I know, I know… What the heck is an SSL Certificate and why does my website really NEED IT?!

 
An SSL Certificate is basically your electronic passport to security!

An SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a security technology responsible for creating an encrypted connection between a website server and a browser. The certificate assures that all data that is passed between the server and browser is private.

For most web design and web development companies, this was not standard practice unless a client was actually selling a product directly on their website. Google has been encouraging webmasters to integrate SSL Certificates into all websites for a few years now and just announced that starting on July 1st 2018 that they will start labeling website without an SSL Certificate insecure.

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY WEBSITE HAS AN SSL CERTIFICATE INSTALLED?

First of all, when you view your web address in your browser you will see either an “http” or “https” before the URL. HTTP is an anachronym for HyperText Transfer Protocol and HTTPS stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure. If the website has an SSL certificate installed you will see the https before the URL. Also to the left of the URL, if see a circle with an “i” in it, SSL is NOT installed (see image below of what this looks like)

… And yes the LA Times needs an SSL Certificate!!

SO HOW DO I HAVE ONE INSTALLED AND HOW MUCH IS THIS GOING TO COST ME?

Depending on your webmaster, host, and platform your website is on, it can take 1-2 hours to install and to do all the potential URL redirects. The yearly license will cost between $35-150 depending on what kind of certificate you have installed.

So what to do now? Check your https status and if you are showing http, contact your webmaster and get this installed. If you don’t have one, give us a call at 888-490-6676 or fill out our contact form on our website here at www.imm-llc.com!

IMM-LLC is a full-service digital marketing, design and web services company located in NY.