the other great benefits, SSL Certificates also provide an identity verification to the website. Meaning that your well-earnt reputation can’t be ruined by an imposter!

Need an SSL Certificate? Get in contact with the team here at Eventure today.