SSL Certificates – Google Approved Best Practice
Google recently announced (2018) that they consider SSL certificates to be best practice and will continue to support the practice going forward. It is because of Google’s statement that online experts generally accept that soon Google will require all websites to have SSL certificates.
How do I know if a site is secure?
Take a look at the URL bar in your browser right now. You’ll see “HTTPS” at the beginning of our web address (HTTPS://www.shack.co.za). It’s the “S” in “HTTPS” that makes all the difference.
Seeing that S means you can rest assured, knowing the website you are currently on has an SSL Certificate and most importantly, is secure.
What is an SSL Certificate?
In short, it is a set of code that encrypts and secures the information being sent to and from your site to protect it.
The language used by your computer to send and receive this information, whilst online, is known as HTTP. HTTP stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. When you see HTTPS (as above), the S stands for secure.
Why is an SSL Certificate important?
Let’s look at an example:
You decide to purchase a watch from tiktok.com. With tiktok.com open in your browser, you find the watch you like and proceed to purchase it. Excited about your new watch, you enter your credit card details, contact information and home address for delivery into tiktok.com. Your computer now needs to send that information to the server that hosts tiktok.com so your order can be processed and Tiktok can ship the watch to you.
To send that information, your computer communicates with Tiktok’s server in HTTP (tiktok.com doesn’t have an SSL certificate!).
While your computer is in the process of sending your confidential details, a cyber-ninja intercepts that connection. The information is in HTTP. The ninja (with allegedly malicious intentions) now has your credit card details, contact information and home address. It’s certainly not an ideal situation.
If tiktok.com had an SSL certificate, your computer would have used the unique code created by the SSL certificate to encrypt the information before sending it to Tiktok’s server. The only computer with the key to decode and understand that information is Tiktok’s server. Even if a pesky cyber ninja tried to intercept your communication, their computer wouldn’t be able to read the information, thus your information would be safe.
Who needs an SSL Certificate?
Strictly speaking, any site that exchanges private or sensitive information.
Realistically, we live in a world full of cyber ninjas and a sceptical public. Any site that has an SSL certificate will gain more trust from both the consumer and browsers. It is important to gain trust from browsers, like Google, to ensure you have a strong SEO rank.
Google recently announced (2018) that they consider SSL certificates to be best practice and will continue to support the practice going forward. It is because of Google’s statement that online experts generally accept that soon Google will require all websites to have SSL certificates.
How do I purchase an SSL Certificate?
Most hosts offer SSL certificates for purchase – there are many third party options too.
Pro tip: Generally speaking, free SSL certificates aren’t worth it.
If you’re hosting with The Web Shack, head over to our hosting portal to purchase your SSL certificate.
