Does your website need an SSL certificate?
Updated: 16th September 2022
Reading time: 6 min
If you have your own website or if you are planning to create one, for sure you have heard about notions such as “SSL certificate” and “HTTPS”. Both notions are closely connected and are directly related to the web page security. Although some people might think that such elements are important only for computer analysts and IT specialists, they are mistaken. Many credit card numbers or users’ personal data thefts occur on pages that are not SSL-certified, and this is very important for both the user and the site owner. If you are wondering if your site needs SSL as well, I will answer your question.
What is an SSL certificate?
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is encryption of network traffic technology between a web server, on which certain site and user’s browser are located, which helps to protect the information exchanged between them. Before a user’s private information gets to a certain website, they can go through many other servers and networks, where they could be read without proper encryption. If we have SSL on our server, next to our domain name, visitors will see padlock and HTTPS protocol (encrypted version of HTTP), which proclaims that connecting our server to their browser is safe.
How does SSL certificate work?
SSL certificates are based on cryptology principles of the public key, that uses two keys, which are long strings of randomly generated numbers. The first key, a public one, is used to encrypt any is known to your server and is also available in the public domain. The second, private one, is in sole possession of the addressee of the information and the message can be read only with a help of this addressee. Let’s use this example – if person A wants to send a message to person B, he or she first has to encrypt it with a public key of B person. Next, B deciphers the message with help of a private key, which only this person has. If a hacker intercepts a message before B decrypts it, he will get cryptographic code unknown to him.
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What websites need SSL certificate?
Getting sensitive information by third parties can lead to incl. losing money and legal implications connected with the invasion of privacy. The use of SSL certificate should mainly take place on the websites which:
- Process financial information (bank accounts, online orders);
- Have user authentication (passwords and logins);
- Store sensitive data (date of birth, insurance number) and medical information;
- Have sensitive and restricted information (legal documents, customer lists, contracts).
Not every website must have a certificate, but ...
An SSL certificate is mostly used to secure credit card transactions, data transfers, and logins, and has recently become the norm for securing social networking sites. At this point, some of you may well think that after all, it does not process important information about users on their website nor does it have an online store. So why try to get an SSL certificate?
Search Engine Optimization
Already in 2014 Google has announced that it will favor HTTPS sites. Last January, Chrome browser meant HTTP pages as unprotected. Currently, the three most popular factors influencing SEO are:
- Website speed;
- responsiveness;
- SSL-certified sites.
Trust
People who see a green padlock at the domain name usually treat it as trustworthy. This can influence the user's conviction to register, convert to a website or contact.
Security
Security, that is what we mentioned earlier - sites without SSL certificates are more vulnerable to hacker attacks. And yet every website owner cares about the security of his users.
How to implement an SSL certificate on a WebWave website?
All web pages that were created in the WebWave website builder may have an SSL certificate enabled. The only requirements we place are an activated Premium subscription and domain attached. SSL certificate service does not increase your subscription or add an additional one-time fee.
Summary
The number of hackers increases just as the number of websites. For this reason, the vast majority of e-commerce sites use an SSL certificate to maximize the security of their users. However, regular informational websites may also obtain a lot thanks to HTTPS.
What is your approach to SSL? Do you use it on your website? Do you avoid signing up on unprotected sites? We invite you to discuss and comment.
Author: Pawel Krzywina
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