Does Not Having a SSL Certificate Affect My Website?
The short answer is YES, not having a valid SSL certificate does affect your website.
In 2018, Google announced a change to their security policy in an effort to make the internet a safer place for users. SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificates have been around for years and have helped increase website rankings on Google. Google is now taking it one step further by penalizing sites that do not have SSL certificates activated.
If your website has an a missing or invalid SSL certificate, users will see HTTP instead of an HTTPS as well as a “not secure” message right next to your domain.
When the users clicks on your website, they will be shown with a warning message before they’re allowed to proceed, letting them know your site is not secure. This is not ideal for online businesses and will result in loss of visitors and leads.
Secure sites will have a clickable icon or lock next to the website URL like in the examples images below that when clicked can display the SSL certificate status.
What is a SSL Certificate?
SSL Certificates keep user information safe by encrypting things like names, passwords, and credit card numbers.
An SSL Certificate, also known as a Secure Socket Layer certificate, will ensure that your data between your web server and the browser remains secure. If a hacker tries steal your data they cannot decrypt your data because they do not have the key to access your information.
How to get a SSL Certificate?
#1 Call your web developer or hosting company and ask about getting SSL installed.
#2 Ask about hosting with Long Point Digital. All of our hosting clients get a free SSL certificate.
Long Point Digital is a digital marketing company located in Grand Junction, Colorado. We offer premium hosting for website and digital marketing clients. Our web team checks monthly for security and plug-in updates and monitors site performance following each update. Monthly backups ensure that no client ever loses their website. Our team is dedicated to making sure our clients maintain a strong and consistent web presence.
