What does SSL mean?
Secure Sockets Layer also know as SSL is a security protocol used to encrypt the data transferred across your website.
How do I tell if I have an SSL?
If your website is secure, you will often see a padlock sign next to the URL. However, if your website is not protected, you will see the “Not Secure” message next to the URL bar.
Why is this important?
4.54 billion people were active internet users as of January 2020, with close to 7 billion searches handled on average by Google in a day, this makes it necessary for Google to protect and secure their users online.
How will this affect me?
If your website doesn’t have an SSL certificate, Google will flag your site as “Not Secure” and prevent people from quickly accessing your website!.
Furthermore, the lack of an SSL certificate also has an impact on your search engine rankings.
Google have confirmed that having a secure website with an SSL certificate will have an advantage over unsecured websites without an SSL certificate. However, it can be challenging to determine the exact impact of an SSL certificate to a website’s search rankings, as there are so many other factors which determine a website’s rank (over 200!).
Many internet browsers (including Google Chrome) now include visible visual warnings when visiting unsecured websites without an SSL certificate, which will heavily deter users from staying on that website. Google also notices this behaviour, as the user is spending less time on the website and therefore leaves the sites quicker — which will further negatively impact your SEO rankings.
eCommerce websites which sell products online are the most heavily affected by the lack of an SSL certificate. As sites of this nature need to collect sensitive data, such as credit card information, the chances of someone entering this information is meagre when on an unsecured website. What this can often translate to is a drop in sales and a loss of income. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that having an SSL certificate is vital to running an eCommerce website.
We can help you get your website secure, contact us now!