What are the Benefits of Adopting SSL for Your Website?

Few people know that the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology was developed way back during the 1990s. With time, it evolved to become the standard for security technology for connecting a website’s server with the visitor’s browser around the world today. In fact, around two years ago, Google started marking all sites without SSL protection as ‘Not Secure’ on its Chrome web browser too. Today, we will talk about SSL and the benefits of adopting it for your website.

SSL is a security certificate installed on the web server that helps in creating an encrypted connection between your server and the visitor’s browser. Hence, hackers can’t gain access to the information being exchanged. There are various types of SSL Certificates available, like Domain Validation, Organization Validation, Extended Validation, etc. You can choose one based on your site’s requirements.

Benefits of SSL

Here are the advantages of adopting SSL for your website:

  1. Enhanced security due to encryption
    Traditionally, encryption was used by websites that offered online financial transactions and/or stored sensitive customer information. However, with time, as websites and online services evolved, hackers developed new ways of gaining access to sensitive information and causing trouble. Hence, while taking advanced security measures to safeguard the web server, websites also needed to secure the information being exchanged with the site visitor. Without encryption, it was easy for hackers to view the information being exchanged and misuse it to their benefit. SSL Certificates ensure that the connection between the server and the user is encrypted and enhance the security of your website.
  2. Helps establish trust with existing and new customers
    If you have adopted SSL for your website, the site visitor will see a green address bar or a lock icon. This is a visible sign that your website has ensured the safety of the information being exchanged. If you want the users to enter sensitive information like bank or credit card details or personally identifiable information, then this can be a great way to establish trust.
    Even those who are aware of the technicalities of getting an SSL Certificate will trust you better since they will be assured that the certifying authority has validated the credentials of your business. Therefore, adopting an SSL for your website will only help build trust with the online community.
  3. Helps your SEO efforts
    Around 63.7% of online users use Google Chrome as their web browser. In 2018, Google announced that if a website does not have an SSL Certificate, then Chrome will start displaying a ‘Not Secure’ flag. This meant that users would immediately know that the information being exchanged with the website is not encrypted. This could lead to many users abandoning the site even before they go through the content on the home page. And, higher abandonment rates are bad for SEO. In fact, search engines tend to give preference to sites with an SSL Certificate too.

Summing Up

Any website must ensure that it offers a secure browsing experience to its visitors. While ensuring the security of your web server is essential, you should not ignore the importance of securing the information being exchanged between the visitor and your server. Get an SSL Security Certificate installed on your website and start reaping its benefits. Good Luck!