In this video, we explore what exactly is an SSL Certificate, what it does for your website and what why your website needs one. Dave McEvoy explores why in 2020 you need to have an SSL Certificate on your website.
Google Chrome has started flagging websites as insecure giving messages to users telling them the website they are visiting isn't secure. Essentially, this is telling visitors that your website does not collect their information securely. This can be a minor inconvenience or a major scare and can put people off interacting with your business online.
Google itself, has started using this as an organic ranking factor, meaning that where your website shows up in search results is influence by how secure your website is or isn't.
The good news is, this is very simple and straightforward to fix. Buying a simple SSL or Secure Sockets layer certificate for your domain name will solve. SSL Certs are part of your hosting and can be purchased from your hosting provider. SSL Cert prices range depending on the standard of security your website needs, and it simple and straightforward to implement. SSL certs are billed annually meaning that a once off payment secures your website for the coming year.
It enables your site to communicate with users using encrypted, non-corruptible data.
The certificate also acts as a stamp of approval from a trusted party that says your site islegitimate and secure to use.
HTTPS sites also load faster. In a test on HTTP vs HTTPS.com, the unsecure version of the page loads slower than HTTPS – try the test on your own device and see it for yourself. Fast loading time is also discussed here as part of upgrading your website blog.