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What is an SSL Certificate and Why You Need One for Your Website

What is an SSL Certificate and Why You Need One for Your Website

money flying out the window

What is an SSL Certificate and Why You Need One for Your Website

What is an SSL Certificate and Why You Need One for Your Website

Are You Simply Throwing Money Out The Window?

It’s a well-known fact that the website industry is riddled with acronyms. An acronym is typically a series of letters that represent the shortened form of something most of us probably don’t even understand. What is SEO? What is HTTPS and what the heck is SSL! If you’re not sick of acronyms and hope to understand the ones that should matter most to you and your business, today we’re discussing what an SSL Certificate is. More specifically – we’ll share why it should matter that you have one and why you should really care if you don’t! The short answer is this: if you don’t have an SSL Certificate, chances are you might as well simply throw all of the money you are investing on your website and digital marketing out the window! Your neighbors might love it if you do but it’s sure not a good business practice.

If you’ve ever done a Google search, chances are at least once or twice you’ve come across a message or symbol that looked a little something like this:

attention sign

The symbol may have also included some language like, “Your connection is not secure,” or “This site’s security certificate is not trusted.” What did you do? There’s a pretty good chance you exited that screen and headed straight to a site you were more familiar with, that you personally trust and have used before, and/or one that did not come with what essentially amounts to a “Google Says Beware” sign! Whatever product or service you were looking for – you’ve now gone somewhere else to find it.

Now, search for your own company name. If this image pops up for you, it basically means you are losing customers before they’ve even had a chance to look at your product or service. It also means you have some work to do because you’re probably missing an SSL Certificate. Not only does that have consequences in terms of the loss of future customers, it also means you’re potentially being penalized by Google. Your browser will send a warning, frightened consumers leave your site and Google penalizes your search rankings.

What is an SSL Certificate?

An SSL Certificate is what helps Google (and consumers) to know that your website is a safe one. Purchased through your domain registrar or hosting company, it proves that you are the rightful and registered owner of the domain. In computer-speak, it means you are “trusted.” An SSL Certificate will result in another acronym, the letters “HTTPS” to be shown in front of your website address, in a browser window. In turn, this means Google will recognize you and allow end-users to connect to your site AND it means no error or warning messages will pop up, deterring them away from your business. To install an SSL Certificate you simply need to connect with your domain hosting provider, purchase a certificate and apply it to your domain. Depending on how computer-savvy you are, you might also just want to pick up the phone and call them, arranging for your service provider to do this for you, so that you know it’s done right!

Why You Need an SSL Certificate on Your Website

Without an SSL Certificate, in addition to your site showing “not secure,” there is even the possibility that some browser platforms will not even display your website. Don’t lose potential business before you’ve even had the opportunity to showcase it. Spending money on website creation, domain hosting, and perhaps even an email hosting platform is all just throwing money out of the window if no one ever sees it because Google deemed you not secure. No one wants that. At Dufferin Media, we CARE. We care about your business and we care about your success. We also care about your money – it’s true we do! Don’t waste it – get more customers by ensuring you’re going about it safely, with an SSL Certificate.

Get one now through our Hosting Division Dufferin Media Hosting

 

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