SSL, or Secure Socket Layers, is an internet protocol that encrypts the connection between servers and browsers. It makes sure that the transferred data is only visible to either of the two parties. Instead of HTTP, every website with SSL will use HTTPS, where the letter “S” stands for secure.
SSL is an important part of your online business. Most web hosting providers like Hostinger offering Secure Socket Layers certificates as a part of the plans so, if you are using these services probably you already have it. Therefore, if you haven’t bought this certificate yet and you need to be convinced to get one, you come to the right place.
In this article, we’ll go over five reasons why you must buy one in 2024 if you don’t have it yet. Without further ado, let’s get right into it.
Table of Contents
1. SSL Is an Important Part of Online Payments
Image source: pixabay.com
The Payment Card Industry includes SSL as one of the 12 requirements in its PCI Data Security Standards. In other words, you will have to install SSL on your website if you wish to have proper payment methods in your online store.
An easy and safe method for transactions enhances the user experience while making sure that your site is considered reputable and reliable.
2. SSL Makes Your Data Safe
One of the main goals of SSL is to encrypt your data. The encryption ensures that sensitive information, like credit card numbers, usernames, and passwords can only be read by the intended recipient. This security measure will protect you from identity thieves and hackers.
We highly recommend you to set up this certificate on your site before anything else. This will make your development process easier and faster.
If you install it later, you will have to switch from HTTP to HTTPS. And when you already have a lot of links on your site, this task can take a lot of time and energy.
3. SSL Builds Trust With Customers
Image source: pixabay.com
After you have installed SSL on your website, a padlock icon will appear on the address bar beside your domain name. It notifies your customers that they have a secure connection. And when they know their data is safe, it will be easier for you to gain their trust.
SSL is crucial for your website’s reputation, whether it attracts small or big traffic. Your customers will appreciate any effort to ensure their online privacy and security, which will make them more like to come back.
4. SSL Affects SEO
Since 2014, Google made it clear that a website with SSL will rank better than a website without it. Google implemented this rule because they try to promote pages that they think will be safer for their customers.
Then, Google made another major change regarding SSL in 2018. They decided that they will flag any website that still uses HTTP and label it as Not Secure on the Chrome browser. As a result, these flagged sites will have a higher bounce rate and will lose more customers.
Everything considered, if you want to generate more organic traffic and improve your SEO performance, your website should rock HTTPS in the first place.
5. SSL Improves User Experience
Image source: pixabay.com
While not many people realize it, SSL is not only about security. Surprisingly, it also impacts the user experience.
This is because there are many web functions that only work on a website that uses SSL, such as webcam utilization, geolocation, and audio recorders. For the complete list, you can visit this page.
Since users have to share sensitive information when using these features, SSL comes into play. It prevents your customers’ data from getting hacked or intercepted.
In short, if you want to add some of these features to your website, it is necessary to buy an SSL certificate beforehand.
Image source: https://pixabay.com/
Where You Can Buy an SSL Certificate
You can buy this certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA), such as DigiCert, VeriSign, or SSL Comodo. These companies are responsible for signing digital certificates, which contain the private and public key to it.
The price may vary from $7 up to $1999 per year, depending on how many domains and subdomains you want to secure.
That being said, some Certificate Authorities offering the Secure Socket Layers for free, like Let’s Encrypt. The main disadvantage is that it only offers a normal SSL, which you have to renew every 90 days.
Thankfully, many web hosting companies give you the option to get an SSL certificate directly from them. This way, the whole process will be easier and cheaper.
Alternatively, you can get it for free if you purchase their Business shared hosting or cloud hosting plans. Taking about cloud hosting – this type of hosting has more security features than others do.
Conclusion
There will always be people who are willing to take advantage of faulty site security, and identity theft is not going away any time soon. Therefore, online security has never been so important.
As a website owner, you can’t risk exposing your own data or the data of your customers. The best way to protect such information is to install an SSL certificate on your site.
In this article, we have shown you five reasons why it is so important for your business in 2024. We hope that your journeys in website development will be much safer from now on, having protected your site with SSL.