Is YOUR Website Secure?
May 12, 2016 Reading Time: 2 Minutes
Lately, we’ve been overwhelmed with a number of customer requests to secure their website. Particularly, with an SSL Certificate.
What’s an SSL certificate?
An SSL certificate is a security technology that encrypts the communication between your website and your customers. Basically, nefarious actors can’t sit in on the chat you and your company are having with your customers (among many other security benefits).
OK but, SSL certificates have been around forever, what’s changed?
In August of 2014, Google released a statement letting people know they are using SSL certificates as a ranking factor. Actually, they said websites that start with ‘https://’ (which means your website has an SSL certificate installed).
It makes sense Google would do this. What’s a reasonably simple way to separate the wheat from the chaff (from the 180,000,000+ active websites in existence)? Those who have an SSL certificate have invested more in their website. Thus, they probably have a higher quality website. This is in line with their ranking boost given to mobile-responsive websites.
Now, the ranking boost of having an SSL certificate isn’t going to push you to the top of the search results tomorrow. Rather, it’s another valuable tool in your toolbelt when Google measures up your website vs. your competition. Plus, it bolsters trust with your visitors, seeing the green lock icon when browsing your website.
Let us help you
Normally, I’m apt to provide instructions on how to secure your website yourself, but this is surprisingly a complex task. Not only do you need to purchase the SSL certificate, you need to also set it up, configure it on your server, and then set all your website content to https://. Plus, don’t forget to renew it when it expires. If you don’t manage to get every one of those steps correct (even if you have the SSL certificate on your server), it won’t matter at all if the pages on your website aren’t secure.
We can setup, install, and secure your website and keep the certificate renewed. Basically, you send the request, we take care of the rest.
Send us an email titled ‘SSL Request’ to hello@graticle.com and we’ll take it from there.
Written by Shawn Hooghkirk on May 12, 2016
Last updated on June 04, 2020. Shawn is the President of Graticle, Inc.