Short answer: YES!
The explanation is a bit more involved but if you run a website, it is worth knowing. SSL is the encryption that occurs between a website and it’s visitor when there is a valid SSL certificate available on the web server. When you visit a secure website, your browser shows you a little padlock icon somewhere near the address bar to indicate that the connection is secure.
Google Prefers It (sort of…)
There have been several articles shouting about Google giving preference to websites that are SSL encrypted. Even though this isn’t entirely true, it is not safe to dismiss that as just an attempt to sell more SSL certificates. Google IS preferring to show SSL sites IF an SSL version of the site is available. You can read Google’s official statement here. They are not presently downgrading sites that do not have SSL encryption but it isn’t difficult to imagine them doing that sometime in the near future just like they presently favor responsive websites over non-responsive ones.
Besides preserving your Google ranking, there are several other reasons why you should consider having an SSL encrypted website.
Security
If you are asking any information from your visitors, the connection to your website should be secure to safeguard their personal information while it is in transit to you. Many people connect from public WiFi hotspots and other insecure networks. Given the public nature of those networks, anyone could be electronically eavesdropping and recording their communications. By forcing SSL connections, you can prevent that from ever happening to them.
Integrity
Having an SSL encrypted website ensures your visitor that the data they receive from you has not been altered during transit. The more opportunities you take to build trust and confidence with your visitors, the better their opinion of your business will be. Since your website is often their first contact with you, it is vital that you make that all important first impression a great one.
Identity Protection
Next, an SSL connection assures your client that they are really connecting to the site that they think they are. Any bad actors trying to spoof your content will not be able to display that comforting padlock in their victim’s browser thus alerting them to the fact they are connected to the wrong website. In this day of phishing attacks, you can’t be too careful.
Makes You A Good Citizen
By securing your website, you make it harder for anyone to compile information about what users are looking at on your site. Granted that looking at one person’s activities on one website doesn’t reveal much about them. However, a list of website activity over several websites can establish a pattern. Imagine that someone could see a list of all the pages from all the websites that you visited during your last visit to a coffee shop as well as timing information on how long you spent looking at each page. Even without reading the content of those pages, they could still infer an awful lot about what you were thinking about or planning. Using SSL makes it harder for a casual electronic eavesdropper to do this to your visitors no matter what coffee shop they are coming from.
As more and more website owners secure their sites, the web becomes a safer, better place.
Inexpensive and Easy
Finally, your business is important to you and it doesn’t cost much to secure your site. We offer SSL certificates installed on your site for only $100.00 per year. This is a small price to pay for the many benefits listed above plus retaining or improving your Google ranking. Our experts will handle all the technical stuff and you won’t have to do a thing. Easy right? Click the button below to contact us with questions or to get started.