Protecting data must not be optional if you have a website, especially if you are processing sensitive customer information through some forms.
For e-commerce sites, you absolutely need encryption to protect your shoppers’ credit cards so they won’t be stolen by cybercriminals.
How do you encrypt such sensitive information?
One important method is having an SSL certificate.
A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate is a protocol of small data files that is used to encrypt information sent across the Internet.
Any computer in between you and the server can see your credit card numbers, usernames, passwords, and other sensitive information if it is not encrypted with an SSL certificate.
If you are still not convinced if it’s worth having an SSL certificate, let me break down for you X reasons why you should (or must) have an SSL certificate:
1. Secure Sensitive Information
E-commerce websites absolutely need an SSL certificate.
As a website owner, it is your responsibility to make sure the information you collect from your users is protected.
Moreover, even if you don’t have an e-commerce website, but you still use a form with sensitive user information such as register and login forms, you still might want to have the protection certified by an SSL certificate.
2. Trust
When a user enters your site he can see a green-ish lock icon next to the URL which signals that your site uses SSL.
Having this visual reference, your users are more likely to buy from your website, create an account or simply navigate through your posts because they can trust your website won’t reveal any of their sensitive information.
If you’re struggling to increase your brand recognition, having an SSL certificate will surely help you achieve this goal.
3. Increase your revenues
This goes along with having trust in a website.
No one would buy from a site that reveals users’ credit card numbers and other sensitive data.
That’s why it’s important to let the users know they’re buying from a trusted website and this feeling of safety will make them buy more from you and they will come more often to your site.
4. Increase SEO rankings
This should not be fresh news to you because Google’s Webmaster Central Blog posted an article in 2014 about the importance of HTTPS as ranking signal in which it’s stated that HTTPS is indeed a ranking signal.
Since then, an SSL certificate is one of Google’s ranking parameters for search results, and having an SSL brings your website a competitive advantage in Google’s SERPs (search engine results pages).
Conclusion
From my point of view, an SSL certificate is a must-have nowadays, although there are plenty of site administrators who don’t see the reliability.
Leaving aside the design of your site, your primary goal is to provide your visitors with a safe browsing experience.
Authorities such as Google are trying as much as possible to make the Web safer by introducing new trends that websites should comply to.
Let me know what you think about this article in the comments section below.
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