What Are the Consequences of Not Having an SSL Certificate?

SSL Certificate

Creating a website is among the most efficient ways to reach a large audience. But with cyber criminals on the internet, it is essential to secure your website. If you don’t take this seriously, it could result in record-breaking legal costs, financial loss, and a negative brand image.

We suggest security certificates for websites that gather sensitive data such as names, addresses, or credit card numbers. One such certification is Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). In addition to keeping consumers secure, Google is a significant search engine. Google has declared SSLs as an essential ranking factor in 2014. Naturally, other search engines likewise followed suit.

This article will cover the essential information you need about having a security certification on your website. You’ll understand what it is, why you should obtain one, and how you can protect your customers. Let’s get to it.

What Is an SSL?

Until 1999, SSL stood as the most dependable standard in internet communication. SSL is a kind of technology that makes internet connections secure. It helps protect transfers of confidential information between two systems by stopping hackers from altering any data. 

SSLs block hackers from accessing users’ information while transferring it through encryption algorithms that mix information during the process. These systems could be server-to-client such as an online store and a customer, or server-to-server, like a cloud for printer servers.

What are the terms of an SSL Certificate?

An SSL certificate acts as an internet authentication that confirms the authenticity of a website and concedes a secure connection between a server and a browser. It is recommended that companies add an SSL certificate to their website to ensure the security of customer information.

Developers install these certificates on the server-side. However, users will be able to see visible signs that signify the security of your site. Pay attention to these indicators:

  • Your antivirus can block you from accessing an insecure website. It will often send warnings to websites with no SSL certificates or expired ones.
  • Brands are unlikely to misspell their domain names. If you find grammatical mistakes, this could be a fraud attempt. Cybercriminals, for instance, may try to steal your information from amaz0n.com and break the website’s security protocols.
  • Look for the padlock before the website’s name. If you click on it, you’ll get this message “Connection is secure. This means that the company assures that no one will alter or intercept the link between the two sites. If the site is not secure, it will display an alert symbol in front of the address.
  • The SSL certificate protects a website that uses the HTTPS address rather than HTTP.

Which is the best hosting provider that offers free SSL?

Later, you’ll read that there are numerous kinds of SSLs. It means you can enjoy higher benefits from a hosting provider that offers quality SSL in contrast to any other host offering regular SSL.

AccuWeb Hosting gives you high-quality SSL certificates with almost all hosting plans, including the cheapest shared hosting plans.

Besides SSL certificates, they have several astonishing features on offer. 

Reasons To Get an SSL Certificate

The security certificate required to use websites has taken the world of digital to the forefront. According to the most recent SSL statistics, 82.2 percent of websites are using legitimate certificates, a massive increase from 17.8 percent five years ago.

In addition to being a security measure for consumers, it has now become an essential requirement for many webmasters. All businesses of all sizes and sectors can benefit from this type of certification. Below are the reasons you should get one.

Ensure Visitor Protection

With the help of unbreakable encryption, SSL certificates ensure the security of everyone who visits the site. Without them, hackers are able to easily access sensitive customer information. They can eliminate a variety of threats, including man-in-the-middle attacks, phishing, as well as session hijacking.

Promote Subdomain Security

An SSL certificate, also known as Wildcard, allows site owners to protect their main site as well as every subdomain under it using one certificate. This would be extremely beneficial to businesses with multiple subdomains by not setting up separate certificates for each site.

Provide Authentication

Certification authorities (CA) are the ones who sign, issue, and verify certificates online that include SSL. By their signatures, other trusting parties can confirm the legitimacy of a site. Their tasks can include verification of business and domain names and providing site visitors with the confidence to use and navigate your site.

Comply With PCI Requirements

Sites that handle credit card transactions must comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) specifications. The group aims to improve the standards of cardholders across the globe and has established the use of an SSL certificate to be a must for all business websites. Infractions on your part could cause lawsuits, excessive fees, and even revenue loss.

Boost SEO Efforts

Like every business, Google wants the best for its customers. This is why Google chose to make SSL certification an important ranking factor. To boost your visibility online and distinguish yourself from uncertified competitors, we recommend obtaining the SSL certificate.

Speed Up Your Website

Contrary to what many believe, SSL certificates don’t decrease the websites’ speed, but they increase their speed. The latest technology has led to web servers known as HTTP2 that make use of a single connection instead of parallel connections.

The speed at which your site loads should be between one and two seconds. If it is more than three minutes, five percent of visitors to your site will abandon your site. Because page load speed is an important Google ranking factor, this feature increases the visibility of your search engine.

An effective hosting service can make a huge difference to your site’s speed.

Strengthen Brand Image

Nothing can damage a brand’s image more quickly than a business that doesn’t care about the security of its customers. Although SSL certificates aren’t able to protect websites from all cyber-attacks, they can safeguard your clients’ names, addresses, as well as card information. 

If you intend to build confidence in your customers, make sure you are professional by using an HTTPS website. Improve your image as a brand now by implementing the highest security standards.

How To Get an SSL Certificate

You can purchase an SSL by contacting your hosting company! There are the common SSL certificates:

  • Free SSL Plans: Most of the mid and high-end plans include free SSL certificates that provide basic protection for websites, allowing you to implement HTTPS for your sites. While they’re just as secure as premium services, many people opt for the latter to benefit from luxuries such as warranties, longer validations (EV), and company verifications (OV).
  • Basic SSL: Basic SSL Domain Validated (DV) SSL certificates provide a viable solution for standard security, including 256 bits of encryption. You can obtain this service by email, as long as you can prove that you own the domain. They are the cheapest SSL models anywhere in the world.
  • High-end SSL: With this certificate, you’ll be able to receive up to 256-bit security for your website. The process of verification for this SSL is more difficult than applying for the DV certificate. But, you can get more benefits, such as third-party vouching and an official trust badge for your website.
  • Advanced SSL: These certificates give consumers the highest level of confidence and security, an attribute that can increase sales. If you’re looking for the top security for your enterprise or multiple websites, EV certificates are ideal for you. These certificates allow you to benefit from the most prominent assurances of trust.
  • Wildcard: This SSL type secures the domain as well as an unlimited number of subdomains using one certificate. They operate as other SSL certificates, using similar encryption methods and verification processes. You can also modify your Wildcard SSL to include domain authentication as well as organizational validation.

 

The activation of SSL certificates provides a broad array of benefits for your site. The greatest part is that there are a variety of choices to select from. Don’t miss the HTTPS revolution and enjoy the benefits these certificates bring.

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