When you have a website, you typically include lots of information, content, images, and sometimes very important messages that need protection from others and that’s where SSL certificate stands. When you build a website, you have to use some security features that help your site stay protected from others. Without protection, anyone can easily decrypt your data.
An SSL certificate is basically encrypted protection that provides you with a layer of security. Enabling the SSL certificate on your site will protect it. When you install an SSL certificate for your site, it appears as a padlock sign. Otherwise, it will appear as “not secure.”
When your site is protected with an SSL certificate, it will show “HTTPS” instead of “HTTP.” There is a difference between HTTP and HTTPS. HTTP is a protocol layer that helps transfer information between network devices. HTTPS uses the same methodology but adds another layer of protection while transmitting information. It basically encrypts the data while transmitting, protecting us from being hacked. Now, you might wonder where the SSL certificate goes. Basically, when you install your SSL certificate, it enables your site to appear as HTTPS. Here, the ‘S’ refers to secure, and then you will see the padlock sign.
From a business point of view, data is your asset, and you don’t want to lose your asset. Sometimes, if you lose any data, you have to pay a very big penalty for that. For big companies, it can amount to millions. Some businesses even hire cybersecurity experts to protect their sites. Again, nowadays, information is power. If you have information, you can own the world. That’s why people try to save this information at any cost.
There are two types of SSL certificates normally: paid and non-paid. Based on your website’s data, you have to choose which one you need. Normally, people at the beginning choose the non-paid SSL, but for very big organizations, they buy the high-security SSL certificate. The difference between them is the level of security and features they provide; otherwise, non-paid SSL is also not bad for protecting the site.
Sometimes you have check your hosting provider as well. it is also depends on hosting provider what type of security they are providing. They also provide different level of security based on you need
An SSL certificate also helps rank the website at the top. Any search engine always protects customers’ information. For that reason, if a website is not secure, they normally don’t rank it. Without the certificate, even if you have good SEO, the search engine will not allow it to rank.
For security purposes, you have to install the SSL certificate to enable HTTPS for your business. For your business type, you have to understand which type of SSL you need. If it is a blog website, you don’t need to buy an additional SSL. The free version will be sufficient. Again, if it is an ecommerce or service website, based on the business, the SSL certificate level can go up.