Is Your Website secure?

Security is often the number one concern of businesses, big or small, and it's therefore surprising how many website owners we meet who have gone through an entire web design project and don't have an SSL certificate.

What is SSL?

It's the thing that causes some websites to have https before them and some to only have http. That 's' is very important! Google defines SSL as:

"Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browsers remain private and integral."

This is vital because the information you send on the internet is passed from computer to computer to get to the final server. If the website doesn't have an SSL certificate installed, any computer in between you and the server can see your card details, usernames, passwords and other information.

You'll notice that all major reputable online retailers and banking websites use SSL as standard to help protect customer data and some online payment providers are starting to refuse customers that do not have an SSL certificate installed.

How do I know if a website has SSL?

To see if a website has an SSL certificate Check its URL. If it begins with http it does not have an SSL certificate. If it has https then it's secure. Some browsers will also show a little closed padlock next to the URL, to highlight that it is a secure website.

You can see that the Six Ticks URL features 'https' which means it is secure: https://www.sixticks.com/

Should my website get an SSL certificate?

Yes! Without question.

Many websites don't come with SSL as standard and many website builders don't advise you to purchase one when they're creating your site, even though SSL is vital for securing your data.

Plus having an SSL certificate can help to boost your SEO ranking as Google prioritises websites which are secure when displaying search results. Despite Google prioritising SSL secured websites in rankings, some website builders like Wix don't even allow you to add an SSL certificate if you have purchased a domain elsewhere! SMHShake My Head.

Do I need a new website to get SSL?

No! (at least, you shouldn't...)

You can easily purchase an SSL certificate for your existing website. We strongly recommend that you do this. SSL certificates are not expensive. However, you will also need a dedicated IP address for your website, otherwise about 10% of all visitors will not be able to access your site at all. Most reasonable web developers and hosts will charge less than £100 per year for an SSL and IP package.

We can help!

Six Ticks can help you with SSL, security and all things techie, so if you have any questions or need any advice then just get in touch and we'd love to chat.