When you’re creating a new website for your Ottawa business, there will be dozens of decisions to be made and many things you will need to know – or learn – about website development. One of the easiest decisions should be whether or not to make a secure site. In this age of protecting privacy, it is pretty much a given that a company website needs to have an SSL certificate.
But, what is SSL? Secure Sockets Layer is a method of securing communications between web browsers and servers. Its main purpose is to prevent eavesdropping or tampering with the data being exchanged. When data is transmitted over an SSL connection, it is encrypted using a public key/private key pair. This makes it very difficult for anyone to intercept and read the data.
SSL protects your website users’ sensitive information
SSL is most commonly used on websites that require users to login, such as online banking or email services. However, it can be used on any website where sensitive information is being exchanged, such as credit card numbers, email addresses, or personal information that can be used to identify you like a birthdate.
When visiting a website, if you’re ever unsure if it is using SSL, you can check by looking for the padlock icon and/or “https://” in the address bar. If you see either of these, then the site is using SSL and your data should be safe.
If you’re a website owner, you can add SSL to your site by getting an SSL certificate from a trusted provider. Once you have the certificate, you’ll need to install it on your web server and configure your site to use SSL. After that, all traffic to your site will be encrypted and secure.
SSL is a security protocol that helps protect sensitive information as it travels across the internet. It’s important to know how to identify a secure website, and even more importantly, how to get your own website protected with SSL. If you’re looking for help getting started, don’t hesitate to contact WSI Ottawa – we can assist you in developing a safe and secure website that will keep your customers’ data protected.
