Take your eyes off of the words on this page and inch them up towards the address bar. What you’ll find (other than the URL) is a sequence of letters reading “https”. That “s” signifies that this website has a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate. This means that your connection is secure and that any personal information you’ve entrusted here is exceptionally safe. Whether your website represents a large corporation, a medium sized e-commerce store, or a brand new lifestyle blog, it needs an SSL certificate. Here are just a few reasons why.

A user is immediately at a higher risk of having their information stolen when they reach a website without an SSL certificate. If a user’s ISP is known, hackers can discreetly intercept information the user communicates to the unsecured site. If a user connects to malicious equipment (this can be as simple as connecting to unfamiliar public Wi-Fi) a hacker can redirect visitors to duplicate sites of the ones they’re trying to reach. The hacker can then harvest the information the user puts into the phony page. SSL certificates protect against both of these methods. An SSL certification achieves this level of security through a “digital handshake” between devices and websites. An SSL certificate establishes confidence in your visitors that you take privacy seriously and that you take them seriously. By instilling this confidence, you give visitors no reason to hesitate using your site.

For several years, Google has been pushing for HTTPS sites to become the norm. They are beginning to realize this goal by making changes to how they label websites. Historically, a secure website on Google was represented by a “secure connection” label and a padlock. However, Google has already done away with the “secure connection” label and the padlock will soon disappear, too. Google recently announced that it would begin to exclusively label non-secure http websites. The label for these non-secure websites is a warning triangle in the address bar preceding a “Not Secure” warning. “Red triangle” sites act as red flags for sites that aren’t secure at best and are dangerous at their worst. Google has begun shifting the expectations of its users by exclusively alerting consumers to websites that aren’t secure. Google users will begin to expect that every website they’re on is safe and their privacy will be secure. They’ll begin expecting to see nothing in the address bar other than the URL. By having an SSL Certificate, you’ll be keeping up with your visitors’ expectations of what the web should look like: safe.

It should be stated that search engines naturally favor websites that are both secure and fast. This is because search engines want to direct users towards easily accessible sites that provide legitimate answers for their inquiries. Additionally, https web pages load an average of 80% faster than their insecure counterparts. Google has even publicly stated they will give https websites a minor bump in their ranking to help direct users towards these authentic sites. This is not to mention that an SSL certificate is a relatively inexpensive asset that usually pays for itself after the first secure sale is made from your site. With all of this in mind, it would seem that having an SSL certificate proves to be one of the easiest ways to help achieve those coveted first few spots.

Every website owner should strive for enhanced security measures, regardless of what kind of site they own. The easiest way to achieve this is through the umbrella of encryption. Tools like SSL Certificates, are a vital part of cybersecurity and they’re only going to become more integral to the future of the internet. In the face of all that they have to offer, the time has never been better for you to protect your website and your business with an SSL Certificate.

Does your website need more security? Contact Seven Ages Design to have an SSL Certificate installed today!