What is SSL?
SSL refers to Secure Socket Layers. Having an SSL certificate on your hosting account is what provides the security for your website. If your website is secure, you’ll see a closed green padlock icon in the address bar. You will also see “HTTPS” instead of starting with “HTTP”.
For many years, the only websites that had to have an SSL certificate were eCommerce or sites asking for personal information such as financial information. Currently, there are a number of factors prompting us to secure ALL websites.
Advantages of having SSL
HTTPS protects your website and any communication between the website and your visitors’ browsers. For example, if you have a WordPress website that is not secured with HTTPS, it is possible that your username could be intercepted during log-in. Once your username is intercepted, the culprits can use your login name along with a bot that attempts to guess your password, thus gaining access to your website. Bots are active 24/7, so unless you have additional security on your website that limits failed login attempts, there could be problems. Your website visitors may begin to see ads not placed by you, or your website might begin linking to various low-quality sites. Even worse, your visitors’ computers may become infected by your website.
HTTPS = better security
A few years ago, Google announced that they were moving toward with SSL as the standard for all websites. You may have noticed that late in 2017 the Chrome browser started flagging websites that were not SSL (unencrypted and unsecured). All websites that are not “https://”, meaning they do not have an SSL certificate, are now flagged by the Google Chrome browser as being “Not Secure”. This is true for all websites, not just those that take payments or request personal information. Seeing a “Not Secure” message in the address bar is not the best experience for a website visitors and may push potential visitors away from your site.
By simply moving to HTTPS, installing an SSL certificate, you can avoid the possible negative image of an unsafe website. The SSL Certificate helps to build trust with your visitors and protects the credibility of your brand. And it also gives you a small boost with Google!