Why Your Business Website Needs an SSL Certificate

Every modern website needs to have an SSL certificate. No exceptions. This goes double for business websites. If you want to boost your online presence and build trust with your customers, installing an SSL certificate on your site is key to making that happen.

Before we get into the rest of the article, it’s probably best to actually explain what an SSL is. An SSL certificate is a digital certificate you can install on your server to ensure secure communications between your site and its visitors. With an SSL installed, when a potential customer visits your site, an encrypted connection is created. This means that any potentially sensitive information sent over this connection cannot be intercepted by any third-parties.

Now that we’ve gotten the basic definition out of the way, here are the three reasons why your site needs an SSL.

Let’s expand on the definition of SSL given above. Why is it so important to protect your customer information? Well, let’s say you have an e-commerce website. If your customer makes a purchase over an insecure connection, a malicious third-party could potentially steal their personal data and credit card information, putting them at severe risk of theft and fraud. Would you return to or recommend such a site? Didn’t think so. Plus, savvy web users aren’t even likely to make a purchase on a site without an SSL. Which brings us nicely to our next point.

Even if website visitors aren’t exactly sure what an SSL does, people have been trained to look for the little padlock that appears in browser address bars of sites to ensure they’re secure. It’s basically a marker of trust. If someone stumbles upon your site and isn't sure if it’s legitimate, having an SSL is an easy way to convince them that it is. Having an SSL sends the message that your site is trustworthy and should immediately put potential customers at ease.

If you’re looking to grow your business online, search engine optimization (SEO) is so important. Having an SSL certificate is a key ranking factor for most major search engines, not least Google. Plus, if you want your site to even work in modern web browsers, you need an SSL certificate. If you don’t, it will be flagged as “not trusted” to anyone attempting to visit your site. Would you click on to a website your web browser warns you is untrustworthy? Didn’t think so.

The short of it is if you want to grow your online presence; attract, protect and retain customers; and be seen as trustworthy, getting an SSL certificate is pretty much a no-brainer. Whether you’re thinking of launching a business website or already have one, you need to install an SSL sooner rather than later.