Every company, including online businesses, needs to provide a website that customers can trust and where they’ll feel secure making purchases. SSL certificates are vital because they are important tools for building customer loyalty. When your customers trust you, they will keep returning to your business and recommend your company to their friends.
What is SSL?
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) reassure that customers that they have a secure connection. This security is marked by a green lock or bar in browsers. A broken lock or a red bar appears when a site is unsecured. SSLs benefit users and sites by protecting all information between the company and its customers. SSL works like a lock and key, making safe the connection between a server and a browser.
Security Levels
SSLs have three different security levels:
- The top level is designed for companies like retail and banks because they can provide high security for their customers’ passwords, credit and debit cards, and money services like PayPal.
- The second tier is ideal for sites that take personal information such as usernames and passwords without dealing with money. This level has a green lock and says “SECURE.”
- Basic certification is great for personal sites, like blogs or company websites that don’t process payments.
Moving Towards Increased Security
Google has been trying to protect users by informing them when a site lacked an SSL, but some sites have been able to pass undetected. As of July 2018, all HTTP sites will be marked “not secure” in conjunction with the release of Chrome 68. HTTPS appears before your URL when your site has an SSL certificate.
In the past, Google offered ranking incentives for companies that encrypt their sites with HTTPS. The SSL encryption is so important that Google has been rewarding businesses by adding a factor in the ranking algorithm that just looked at a site’s URL; if there was an HTTPS before the URL, the site ranked positively on that factor. Since then:
- 80% of top sites on the web use HTTPS
- 68% growth in Chrome traffic protection for Windows and Android
- 78% growth in Chrome traffic protection for Chrome OS and Mac
Adding an SSL is Good for Business
Good news! If your site already has an SSL, you’re in the clear. If you haven’t encrypted your site yet, Turn The Page St. Louis offers a conversion package that will encrypt your website one time and annually renew to maintain your SSL.
There is still some time before Google begins enforcing stricter security rules. Sites without an SSL certificate run the risk of losing new visitors and possible sales. Call our dedicated support team today to convert your site from HTTP to HTTPS today!
