SSL stands for secure sockets layer and certificates come in different forms. Some give you the padlock icon, some give more info about your organisation (but can cost more to buy).
Why do you need one?
- It makes your site more secure, which it needs to be particularly if you want to accept credit card payments through it
- You may have confidential information that you want to keep secure while it’s being accessed via the web
- Helps to protect passwords from being intercepted when typed into a secure login page
- Seeing https and the padlock icon next to the site’s name makes people feel more comfortable when registering, knowing that their information is secure and you, as the site’s owner, take their security seriously and value their privacy. It removes an obstacle, a reason why people might not sign up
- Google ranks https sites higher than those with http
How can you tell if a website has one?
Because it changes the URL from something like http://www.yourname.co.uk to https://www.yourname.co.uk – with the ‘s’ standing for ‘secure’.
