SSL Certificates: What are They and Why can my Site Benefit?
The 'what'
Alright, first thing's first. Let's discuss what SSL certificates actually are. Short for 'Secure Sockets Layer', put simply it's a form of online security that connects the user on a site with the company's server securely and directly, allowing personal information that users enter to make purchases or bookings to remain private.
When a user visits your site, they're able to identify security in a few different ways, including the added 's' at the end of the 'http' protocol as well as a green padlock or even a featured green bar that takes up the beginning of the address bar (depending on your level of encryption).
The 'why'
So now that you have a good understanding of what SSL certificates are, let's now go into the benefits of why you should consider getting one.
While there are quite a few different options out there, there are three more common choices that will vary depending on the type of site you're running:
- A smaller eCommerce site doesn't need anything over the top, so something like RapidSSL would suffice perfectly
- If your site includes a main domain as well as several subdomains (using us as an example, the main domain is hostingaustralia.com.au and subdomains would include login.hostingaustralia.com.au, help.hostingaustralia.com.au, etc.) a Wilcard SSL certificate is perfect for you
- For eCommerce sites that process quite a high amount of orders online, True BusinessID with EV gives you excellent encryption
Featuring any of the tell-tale signs of online security will drastically boost its trustworthiness with your consumers, too. With such a huge amount of different methods for online criminals to uncover our information, users are now more than ever wary of keeping their details secure. This of course means that without the proper SSL certification in place on your site, you'll simply be losing a large amount of business as a direct result.
The 'how'
If you're ready to safeguard your customers' information and build up your brand equity and the trust of your customers, Hosting Australia has the SSL certificate you're after.
