What is SSL? Why Do I Need SSL Certificates?
If you are wondering, "Why do I need SSL?", wonder no more. Read this article to find out what a Secure Sockets Layer certificate is and why your ecommerce website needs SSL. SSL certificates provide online security for you and your eShop customers.
Many people, when starting up a business website, do no realize that they need more than just a site with goods and services (and a way for customers to pay for them). Indeed, one of the most important things that you will put on your ecommerce Web site is a SSL certificate. Getting SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is very important if you plan to sell merchandise and services online – especially if you want to be able to accept credit cards and other methods of payment over the Internet. SSL will help you appear trustworthy and it will protect your customers.
What is SSL?
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a type of protocol that adds a level of security to online transactions. You get a security certificate that helps protect the personal payment information that customers enter on your website. When the customer enters information for payment, it is sent over the Internet to be approved by the bank. While this information in transit, the unscrupulous can intercept it and then make use of it. Credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, bank account numbers (for eChecks and direct withdrawals) are sent over the Internet everyday. And identity thieves are just waiting to get this information.
In order to keep private information from fraudsters, SSL encrypts it. Using a special process, the Secure Sockets Layer turns that information into random letters, numbers and symbols. When someone intercepts it, the information looks garbled and useless. In addition to turning sensitive information into useless information, the SSL certificate also issues a key that can decode the message. Only the program or server that has the proper key can turn the useless information back into usable payment information. There are different levels of security used for a SSL certificate. Right now, the highest level (and the most expensive) is 256 bit encryption. Most ecommerce Web sites, however, use 128 bit encryption. 40 bit encryption is the least expensive, and can still be effective.
An SSL certificate costs money – between $10 and $1,500 a year, depending on the security level you choose and whether you share a SSL certificate with someone else, or whether you get a dedicated SSL certificate. You can usually get pretty good secure sockets layer verification and encryption for around $500 to $800 a year. If you use this for your business websites, it is an expense that you can use as a deduction on your taxes. However, having a secure sockets layer is important, even necessary, if you are serious about running a business online.
Why your ecommerce Web site need an SSL certificate
Most Internet shoppers want to know that their information is safe. They are providing you with very personal, very important information that allows access to their money. If it falls into the wrong hands, it can be devastating. Your customers want to know that you value their privacy and their security. One way that they can see that you are serious about protecting them is to have a SSL certificate. This shows them that you send encrypted information through secure sockets layer, and they will be more comfortable shopping on your Web site.
Another thing that a SSL certificate does is verify your identity. There are many scam artists out there that set up Web sites that look legitimate, but that are not. These Web sites steal information when would-be customers try to make payments. A SSL certificate authenticates the business as well. Your website is verified as secure, and you are shown to be who you say you are. Like knowing their information is encrypted, knowing that you are a viable business and that you have been cleared by the SSL certificate issuer can provide peace of mind for customers.
When you sell products and services online, you want to reach a large number of people. You also want them to be able to easily and conveniently pay you. Since most online shoppers turn to the Internet for convenience, they need to be able to pay immediately. However, there are a lot of scary people in cyberspace waiting to steal valuable information. You want your customers to feel safe and secure doing business with you. Even though it costs money to get a SSL certificate, it is an important step to take in your online business. Without it, you are likely to lose customers and find your sales and revenues falling.
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SSL certificates are a vital piece of technology for anyone running an online business. Any online store or ecommerce business should have an SSL certificate for website security to help protect transactions and customer’s information. If you run an online store you have probably come across the term ssl certificate in your research or from hosting companies.
SSL stands for “secure sockets layer” and is a data encryption protocol that will keep your information safe from third parties who might try and steal it whilst making a purchase from a website. While a SSL certificate has many benefits and can be used in many different ways there are two main functions:
SSL certificates protect your information during payment transactions. This means it turns your information into a code that can only be read by a third party that has the key to read the information. This will keep your customers information safe from anyone trying to steal the information from either their, Debit or Credit card. If someone does try to intercept your sensitive data when it has been secured by an SSL certificate they won’t be able to see any of it. SSL certificates provide information about the site and company they are securing. That could be business owner, domain owner or website owner. This will allow your customers to instantly verify who you are who you say you are, making your website or your online business much more trustworthy. Experienced online shoppers will also notice that a padlock is displayed by the browser and the URL bar may also turn green. This is a great visible indicator to a prospective customer that you take their online security seriously.
To sum up if you have an online store and you want to accept payments and you want to keep your customers safe and happy, then you can’t afford to not have an SSL certificate. By choosing not to install an SSL Certificate you may lose customers or not make as many sales and conversion rates may be slim, as they may leave your site when they realise their details aren’t being secured.
How a SSL certificate works is a bit like using a blanket to protect your credit card information online. Without the protection of the blanket your credit card information will be exposed for everyone to see allowing anyone to steal that information from you and use and abuse it. Nowadays finding an online store without a SSL certificate is very rare. If the site you are using doesn’t use a SSL certificate you should not proceed as you risk having your data being intercepted.
You may not know that the SSL certificates also contain two keys. The first is known as a public key which is used to turn the private information from your debit or credit card into a code consisting of numbers and letters that others will not be able to understand. The SSL certificate will recognise the servers and browsers involved and will then protect any online payment transactions over the Internet.
The second key is called a private key which is used to decode the information generated by the first key, which will then generate a unique key which allows any one with the proper information and keys to read your information. SSL certificates come in different sizes of bit encryption. The first is a 128 bit encryption which is still very good and is the standard encryption level used by most online stores. The final one is the 256 bit encryption which is currently the highest level of security available today.
SSL certificates also use ports to send information over the Internet. The Internet has always used the term port to describe how information is sent. When you use a unsecure website to make any transactions the port that is used is usually number 80, information is then sent in small snippets over the Internet from Port 80. With an SSL certificate because the transactions are now secure the port number becomes 443.
As great as SSL certificates are they, like most things, have limitations.
SSL certificates will give you a high level of protection online but unfortunately everything has a weakness. SSL certificates can have their protection reduced in a number of ways from the level of encryption that you are paying for, different types of online ecommerce software and web browser. One key thing to remember is that if you are a business that operates online, a SSL certificate is the best way of giving secure online protection.
This brings us onto our final point. It is very important that you choose a company that is trustworthy for your SSL certificates. As there are so many companies out there to consider you must make sure you pick the right one. Any SSL company worth their salt will secure their own site using an EV SSL certificate that will turn the browser bar green as it’s the best SSL certificate on the market today. We recommend not buying SSL certificates from providers that use low end SSL certificates or no SSL certificate at all.
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