There is a lot of noise about the importance of having an SSL certificate on our website, and the benefits that this brings us. But really, do we know all these benefits? Are we aware of the importance of having it? Most of us are not, we are not really aware of or understand 100% why it is necessary to have an SSL on our website.
We are going to shed some light on all these doubts and explain in detail why an SSL certificate is necessary on our website.
The first thing we have to ask ourselves is, do we know what an SSL certificate is?
Talking about SSL (Secure Socket Layer) is talking about a communications protocol in which data is sent in encrypted form to guarantee its security.
A certificate also has the function of indicating to the users of your website that the site is real, guaranteeing its identity and the confidentiality of the data that is managed through it, activating communications between the user’s browser. and web servers in an encrypted and secure manner.
Once we know what an SSL certificate is and what it is used for, we are going to reveal the reasons why you really need to have a certificate on your website.
There are many reasons and of various kinds.
Here we are going to focus on 2 large blocks.
Block 1: For security and trust
Legitimize your website
A certificate is associated with a website, a company or individual and its activity. This certificate is unalterable and guarantees that the websites correspond to who they say they are. Above all, if we use EV (Extended Validation) certificates.
It is not you who says who you are, it is done by an independent certifying entity that ensures the security and veracity of your data.
Authenticate the server
The certificate is installed on a web server and ensures that it is managing all data securely and encrypted. If it does not have the certificate installed, it will not be able to send or receive data to your website, which means it will not be able to impersonate your identity.
Avoid malware and phishing
An SSL certificate also scans and guarantees that there is no malware on your website, and avoids phishing and pages that trick you into getting your data.
More confidence
Users or people who browse your page will trust more in a website that has a certificate installed and is secure. Furthermore, if the certificate identifies you correctly, you will have the peace of mind that all the data you provide will be safe and cannot be stolen during the browsing process.
Remember that when you access a website that has a certificate, the browsers will inform you that it is safe, and if it does not have a certificate, they will warn the user that it is a potentially dangerous or insecure website.
Encrypt the information
All the information that your website sends or receives travels in encrypted form, and only the user’s browser and the web server where your page is located know the keys to decrypt it, thus guaranteeing the total security of your data.
Remember that you should only use certificates that come from trusted sources, using 2048-bit keys. Do not use self-signed certificates or certificates from unsafe sources. Also do not use certificates in which the issuing entity does not offer you liability insurance on the certificate.
Increase the time of your web visits
One of the main reasons why users will spend more time browsing your website is because it is secure. This security relaxes them and they spend more time exploring your services or products.
There are studies that show that almost 70% of users who buy in an e-commerce end up canceling the purchase because they do not trust the website. That is minimized with a certificate. It has been estimated that around 60% of them would have completed the purchasing process if the website had had an SSL certificate.
Another golden rule on the internet: “the longer a user browses your website, the greater the possibility of conversion”
Increase sales
An ecommerce with a secure certificate generates much more confidence in its users and, consequently, will increase the number of sales. The golden rule is: “the more trust, the more sales.”
Block 2: Positioning and speed
Activate Http2 on your server
If your website has an SSL certificate, you can use the new Http2 communication protocol on your hosting server (be careful, not all hosting providers offer this possibility).
Using Http2 allows the web server to simultaneously send all parts of the website to the user’s browser, greatly improving its performance and loading time. Our tests have shown that a standard website, like the one any of us can have, multiplies its speed by 5 by the mere fact of using Http2, that is, the loading time of your website will be 5 times faster without you having to do anything.
Improve positioning
In 2017 Google started the “HTTPS on all websites” initiative, which was used to make everyone aware of the importance of using SSL certificates on our website.
Having SSL certificates improves the positioning of your website, since it is considered safe and trustworthy. Google gives more and more importance to secure websites and, over time, it will become an essential point for you to have a good ranking.
Browsers will mark you as a safe site
Not only that, but also, since version 56 of Chrome, it will tell you that the website is dangerous if it does not have a certificate. Also, for more than a year, Firefox has been added to the verification and alerts of the security of a website.
Of course, if your website is not positioned correctly or your users receive a dangerous website alert when browsing it, you have problems, and if you are an e-commerce, you can now think about closing it, since no one will want to buy from your store.
