“This website is not secure”

How many of you have noticed the ‘not secure’ warning in the navigation bar of your browser when visiting a website? Despite Google announcing back in 2018 they would show a warning for websites that are insecure, many websites still don’t have an SSL certificate.

What is an SSL Certificate?

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates encrypt information you provide on a website, such as name, address, password or credit card information, so it cannot be read by a third party (i.e. cybercriminal), protecting you from falling victim to cybercrime.

SSL encryption for everyone

Many people think that SSL certificates are only necessary for websites that collect sensitive or personal information – this isn’t strictly true. Having your website displaying the ‘not secure’ warning could be damaging your brand and reputation. According to a study back in February, 64% of people said they would leave a website instantly if it displayed as ‘not secure’. Not having an SSL certificate on your business’ website could be damaging your sales. What’s more, Google ranks websites with an SSL certificate more favourably than those without.

What are the options?

A quick Google search will show you that a number of companies offer solutions for SSL certificates. Obtaining an SSL certificate itself isn’t that expensive.  Services such as ‘Let’s Encrypt’ offer free 90 day certificates and there are are also recognised brands that offer inexpensive certificates that last for up to 2 years.  NOTE: Bristol IT Company recommend a 2 year SSL certificate from a recognised brand to reduce the hassle of configuration and installation, and to offer your website visitors greater peace of mind.

Next steps

There are many options when it comes to choosing where to get your SSL certificate but one thing is for sure, your business website should have one. Whichever option you choose for your SSL encryption, Zeus Digital can provide, install and configure your certificate. So take a look at your business page now, and if you see the ‘not secure’ warning, contact us today and prevent your business from losing any more leads.

Techie Bit

To help speed the process along we ask if you can find out the following information before engaging with Zeus Digital:

• Login details to create DNS records against your domain (To configure the SSL cert.)
• What operating system your hosting server uses (Linux us most common)
• Administrative login credential to your server (To install the SSL cert.)