It’s non-negotiable.

Every website that looks to do business, collect data, and process payments, needs a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). You may not be sure what SSL is, so I am going to give you a three minute crash course so you can (1) have a pro understanding of it and (2) know what to do if you’re website doesn’t have this key feature.  

At WCG, when we’re looking for clients and doing an analysis on a prospect’s website, SSL is the first thing we notice. You may be reading this and saying, “What’s the big deal?”, well…

Here are four reasons to answer to your question:

1.     ID Protection

SSL prevents people from making fake websites with verified data. While scammers have gotten clever over the last 10 years and can navigate around this, most of your rookie phishing schemers haven’t gotten around SSL. “Hello, this is Anan and I want to give you 500,000 million doll-hairs”, I know you’ve all gotten that email before. Usually, our friend Anan will direct people to a non-SSL website and collect their payment info and BAM, you’ve been scammed. 

Nearly happened to me once in college.

2.     Better SEO

In 2018, Google, in an effort to thwart scammers, did two things. First, they ranked up websites with SSL over websites without it. Second, on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari browsers they made an indication in the browser when a user logged onto a website without SSL. 

Imagine opening a tech company and trying to collect user information for mailing lists, offers, and educational content and when your customers (or potential customers) go to your website they see “This site is not secured”.  They probably won’t be back. 

3.     Data Protection

Following the 2016 election, Facebook made tech companies (and really all companies) reevaluate how data is collected and shared due to the negative media coverage of their relationship with Cambridge Analytica. SSL, in the most basic terms, locks all of the information on your website so only an authorized server or a browser can “decode” the information. If you’re collecting emails, credit cards, etc.—you’d be doing your customers a disservice if you didn’t have your website encrypted. 

4.     You Need It To Process Credit Cards

There are 12 requirements set by the payment card industry (PCI) in order for you to process credit/debit cards on your website. SSL is one of them. Some non-SSL website get around this by having web forms that collect the numbers and then they run them off the website (super sketchy).

Bottom line: You need SSL in over to be viewed as legitimate, process card payments, protect data, and rank better on Google. 

I understand I need it, but how do I get it? 

The cool thing about SSL is that it is fairly easy to obtain, Web builders like SquareSpace, Wix, and Weebly already have SSL integrated into their system. If you buy your domain name directly from them, they will come pre-equipped with SSL. 

If you bought your domain from a third-party such as GoDaddy, Google Domains, or Hover you will have option to encrypt with SSL. You should always do this and if you didn’t, you can go back to the provider and purchase the option (it’s inexpensive). 

If you went through a sketchy domain provider that sold you the URL out of the back of a 89’ Dodge Spirit, then transfer the domain to a major player, like GoDaddy and purchase the SSL from them. You can also snag an SSL certificate from third-party providers such as NameCheap or GeoTrust Quick SSL. It’s always best to buy it with the domain in the first place, so you don’t have to go back through this hassle midway through your project.