As an internet user, you always want to browse the web in perfectly secure conditions. You value your privacy, so you want the data to be encrypted and safely-guarded against malicious attacks. These basic conditions for safe and pleasant use of the World Wide Web should exist without saying. And, they are also the protection features that an SSL certificate provides.

If you are building your first website, and you are wondering why you need to use an SSL certificate, you have come to the right place.

Today, we look closer at this fundamental feature for safe web browsing and provide you with five reasons to use an SSL certificate.

What is an SSL Certificate?

The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a crucial component of security within the online web environment. It ensures the protection of sensitive information when it travels anywhere in the world.

If you aim to have optimal protection for your website, SSL will cover it for you. This protocol encrypts important data like usernames, passwords, and credit card details to keep them safe from hackers or other malware attacks.

When you employ SSL on your site, you get the guarantee of total privacy, critical security, and data integrity for both your websites and your users’ personal information.

5 Reasons Why to Use an SSL Certificate

If you are not sure yet why you need to implement an SSL certificate on your website. Here are five reasons that will change your mind!

1. SSL protects the users’ data

The main purpose of an SSL certificate is to ensure maximum protection for server-client communication. Through this protocol, the data that your website holds is stored in an undecipherable format, and it can only be accessed by the intended recipient (browser or server) as no one else can have the key to open it.

2. SSL ensures authentication

When you install an SSL certificate, you have to provide authentic data about your ID and your activity through a validation process set by an independent third party called a Certificate Authority (CA). This way, people who access your website can be sure that they are dealing with a real person or business, and not with an entity that aims to scan them.

3. Better Search Engine Ranking

Google has made SSL certificates mandatory since 2018 in a bid to improve overall security for its users. If you wish for your website to rank on Google and appear in Google searches, you will need to implement SSL on your website.

4. SSL helps you meet PCI/DSS Standards

If you use your website to process online payments for your business, you must abide by the PCI/DSS requirements. Having an SSL certificate installed is one of the 12 primary requirements set by the payment card industry (PCI).

5. SSL helps you build customer trust

The SSL certificates have been around for long enough to let internet users know that it represents a standard of high security and data protection.

If you run a business on your website, having an SSL certificate will build customer trust. People will feel safe to enter their details and credit card information, and your business will thrive. SSL certificates provide you with legitimacy and authenticity.

Read Also – How Secure is Serverless Computing?