Let’s start with the basics. Back in 2014, Google starting talking about the need for every website on the internet to use the secure prefix https, on their own blog. And in January, Google confirmed that Chrome will begin displaying the security status of websites much more prominently in the browser. Although Google have said that their algorithm won’t penalise insecure sites, they’ve confirmed that secure sites will receive a boost in rank. FYI, HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure meaning that any data transfer (like transactions and contact form submissions) is encrypted.

WHAT IS AN SSL CERTIFICATE?

An SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificate establishes an encrypted link between a web server and a browser keeping all data passed between the web server and browsers private. With Google’s drive to make all websites secure and publicly indicate whether a website is secure or not, it’s no longer just required for e-commerce stores or transactional websites. The certificate enables your site to load with the https prefix and gain that little green padlock to protect and reassure your web visitors.

Historically SSL certificates have been issued by ‘trusted authorities’ which in the past involved manual verification of a company, and until recently the process has been expensive and time-consuming. When shopping online, you might have seen logos at the checkout for companies like Verisign and Symantec which bigger online stores show as proof of their security and trustworthiness. But with the new push from Google, most hosting companies are offering free or cheap basic SSL certificates which will give your website a secure status.

WHICH SSL CERTIFICATE IS RIGHT FOR ME?

There are three types of SSL Certificate to choose from and the choosing the right one depends of the nature of your business (do you sell anything via your website) and the nature of your audience (wary of online shopping or quick to trust)? In the video below, you can hear me talk about why I’m choosing Let’s Encrypt, the free and easy option for my own e-commerce websites. But, for the sake of thoroughness, here are the three options you have.

• (DV) Domain Validated Certificate – Checked against the domain registry to make sure you own your domain name. Usually free or cheap from your hosting company. eg. Let’s Encrypt.
• (OV) Organization Validated Certificate – Checked by a real person against business registries. Includes some insurance cover in the event of online fraud or data theft.
• (EV) Extended Validation Certificate – The most rigorous option. Details checks take place. Triggers the green business name bar. Includes more insurance cover.

It’s worth noting that all three options offer the same level of encryption and work in exactly the same way.

HOW TO INSTALL THE FREE LET’S ENCRYPT SSL CERTIFICATE VIA YOUR HOSTING COMPANY

The new Let’s Encrypt open source certificate project is being offered by many hosting companies and backed by big players like WordPress.com and Facebook. All this talk of encryption and certificates might sound daunting, but Let’s Encrypt makes it really easy to install a certificate with just a couple of clicks. You can do it yourself by following three easy steps. Watch the video for a step-by-step walkthrough.

• Activate Let’s Encrypt via your hosting control panel.
• Install and activate the Really Simple SSL plugin.
• Update your properties in Google Analytics and Google Search Console.

If you enjoyed the video, you should definitely check out Siteschool – our bitesize video learning course that walks you through every single step of building your own website.