If you own a website, you must be concerned about its data security protocols. It should also be a priority to ensure that the data you store or collect on your website is safe. Getting a security protocol is vital to help you achieve this.
A secure socket layer (SSL) certificate is one such protocol that helps provide a secure connection to your WordPress site. With an SSL certificate, the data transferred between your web server and a user’s browser is encrypted. Thus, it can’t be hijacked by cybercriminals. Getting an SSL certificate is added cost to running a website. However, you can also get a free SSL in today’s diverse technology world.
Why Get An SSL Certificate For Your WordPress Site?
You might wonder why it’s necessary to have an SSL certificate for your site. Well, your site can carry sensitive data you can lose in a cyberattack. Below are other reasons to get an SSL certificate:
1. Builds Credibility And Trust With The Site Visitors
Given the uptick in cyber threats, most users are cautious about the feedback from their browsers. Users’ browsers will return a ‘not secure’ feedback if your WordPress site doesn’t have an SSL certificate. Thus, a visitor to your website will opt out due to security and privacy concerns.
In addition, if your website requires users to enter details for subscription or transaction reasons, they may be hesitant. The reason is the users can’t trust whether their details will be safe. As a result, your site would have fewer visitors due to a lack of credibility.
Furthermore, it’s worth noting that when installing an SSL certificate, you provide identity verification to the certificate authority (CA). Once verified, the CA issues a digital certificate browser used to recognize your site’s authenticity. The browsers then give your site the HTTPS prefix as a sign to users that your site is authentic and safe to browse.
2. Helps Boost Your Search Engines’ Ranking
As a rule of thumb, most search engines require websites to have an SSL certificate to be in their ranking framework. Even though a website without an SSL might still feature, its ranking will be barely noticeable.
Furthermore, the search engines give preference to sites with encoded associations over those without authenticity. Thus, if your WordPress has the SSL certificate, it will boost its ranking over your rivals that don’t have it.
In addition, the presence of an SSL certificate means that your website has the prefix ‘HTTPS’ on its domain name. This would show on a user’s browser with a green lock. Thus, users can spend more time on your site, knowing that their navigation and information are secure. Plus, more users can visit your site. This influx of traffic can help boost your site’s search engine optimization (SEO) ranking.
3. Improves Your Site’s Security
The internet is always prowling with hackers ready to bounce on unsecured data. Data transferred to and from a website without a security layer is open to cyber threats. With an SSL certificate, your WordPress site gains a security protocol that encrypts data. Thus, information in and out of your website can be safe from hackers. This means such details as payment card info, login credentials, and personal addresses are protected.
Furthermore, the SSL certificate protects against hackers from stealing other info such as your WordPress admin logins. A loss of admin creds can turn your website into a phishing site. Thus, you could lose your reputation and revenue, not to mention the possibility of lawsuits.
4. Helps You Comply With Industry Best Practices And Requirements
Most internet organizations and search engines require sites to have an SSL certificate. This is to improve data security and privacy. Therefore, it’d be beneficial for your WordPress site to adopt this requirement. If your website doesn’t have the SSL certificate, browsers will flag your site as ‘not secure.’
Additionally, payment card industry data security standards (PCI-DSS) require payment sites to have an SSL certificate for compliance. Thus, if you have transactions and your site accepts online payments, you must comply with these PCI-DSS regulations.
5. Improves Your Site’s Loading Speed
An SSL certificate enables you to take advantage of the latest version of hypertext transfer protocol, commonly known as HTTP/2. This version has various website performance benefits like server push, low latency, and header compression. For instance, low latency involves the time it takes for your site to elicit a response to requests—the lower the latency, the better the speed.
Therefore, an overall result from the SSL certificate is that your website’s page load speed can increase significantly. This can help improve your site’s user experience, increasing online traffic.
Conclusion
Once you have your WordPress site up and running, it’s vital to take steps to ensure its security and authenticity. An SSL certificate helps you achieve this. In addition, the above are other reasons your WordPress site needs an SSL certificate.
