And why does your website need one?
What is an SSL Certificate?
An SSL certificate is a small file on your website’s server (the computer that stores your website and sends it to your visitors). It does two jobs. It proves your website really is yours, and it scrambles everything that travels between your website and your visitors, so nobody in between can read it. That includes names, addresses, passwords and credit card numbers.
You can tell a website has one because its address starts with https:// rather than http://. The “s” stands for secure.
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. Websites now actually use a newer version of it called TLS, but everyone still calls the certificates SSL certificates.
Why Your Website Needs One
Every website needs an SSL certificate now, not just online shops:
- Web browsers (the programs people use to look at websites, such as Chrome, Safari, Edge or Firefox) warn people about websites without one. Since 2018, Google Chrome has shown the words “Not secure” next to the address of any website that doesn’t have one.
- People trust it. Many people won’t type their details into a website that their browser says isn’t secure.
- Google prefers secure websites. Whether a website has one is one of the many things Google looks at when it decides which websites to show first. The effect is small, but every improvement gives you a better chance of being found ahead of your competitors.
The Padlock
Browsers used to show a green padlock next to the address of a secure website. That has changed. In 2023 Google Chrome replaced the padlock with a small settings icon, because many people thought the padlock meant a website could be trusted, when it only means the connection is private. What matters now is that your visitors never see a “Not secure” warning on your website.
Cost
Shopify and BigCommerce include an SSL certificate in their monthly fee, so there is nothing extra to pay.
When we build a WooCommerce website (an online shop that runs on WordPress and is hosted on Anyware’s server), we install an SSL certificate as part of the package. There is an annual renewal cost of $60 + GST after the first year.
More info about eCommerce Web Design.
Questions?