{"id":8789,"date":"2017-02-14T17:56:28","date_gmt":"2017-02-14T17:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nettl.com\/uk\/?p=8789"},"modified":"2017-09-28T15:42:49","modified_gmt":"2017-09-28T14:42:49","slug":"ssl-certificate-i-need-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nettl.com\/ie\/ssl-certificate-i-need-one\/","title":{"rendered":"What is an SSL Certificate and Do I Need One?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is your website secure?<\/span><\/h2>\n

If not, Google Chrome, the world\u2019s most popular browser<\/a>, is letting visitors know about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

To the left of the web address there is a little security status icon. If you land on a page that doesn\u2019t have SSL,\u00a0 you’ll see<\/span>\u00a0a little circle with an \u2018i\u2019 in it.\u00a0<\/span>Click on it to reveal\u00a0a message that announces:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYour connection to this site is not secure.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYou should not enter any sensitive information on this site (for example, passwords or credit cards), because it could be stolen by attackers.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Doesn\u2019t sound great, does it? It gets worse. Since Chrome\u2019s latest release (Chrome 56) in January, non-secure pages containing password and credit card input fields get marked as \u2018Not Secure\u2019<\/a> in the URL bar:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"secure<\/p>\n

And if Chrome has major concerns about the privacy of your site\u2019s connection, or perceives it to be \u201cDangerous\u2019 you\u2019ll get this howler:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"not<\/p>\n

How can I make my site secure in Google Chrome?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Have you ever noticed the extra \u2019s\u2019 at the beginning of the web address? You know, some url\u2019s start with http:\/\/www. and others https:\/\/www. Well, that little ‘s’ stands for \u2018secure\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"secure<\/p>\n

When you go to a site that uses HTTPS, the website\u2019s server is using an SSL Certificate. You\u2019ll see a little locked padlock and be informed that the site is \u2018Secure\u2019. A little like this:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"secure<\/p>\n

What is an SSL Certificate?<\/span><\/h2>\n

SSL is used to securely encrypt communication between you and a website, so it keeps your details secure from hackers. It’s highly recommended for all e-commerce websites or sites that use forms to ask for personal details you don’t want getting into the wrong hands.<\/span><\/p>\n

Does my Website need an SSL Certificate?<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you have an e-commerce website (online shop) then yes, absolutely. In fact, most payment gateway providers will insist on it so that you can take payments securely.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, until recently, most other websites were less likely to need one. But in a bid to improve security<\/a> across the internet, Chrome\u2019s latest update means many more businesses will want SSL. Companies\u00a0will want to avoid having scary warnings broadcast to people visiting their website. After all, they can appear quite off-putting to the vast majority of web users.<\/span><\/p>\n

Benefits of SSL:<\/span><\/h2>\n