In today's world, the internet is a necessity. People spend most of their time on the internet, scrolling through thousands of websites. Every day more than 547200 new websites are created globally.
A study indicates that the average internet user in the US surfs 148.1 pages per day!
But are all websites safe?
Not all the websites are safe. Whenever you open a website, you probably must have noticed that some website URLs start with HTTP, while others start with HTTPS. Ever wondered the difference?
The S in HTTPS stands for 'secure encryption.' This can only be guaranteed with an SSL certificate.
What is an SSL Certificate?
SSL stands for 'secure sockets layer.' It is the standard technology for keeping an internet connection secure and safeguarding any sensitive data which might be entered into it.
This prevents criminals from reading, modifying, and stealing any information transferred within the user browser and server.
Is an SSL Certificate really required?
If you ask for any personal information on your website, it needs an SSL certificate for the protection of the information. Without SSL, your site visitors are at a high risk of getting their data stolen.
Your site security is also at risk without encryption. SSL protects the website from phishing scams, data breaches, and many other threats. Hence, it builds a secure environment for both visitors and site owners.
Other advantages are:
- It provides high encryption levels of up to 256-bit to protect user's sensitive information.
- Protects websites from attack, reducing the risk of hacking, eavesdropping, and man-in-the-middle attacks.
- Provide a positive influence on Google's evaluation of your website.
- If you own an e-commerce website, it establishes a safe shopping experience. It enhances the customer's trust and confidence. Hence, they are assured that the website is legit and does not misuse information.
- Proves your business authentication and increase your brand reputation by validating your business from Trusted Certificate Authority (CA).
Increase in SSL certified websites
Earlier only websites dealt with credit/debit card transactions and online banking used to encrypt their data using SSL. But now the internet has become a dangerous place. Various hackers and, in some instances, government agencies steal and misuse our private information.
This might lead to theft of your money from your bank accounts, leaking of your private pictures, and other sensitive information.
Hence, encryption is essential not just for the financial transaction but for all online communication.
The percentage of websites protected with HTTPS secure encryption jumped over 40% in 2016 to 80% in 2019.
Ecommerce websites
All major e-commerce websites have an SSL certificate because there you give in all your personal details like name, address, and bank and card details. Many data breaches used to occur in the e-commerce world, but they have been reduced due to SSL.
Before giving your information on an e-commerce site, you should check whether it is encrypted or not.
Impact of SSL on Search engine and browser
Various search engines such as Google and Yahoo warn their users before visiting an unencrypted website. To protect its users from insecure websites, it considers whether a site has an SSL certificate or not.
Different browsers have different indicators that show whether the site is safe or not. For example, Google Chrome will signal the site is 'not-secure' in the browser bar while Firefox will label them 'non-secure.'
This warns the user to be careful while browsing them and giving any personal details.
Having an SSL certificate pleases Google and helps in page rank boost. HTTPS websites have a higher ranking on google search list than insecure websites.
Do you own a website?
If yes, by now, you know the importance of getting an SSL certificate. If you own a small business and have an online store, you should get it encrypted.
It will increase your profits because users will be assured that it is protected. Moreover, owning an SSL saves you money. If a security breach occurs and any customer data is compromised, it will lead to legal repercussions for your company leading to significant losses. Many major companies have lost billions of fighting legal cases.
To avoid that, SSL is one simple solution.
Get your SSL Certificate now!
There are various types of SSLs available in the market. They are priced differently; hence it gets very confusing on which one to buy. But why pay for a website and an SSL Certificate separately when you can get them free?!
When you build a website using Budo - a powerful yet simple website builder, your website is secured by SSL. All Budo websites come with FREE SSL certificates to secure your website and boost your SEO ranking.
Create your SSL secured website for free with Budo →
Or build your SSL secured online store with Ninjin →