Why an SSL certificate?

An SSL certificate makes a website safe, we sometimes hear. That is probably cutting a few corners.

What is an SSL certificate?

An SSL certificate is a piece of code installed alongside the website. Once it is in place, visitors usually see it clearly indicated when they arrive — often as a padlock or a green tick in the browser bar.

The SSL certificate secures the connection between the website visitor and the web server. That means, for example, that when you visit a website nobody in the world can see which site you are visiting except you and the server hosting it. Equally, when you fill in a form on a website and submit it, only the web server hosting that site can receive it. Despite this, it absolutely does not mean the website itself is secure, which is the common assumption. The security of the website itself depends on a great many more factors.

Why do I need one?

You may well wonder who else would be looking. If you are visiting an ordinary website, this genuinely is not very interesting to anyone else. But there are always hackers listening in quietly at random points across the internet, hoping to pick up "something interesting" — someone entering their password for online banking, for instance. If the bank has no SSL certificate, the hacker can see that password go by as well.

Naturally every bank and major website has an SSL certificate these days, but the same cannot be said for many other sites.

Various companies (Google, Microsoft and others) are working to make the internet safer in general, which is a fine ambition. The result is the padlock or green tick shown in the browser to indicate that the connection is secure. One way Google encourages every website to use an SSL certificate is simply to rank secure websites more favourably in its search results. That is also one of the main reasons many websites install an SSL certificate today, despite not being banks.

Note: don't have an SSL certificate yet? Get in touch and we'll look at whether it's relevant for you. In most cases an SSL certificate is included in your subscription at no extra cost.