As the owner of a website or blog you probably have already heard the words “SSL Certificate”. In order to establish a trusted online business, your website/blog must have SSL certificates nowadays.
If you don’t have any idea “What is an SSL Certificate” then don’t worry we are here to help you. As in this post, we describe what an SSL certificate is, how it works and also the importance of SSL Certificate.
No doubt, SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the backbone of our secure Internet, which protects our confidential information so that it is not transmitted to the world’s computer networks.
Nowadays SSL Certificate is essential to protect our website and our customer’s sensitive data like credit card information, personal info and more. The SSL Certificate mainly provides security, privacy along with data integrity for both of your site as well as your visitors.
And if you want your customers to enter their private information online, you must use the additional security measures provided by an SSL certificate. So that your customers get to know that their sensitive data and credit card information is in safe hands.
In this post, we have also shown how to install an SSL certificate on your website/blog for free with Hostgator. So let’s get started here.
What Is An SSL Certificate?
An SSL certificate (Secure Sockets Layer) is a digital certificate that generally authenticates the identity of a website and it encrypts the information sent to the server using secure SSL technology. Here the encryption is the process of mixing the data in an undecipherable format that can only be returned in a readable format with the proper decryption key.
Basically, an SSL certificate serves as an electronic “passport” that establishes the credentials of an online entity when doing business on the Web. Let’s take an example here as if an Internet user tries to send confidential information to a web server, his browser accesses the server’s digital certificate and establishes a secure connection.
An SSL certificate contains the following information:
- The name of the certificate holder.
- Serial number and expiration date of the certificate.
- The public key copy of the certificate holder.
- The digital signature of the issuing authority of the certificate.
Internet users and online shoppers are also increasingly recognising the presence of a small padlock icon or a website address that begins with “https: // …” on the screen. Trust the site to which you connect. This is the SSL or “Secure Sockets Layer” in action.
The main reason why websites use SSL is the protection of confidential information between computers and servers. When information such as credit card numbers, passwords, and other personal information is not encrypted, hackers can easily intrude and steal.
With the SSL certificate. Your information is illegible to anyone who tries to steal it. The only people who can decipher them are the intended recipients at the other end of the connection.
With an SSL certificate, your clients can do business with you and know that your information is protected against identity thieves and possible hackers.
How does an SSL certificate work?
Basically, an SSL certificate works between the visitor’s browser and your website or application. This is a standard mechanism that generally guarantees the encryption of data before and after transmission so that unauthorized persons can not spy on it or hack it.
The SSL certificate also prevents cybercriminals from redirecting traffic to their own website using their own encryption to access their data. All popular website and blogs have an integrated SSL certificate.
SSL certificates add an additional level of security between your website and the information shared by visitors. You protect your website in two ways:
1. Enable encryption
Actually, its a scary feeling when we enter our personal and financial information online. Many people prefer to use large e-commerce sites like Amazon because they feel more secure. With an SSL certificate, confidential data is kept encrypted, secure and free to your customers.
2. Identity Verification Of The Site Owner
SSL credentials identify the owner of the site and provide an additional level of trust. In simple terms, your clients know exactly who they are dealing with and that’s important.
Before the certificate can be issued, the identity of the website owner must be verified in several ways. In digital communication, it is often difficult to identify the person on the other side of the connection. However, with an SSL certificate, you can be sure that you are dealing with.
Do You Actually Need An SSL Certificate For Your Website?
An SSL certificate can help build trust between your visitor and your website. Building trust is about giving your visitor subtle suggestions you can trust.
Like when we are accessing any website or blog on chrome browser then in the URL section you’re going to see a small lock button that truly indicates that site is using an SSL certificate and your data and information is safe.
If your website requires the exchange of personal information, you may want to buy an SSL certificate. If your user needs to enter their credit card information, an SSL certificate is almost mandatory.
However, you do not always need an SSL certificate for the entire site. Because multiple levels of encryption can slow down your site. So it’s recommended to use reliable and trusted. Using free SSL certificates can slow down your website or blog and can have various issues.
When you do business online and share confidential information with your visitors, an SSL certificate provides an additional level of security and increases your reliability.
How To Get An SSL Certificate For Free With Hostgator?
Th best part about HostGator hosting is that all hosting packages come with free SSL certificate at an affordable price. Whether you need SSL encryption for your e-commerce site or something else, you can back up your site today with Hostgator.
It’s easy to use HostGator’s free SSL. Enabling (or forcing) the SSL protocol gives your domain the prefix “HTTPS: //”. This will ensure that your website is marked as “secure” on most web browsers like Google Chrome and more.
Free SSL is automatically added to each domain for new and existing customers of cPanel. The best part is that free SSL lasts 90 days from the date of issue and is automatically renewed, so your site hosted on HostGator will always run with SSL certificate.
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