What actually SSL means?

SSL abbreviated as Secure Sockets Layer is a method of encryption for website traffic between the web browser and the server and reverse of it. SSL comes to the role on a website when you access it with HTTPS:// instead of HTTP:// indicated on most web browsers by a green lock icon to the left of the domain name in the address bar. SSL should be present there when you are exchanging information that should not go public.

Why would anyone need SSL for their website?

If you are transferring and receiving sensitive information on a web site, such as credit card numbers or personal information, you need to secure it with SSL encryption. There is always a possibility that your data can be seen by others unless it is secured by an SSL certificate. Even if you are not transmitting credit card information on your site, there are always some private and confidential contents for which you need to use SSL:

• You want to secure logins and signups on your site
• You need to adhere to privacy and security requirements
• You want users to trust your site.

Pros of using SSL:

• Improve visitor trust
• Security: An SSL encrypts the web traffic.
• Reduces possibility that the site is spam because the cost would be too much for spammers. So owning an SSL, it increases the trust that search engines will have on your site.
• Search Engine Ranking Boost
• In some cases, your site will actually be faster (if you are using SPDY from Google)
• Login cookies will stay valid among all the pages. When switching from an HTTP page to a HTTPS page the login session is no longer valid due to the URL change. This can cause the visitor to be logged out which you don’t need for your customers and the checkout.

Cons of using SSL?

Not much in comparison to benefits of SSL but yet there are few drawbacks of using SSL:

• If your website is built and you change the URLs, then this may cause you lose Facebook like counts for your posts and pages. Though Facebook supports 301 redirects. So if all these are taken care by your web developer then you won’t be having any issues regarding these.
• Web browsers that work on older versions of web browsers cannot handle SSL efficiently which may lead to site down for visitors.

How can you access SSL for your website?

The first step is to purchase and install an SSL certificate. The best advice will be you purchase it from your web hosting provider as they will suggest you the best and also configure and set it up for you. However, its cost may vary so make sure you do your research first to get an idea of pricing before making the purchase.

You must know that your certificate will not be issued simply as it will need validation to your business with the SSL provider in order to check the correct owner before the security certificate is approved. The easy implementation and access make the SSL certificate to be owned by every website.