Do you really need HTTPS or SSL certificate for your website?
You’ve probably heard of 128-bit encryption, or seen the green address bar of SSL certificate, and you’re wondering “Do I need an SSL certificate on my site?” Most online shoppers are very careful and want to know that their information is safe.
The Internet isn’t a very safe place for confidential talk. There are thousands of prying eyes waiting to leech your personal information – your street address, your phone number, and your credit card information. That’s why most companies use the Secure HTTP (HTTPS) protocol when processing confidential tasks. Today we’re going to talk about HTTPS and debate on whether we actually need it on our sites.
What is HTTP?
HTTP is a protocol used by web servers and clients (browsers) to communicate and transfer web pages and files. There are loads of other protocols like FTP, SSH, and BitTorrent.
HTTPS is a secure version of the HTTP protocol which uses SSL (Secured Socket Layer) encryption.
So basically,
HTTP + SSL = HTTPS
HTTPS uses a public and private key matching “handshake mechanism” prior to transferring data. Once the handshake is done, the connection is established and the secured session begins. When you visit an HTTPS site, all of this happens almost instantaneously before you see the green indicator in your browser’s address bar.
Is HTTP/SSL necessary?
There are plenty of situations where HTTPS should be used as an added layer of security. Here are some examples where it should be applied:
1. E-commerce sites
For most e-commerce sites, you absolutely need an SSL certificate!
As an online merchant, it is your responsibility to make sure the information you collect from your customers is protected. This will shield you and your customers by making sure that no one can intercept and misuse their credit card information. If you’re running a WordPress store using WooCommerce or iThemes Exchange, it would be most wise to use HTTPS in the transaction pages of the site.
As you already know, HTTPS is slower than HTTP and hence it carries an impact on the user’s browsing experience. However, when it comes to someone’s confidential information like home address, phone number or the credit card details – sacrificing speed over security is a necessity.
2. Membership sites
If you run a membership site, free or paid, SSL might be a good idea. After all, your members are giving you their email addresses, names, and passwords, all of which they likely use on other sites. A lot of Internet entrepreneurs run private forums and membership sites using WordPress. Such sites carry private data – data you don’t want the public to see. If SSL is used in such cases, it would eliminate data integrity threats and create a secure environment for your members to interact.
3. Donation pages
Some sites display a small donate button in their sidebar and almost all of them don’t use HTTPS. Here’s what can go wrong. Since the site isn’t secured, the attacker can easily manipulate the site’s data to show fraudulent information.
4. Blogs
If you have a blog with no products, no memberships, no nothing except blog posts and maybe a contact form, SSL would be a waste of time, effort, and money. Any possible benefit from Google would be too minuscule to count.
So the main question,Where can you buy an SSL certificate?
Setting up SSL is a complicated and tedious process. It requires technical expertise, substantial time and there’s a lot of room for error.
We would strongly recommend talking to our hosting manager to help you get set up with SSL. 90% of our customers are using SSL certificates for e-commerce sites.
Get free SSL certificate from Avonhost
