Secure protocol for the site

Your site must be safe for your audience. Website creators need to take into account an additional ranking factor for sites - the presence of a secure HTTPS information transfer protocol. In Google Chrome, http sites are marked as insecure. To avoid this problem, make sure you have an SSL certificate connected. If you first make a site on http, then sooner or later you will still have to move to https, and these are additional costs and time, because crawling the site by search robots takes some time.

Having an SSL certificate is also respect for your customers, think about their security and solve such problems at the very beginning of creating your site.

How an SSL certificate works with a website

SSL certificates are data files that electronically bind an encryption key to company information. If a certificate is installed on the web server, a “lock” is activated in the browser and a secure connection to the web server is established using the HTTPS protocol.

When the site is running in an unprotected mode, the information coming from the server and the browser is in clear text. The security certificate for the site prevents third parties from intercepting or replacing personal user data. An SSL certificate enhances the company's reputation, because its customers receive additional guarantees that confidential information will not fall into the wrong hands.

When you install an SSL certificate on a site (they are nowadays usually included in your hosting plan by the provider), the connection between the site and the client browser becomes secure. This involves encrypting data by converting it to a random character set. You can decrypt such a set using the key stored on the server.

The presence of an SSL certificate on the site is easily tracked. To do this, just look at the address of a page in any browser. If there is a lock or a green line, then all information on such a site circulates through a secure channel. There is another way to check for an SSL certificate. It involves going to the site by adding the letter S after HTTPS to its address. If the transition is successful, then we are dealing with a secure protocol.

The Importance of an SSL Certificate for a Website

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An SSL certificate increases the credibility of the site. If you store personal data, sell goods or provide a paid service, a certificate is required. Bank acquiring services refuse their services to sites without an SSL certificate. Their owners will not be able to accept online card payments from visitors - the store will lose part of the potential profit. Google recommends installing an SSL certificate on your site, even if you don't collect sensitive user information. With an insecure connection, attackers can collect aggregate information about site visitors and draw conclusions about their intentions.

Security certificates are issued by trusted certification centers. These organizations verify site owners before issuing a certificate to them. Depending on the thoroughness of the check, the duration of its release, the degree of reliability and the price differ. The SSL certificates will have to be renewed after their given expiration date, typically a year from their date of issuance.

A little more about the SSL certificate

There are three types of SSL certificates according to the verification method:

• With domain verification. Such a certificate confirms the transition to the correct domain address, but does not contain information about its owner. It usually finds use in sites that do not require strict security guarantees.
• Organization verification. The certificate confirms not only the domain name, but also the authenticity of data about its owner. This method of protection is most popular among SSL customers.
• With extended verification. The optimal solution for Internet resources that place high demands on the confidentiality of transmitted information. This SSL certificate guarantees periodic verification of all data about the site owner.