SSL certificate is symbol of trustworthiness and legitimacy for your website. It gives the users the comfort of using your website. No doubt, SSL certificate is a big green signal for the users. You really need it if you are selling products or services online. Moreover, it is enormously essential when you want users to create account with your company. The users want secure environment and are willing to give their personal information only when they are sure of security. SSL certificate protects your information and also the information of the users. But buying the most appropriate SSL for your website is a difficult decision. We can help you in making you choose the best SSL for your website
According to research done by Backlinko, in 2016;you can boost your online sales by buying SSL certificate. If you chose the best SSL for your website, you can amplify your search engine rankings. All the successful businesses have SSL certificates for their websites. You might be quiet certain for buying SSL certificate but selecting best one can be daunting. They are so many options available in the market and clear understanding of the choices is difficult.
Here, I am going to give you a brief review of the SSL certificates and this will help you in answering the troublesome question; “How to choose the best SSL for your website”. Once you are clear of your company needs, you can select appropriate option.
What is SSL Certificate?
You must be clear of SSL certificate definition before we proceed further. SSL certificate enables you to encrypt the information and keeps communication secure between visitor’s browser and your website. Secure Socket Layer is abbreviated as SSL and the word “encryption” is derived from it. While providing security, the small date files bind a cryptographic key to company’s credentials. SSL certificates bind the domain names, server names and also the organization information. In organization information, you can keep your name, location or any other specifics confidential. It is not necessary to provide security to all the pages of your website. You can install certificate only on those web pages that require sensitive information from users, like password or payment details. Login pages and opt-in forms are also secured as this gives the users the comfort of doing business with you.
The pages that require credit card information must be secured. No one is willing to give bank details unless secured. The padlock sign next to the URL allows the visitors to know that website is secure.
The users enjoy the peace of mind as they know that have diffehackers can’t steal their sensitive data.
Types of SSL Certificates
If you want to choose the best SSL for your website, you must know the general specifications of SSL Certificates. In general they are three kinds of SSL certificates and they differ in protection level and prices. There are three main types of certificates: domain validated (DV), organization validated (OV), and extended validation (EV).
Many companies offer SSL certificate but you must be check the validation level of the certificate that you plan to buy. If you want to choose the best SSL certificate for your website, you must check the validation. Validation level denotes to how the Certificate Authority of the country sanctions the identity of the company and person(s) who are applying to obtain the certificate. If the security certificate is not trusted, the users will get this message
All the certificates provide the same level of protection irrespective to the validation. For certain services, a specific level of validation is required by some authorities. For instance, more validation is required for pages that have payment options as compared to plain domain. The reason is, it is essential to verify the company that is collecting money is registered and legitimate.
Domain Validated SSL Certificate
Domain Validated SSL certificates depict that a domain is registered. This also signifies that a site administrator is running the URL. Validation by Certificate authority is mostly done through email, DNS or HTTP. Validation through email is simple and certificate authority will send email to the administrator. The owner will then click a link in the sent email and get verified. Domain validated certificates are encryption certificates only. They are cheap and quick to obtain. If you want to choose the best SSL for your website, it might not be the option. The ease of verification and price has made easy for hackers to obtain one for themselves. The hackers can hide their identity and destroy your DNS servers. It might be good option if you have a website that requires general information from visitors but not recommended for websites that involves transactions of funds.
Organization Validated SSL Certificate
The organization validated SSL certificate denotes that you own a domain. It verifies the ownership of your organization in your country, state, and city.
Few extra steps are added to the process of validation done for domain validated certificate. More detailed verification for your company’s identity, rest of the steps are same. It may take from many hours to several days to get validation. You can find companies on Amazon with organization validated SSL certificate. Consumers are bit comfortable as they know the basic information about your business such as your locality, your name, the issuer name etc
Extended Validation SSL Certificate
The extended validation SSL certificate necessitates businesses to provide records to prove their ownership of a company.
In addition to the validation steps required by domain and organization validated certificates, Extended Validation SSL Certificate also require businesses to prove that they are legally registered.
This validation process take days or weeks, it depends on the requirements of the certificate authority.
If you want to choose the best SSL for your website, Irecommend extended validation SSL certificate. It is the best option if you are if you’re selling anything on your site and willing to pay bit more.
If you have simple website such as a blog or news website, a domain validated or organization validated SSL are viable and less pricey options.