What's An SSL Certificate?

Now, more than ever, security for your organization's website is of the utmost importance.

With spammers and hackers becoming more aggressive, every option to help secure your company's online presence and digital data should be considered. One of these methods of online security is an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Certificate for your website.

SSL Certificates provide a digital “key” which helps lock out spammers or hackers from entering the back-end of your website. Once an SSL is linked to your website, a security lock will appear next to your URL (web address) and add the designation of HTTPS – the “S” stands for secure. The SSL Certificate ensures that a secure session is taking place between your website and the website visitor – no data or personal information is being compromised.

At their inception, SSL Certificates were primarily used on websites that featured online transactions with credit cards, banking transactions, or dealt with sharing personal information such as social security numbers or driver's licenses.

This is no longer the case – all websites benefit greatly with the use of an SSL Certificate:

• Google now mandates ALL websites have SSL Certificates – websites that do not have this feature will be flagged as insecure by Google – a major deterrent to visitors
• SSL Certificates help deter spammers and hackers from accessing your website and adding malicious code
• SSL Certificates denote your website as secure, increasing its authenticity
• Visitors are more likely to submit contact requests through a website that is secure
• Secure websites, in turn, are favored by Google which helps with online search results and rankings
• SSL Certificates will also note if any third-party elements of your website are insecure and help to indicate where this insecurity lies

All websites that are designed, built, and hosted by Image Management now feature an SSL Certificate as a standard.

If your website does not yet feature an SSL Certificate, contact us today to get this vital security feature installed. At Image Management, specializing in the Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, and Chicago areas, we focus on making your website secure and safe.