Last updated on November 24, 2023 by Mushfiq
Have you ever noticed any difference between website URLs? Some have http:// whereas some have https:// before their domain name. But how are these relevant to SSL Certificates? Well, let me enlighten your quest.
That extra ‘s’ after the http scheme is the indication of being a website secure which means any data transferring from your side to that website (with https:/ scheme) will be encrypted and secure.
SSL certificate is the weapon behind this guarding! It’s a means to verify a website’s identity so an end user can know the site is trusted and safe.
However, that’s just a basic idea, you need to know more including how SSL works and how to get an SSL certificate for your website. So, let’s jump into the knowledge ocean!
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You may be wondering what SSL stands for and what SSL means.
Well, the full form of SSL is Secure Socket Layer. SSL Certificates establish a trusted connection between you and the website you are visiting. It ensures all the data transferred both ways are encrypted by https data encryption and remains hidden from intruders.
Let’s say you are shopping for sneakers online. After visiting countless sites, you finally choose one. Now you need to put your credit/debit card info into that website database to make the purchase. But how can you tell if the site is trusted and your personal details will remain safe with them?
Here comes the SSL webpage to make your connection secure! If the site uses an SSL Certificate, that ensures it can be trusted.
But how to know if the site has an active SSL cert?
It’s pretty simple, just click the URL on your browser, and find either HTTPS or HTTP right before the website address. The ‘s’ after the HTTP indicates that there is an SSL Certificate present.
However, an SSL Certificate typically contains the domain name, the owner or organization’s name, the certificate issuer, and the date until which the certificate remains valid. Just click the padlock icon next to the site URL on your browser to view all this information.
These certificates are hosted on the same server where the site resides. When you type in the address of a site and press Enter, the certificate downloads to your computer, and that’s how the data transfer takes place.
Even though it only takes milliseconds to load a site, a lot of security checks are taking place during that time. Let me explain that in the next section, where I show you how SSL works.
Let’s go back to the sneaker-shopping example. You click, and that opens a sneaker site from Google. During the time the site loads completely, the following actions are happening in the background:
It seems a pretty complicated procedure, right? But all of these process happens under the hood while you are loading the site!
Every time there is a data transfer, it is sent after encryption. So, even if someone gets hold of that data, they would need the private key to decrypt it. The session key remains only valid for a particular session. After you have closed off a tab, that session ends. The next time you visit the same website, a new key is generated again. This strengthens the security of the data transfer.
But what happens if you go to a site that does not have an SSL certificate?
Your browser will alert and block you from accessing it. While you can ignore this and go to that site, you risk losing your important data. That is not something that you should do.
Different SSL Certificates exist for different levels of validation. There are mainly 3 types of SSL certificates that you can obtain. The costs vary depending on the varying levels of verification and security.
So, let’s take a look at these three SSL certificate types:
Apart from this, three different variations of SSL Certificates exist.
To see if your website has an SSL certificate, look at the URL bar of your browser. If there is a padlock icon and HTTPS before your site’s domain name, then you have an SSL Certificate installed.
Depending on the type of SSL Certificate, it will also show the owner’s name and the country it is registered in and present itself in a green bar. But even if you do not see this, a padlock icon is sure to be present.
You can click the lock icon to reveal all the information contained in the SSL certificate. Usually, this lists the site owner’s name, certificate issue date, and so on.
When launching a website on WordPress, a common concern occurs whether WordPress is secure enough or not. The same goes for other site-building platforms or custom-build sites. Website security is the most important factor everyone is looking for. So, here comes the importance of SSL cert.
An SSL Certificate brings many benefits to your site. Most of which are related to increasing security. If your site has https data encryption on, viewers get the green signal about surfing your site. Consequently, it often leads viewers into buyers!
On top of that, when your site is secure, there is less chance of data loss, and people will gain more trust. That will increase the overall site’s growth.
However, here are some key reasons why an SSL Certificate is important for your site’s security:
When an SSL is in place, any confidential user data such as social security, credit cards, and bank accounts are scrambled using encryption. The site’s web server can only read that data using a private key. Anyone else intercepting the data would get jumbled texts that are hard to decipher.
In addition, SSL protects the data by only making it visible to the server and the end user. Anyone who does not have the session key cannot view them, thus adding an extra layer of security.
When someone knows that you have placed these security measures in place and their data remains secure, users will be more confident to visit your site and purchase the product that you’re offering. Just by looking at the SSL certificate, your viewers will be more likely to convert into regular customers!
Google places the sites with SSL certificates right at the top of the search rankings. This is to encourage more site owners to shift to a more secure way of data transmission using HTTPS. So, this is actually a great way to get more traffic by getting an SSL certificate.
You cannot judge whether a site is secure just by looking at it, right? What if it is stealing your personal data behind your back?
SSL addresses these concerns head-on. When you see the padlock icon, you can remain assured that a website is verified by a third-party security consultant and is safe to share your personal details. Plus, you can see all the information for yourself and check the data. That gives an assurance that your data is in safe hands.
Yes, SSL can boost your SEO and improve the rankings in the search engine. Google recommends that you use SSL on your site. That increases the user’s trust in your site and increases the overall security of the site. SSL is paramount for sites that handle a user’s personal data.
But just adding an SSL certificate will not magically turn in organic users to your site. For that, you have to devise a content strategy while starting a WordPress blog. That includes adding SEO-optimized content, implementing on and off-page SEO, and ensuring your content is well-versed with the users’ search intent.
SSL Certificates are issued by Certificate Authorities(CA). They are responsible for generating the certificates and issuing them to you. Usually, they are trusted bodies who will verify your company details and then provide the SSL Certificates accordingly.
These are generally not free. SSL Certificates cost money, and the amount depends on the type of security and encryption you want. The base certificates are issued almost immediately, while one with an extended validation can take some days to process.
Once the certificate is ready, you need to integrate it with your site. Your hosting account generally has all the details on how to do this. There are tools that can help you set this up, and the process is fairly straightforward. After that, your site will have an SSL connection, and every data will be transferred using a secured encrypted connection.
However, some hosting packages offer free SSL for a year with their hosting subscription. You also can look out for it when you’re just starting a website.
Without an SSL certificate, your site cannot send data to its users in a secure way. That can result in the loss of personal sensitive information to the intruders. There will be no protection to safely transfer the data, making it a huge security risk.
Extended Validation SSL is the best type of SSL Certificate. It provides the users with the maximum security and validation. However, they can be expensive to acquire, which is why only businesses and e-commerce sites get them.
To check the SSL certificate type, click the lock icon on your browser. Press on Connection Details > Show Certificate. A new window opens up, showing all the details of the SSL Certificate.
TLS is better than SSL. It is an improved version of SSL. This features stronger and faster encryption, making the user's data more secure. The TLS protocol patches any security vulnerabilities that emerge from SSL.
Extended Validation is the most secure SSL. It provides more security than any other certificate. The certificate authority does an extensive check on the domain owner's identification, background, and offices before awarding it.
Yes, you can get a free SSL Certificate. Cloudflare and AWS Certificate Manager give away free certificates if you sign up for their services. In addition, several hosting providers, such as BlueHost and Hostinger, throw in a free SSL certificate for the first year when you choose their hosting services.
These days, an SSL certificate is a must. It shows that you care about the user data and are willing to do anything to safeguard it.
Getting one for your website is not that expensive, either. If you are still contemplating, snap out of it and go get an SSL for your site. That will be the best security solution that you can get for your site.
That’s all for today. See you in some other guide.