The Importance of Installing an SSL
Is an SSL installation important?
This is like asking “Should I wear a seatbelt while driving” or “Should I wear safety glasses during or while viewing an eclipse”? And without any iota of doubt, the answer is a big YES!
If you have a website in 2018, you definitely need an SSL certificate. It’s that simple, gone are the days when SSL certificates are considered a luxury, it is no longer a luxury but an absolute necessity.
We are in a society where the Internet has become an important part of our lives. Every day we visit different websites, make purchases or complete forms, do you ever think of the security of these sites? Not everyone finds it easy to share our personal and banking information with these sites, and when they do, their security needs to be guaranteed. After all, the visitors may only know the websites virtually through the internet. If you share or collect sensitive information and think your platforms are secured without the green padlock or bar, then you are wrong. If you are a web owner, you need an SSL certificate.
What is an SSL certificate?
An SSL certificate is a virtual or digital file that enables encryption between web hosts and web servers. This prevents communications from being tracked, intercepted or even manipulated by crooks or third parties.
Reasons Why Installing an SSL Certificate Is Non-Negotiable
1. SSL protects your data
The primary function of SSL certificates is protecting client-server communications. Upon installing an SSL, all information between your server and browsers are encrypted. To explain it in a layman term, we can say the data becomes locked and cannot be unlocked until it reaches the official recipient (which is the server or browser). SSL protects you from people or hackers who want to spy on certain information you are processing, like sensitive data such as usernames, passwords, CVV or credit card numbers, and so on. With SSL, there is an additional layer of security, for your protection.
2. SSL certificates affirm your identity
The second main task of SSL certificates is to authenticate your website. Identity verification is a major and very important aspect of Web security. There isn’t a doubt that the Internet is being populated by fraudulent individuals and scammers. Take for instance, in 2009, a man traveled about 400m to meet with a lady he met on Facebook. Upon reaching the place he discovered that he had been tricked by two guys who were supporting a rival football team. These stories are not in any way funny. People have lost thousands of their hard-earned dollars, no thanks to fake websites. This is what SSL certificates try to put an end to, you don’t want you or your website visitors to fall a victim, do you?
3. Better ranking in the search engine result pages
During an update in 2014, Google changed its algorithm to favor HTTPS-enabled sites. Several studies by top SEO experts have proven that with SSL, you rank higher/better. Brian Dean, the founder of Backlinko, found during one of his studies, a relationship between HTTPS-enabled sites and a higher ranking in search engines.
So if you want to be on the first page of the search engines, ahead of your competitors, you know what to do. Don’t you?
4. SSL helps you meet with PCI/DSS standards
If you plan to accept payment on your website, or if you already accept payments, then you have a piece of knowledge or two of PCI/DSS requirements. It simply requires that to receive payments online, your website must comply with PCI standards. And installing an SSL certificate is one of the 12 important requirements by the Payment Card Industry (PCI), to this end, you must install an SSL, whether you like it or not.
5. SSL improves customer confidence and trust in your brand
While SSL means secure socket layer, it could easily be renamed “Trust Transmitting Layer”, this is because they’re an extra trust in you when your customers or web visitors know they are on the right site. This is even taken a step further if you have an EV certificate or your business name displays on the address bar like it does on the PayPal website. To “secure” the trust of your clients and web visitors, an SSL certificate is a must.
These are the reasons why you must install an SSL certificate on your server today. It takes less than five minutes to get a self-signed or even a comodo positive SSL.