Having your customers’ trust you and your business is vital for your business’s credibility, the customer should have a sense of safety and security when they are interacting with you whether in person, on the phone, through email or on your website.
Today, we shall touch on the safety and security aspect of a website especially e-commerce websites, because in these days of the internet, your website may be the only mode through which your customer will reach you and will expect and should be safe and secure while doing so.
Now there are many ways at various levels to make your e-commerce website secure and one of them which we will discuss today is an SSL certificate.
So, What is an SSL Certificate?
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer is a method used to encrypt and secure personal and sensitive information like username, password, bank, credit card details, etc which is sent over the internet.
A website that is secured with SSL will have the branding of HTTPS instead of just HTTP. When a web browser contacts your website, SSL makes it an encrypted connection.
To make sure the website you’ve visited is secure, you can go to the URL bar and on the left-hand side of your website URL if you find a closed lock icon it means the website you’ve visited is secure. You can click on the icon to know more in-depth about the website’s security status.
Why Is an SSL Certificate Important for an E-commerce Website?
Having seen what an SSL certificate is, let us move on to understanding why it is truly essential to install one on your website.
Here are the top 5 reasons why an SSL certificate is important for an e-commerce website:
- Customers’ Trust:
As we discussed above, the importance of having a solid trust between you and your customer. An SSL is crucial when your customer uses your website to share sensitive information that may contain their bank details, personal details or any other information that leaves them vulnerable, and they would expect that you have taken necessary implementations to make your website safe and secure. Having a website secured with an SSL certificate instils customers’ trust.
2. Password Protected:
Every online business would want a loyal customer base through personal logins. Password-protected logins are a safer option. An SSL certificate makes it mandatory for logins to be password-protected thereby minimizing any risks.
3. Secure Payments:
SSL certificates make sure that all the customers’ financial data shared through your e-commerce website to make payments are secured and that it is not open to attacks or theft.
4. Data Collection:
Apart from payment information, an e-commerce website may also collect other useful information through surveys, feedback forms, reviews, etc which can also contain a lot of sensitive information that the SSL certificate secures.
5. SEO Ranking:
Lastly, it is important that your website ranks and is easy to find on a search engine. Google announced that websites bearing HTTPS tag with SSL certificate will have a slight benefit on SEO rankings. Although this may seem like a small benefit, it does help your ranking and improves the customer reach.
Secure for Success
Whether you’re an existing website or just starting your online journey, it is important to keep your website protected, so that your customers feel safe and secure in their shopping experience. Hope this article helped you understand the importance of SSL certificate for your e-commerce website.
All our Bluehost web hosting plans come with a free SSL certificate to keep your website secure and boost your Google ranking. So, what are you waiting for? Set up a secure online store today and take your business to greater heights.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop them below. For more, visit our Web Hosting Category page.
