Cybersecurity vulnerabilities such as social-engineering attacks and malware infections have infiltrated the internet, leaving most websites and users with adverse effects. Over 18.5 million websites, representing about 1% of the total websites, have been infected with malware. Man-in-the-middle attacks and other forms of privacy intrusions have become the internet’s new normal.
One of the perfect ways to secure your eCommerce website from such vulnerabilities is by employing an SSL certificate. SSL certificates are said to be the standard technological security tool that shields eCommerce platforms from attackers. IT officers/experts recommend that web admins get SSL certificates for their eCommerce websites.
However, this can be a bit complicated for you, especially when you do not know the reason why your eCommerce store needs an SSL certificate and which type of SSL certificate will best suit your unique business needs. We will briefly discuss why you should install an SSL on your eCommerce website. After that, we will discuss the SSL certificate types that you need for your eCommerce store.
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The Benefits of Installing the Certificate on Your eCommerce Store
SSL certificates verily play a crucial role in ensuring site security. Albeit they also come with a host of other benefits such as engendering consumer trust, which has a direct correlation with improved conversion rates and eCommerce business success.
SSL certificates play an essential role in security standards and act as a shield for your eCommerce websites. Please note that their primary purpose is to enhance web security and save you from all these perils. There are several other benefits of having an SSL certificate on your website that are in detail.
1. Enhancing Website Performance Metrics
SSL certificates come with several visual indicators in the browser interface. The visual indicators play a critical role in increasing the likelihood of the website’s visitors transacting with you. With an SSL certificate, your customers are likely to purchase because they are assured of the safety of their transactions. They also share confidential information without fear and use your online services confidently. Their conviction towards the SSL Certificate help to increase your conversion rates and maximize your sales.
2. Protect Against Phishing Attacks
By giving your site users a reliable way of confirming your validity, you can reduce their vulnerability to phishing and social engineering attacks that rely on fake websites. The company details in the browser interface, HTTPS status, and the padlock symbol serve as distinguishing features between genuine and fake websites. Fake websites are perfect imitations of genuine websites and might be hazardous to unsuspecting users.
3. Communicating a caring Brand Message
With the many security and data breaches happening daily, it is imperative that you show your customers that you are doing enough to protect them. Investing in an SSL certificate is a great way of doing that. The certificate acts as an assurance that proves to the website visitors that you value their privacy and their security. Such an assurance can significantly impact the success of your eCommerce store.
4. Staying Compliant
Some laws and regulations run the IT industry. These rules and regulations require every online business to boldly safeguard customers’ sensitive data such as Personal Health Information, credit card details, debit card details, and other financial information. Any loss of such information or exposure to security threats might lead to fines and mandatory breach notification, which can tarnish your brand’s reputation.
SSL certificates help minimize phishing and social engineering attacks, so it is considered a perfect measure in protecting the information mentioned above. Additionally, policies applicable to your business may require that you have the EV certificate. For instance, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) need online providers to have the Extended Validation SSL certificate.
Which SSL Certificate Should You Purchase for Your eCommerce Website?
Before delving into deep details about the SSL certificate types for an eCommerce store, we must address which SSL certificate is the best for security? SSL works through encryption. Encryption is when plain text data is converted into ciphertext. Which SSL is the most appropriate for encryption has elicited mixed reactions from users. Most believe that expensive SSL certificates offer more encryption strengths than cheap SSL certificates. However, this is not true.
You must know that all certificate types offer equal encryption strengths- 256-bit encryption. So, when getting SSL for your eCommerce store, you should consider other factors and not the encryption strengths. There are three certificate types on a validation level basis you should consider for your eCommerce store needs;
1. Domain Validation SSL Certificate
Domain Validated SSL certificates offer domain validation, and it is also one of the least expensive of all the SSL certificates. Due to the ease of obtaining these certificates, requesters can have them within minutes. Before a Certificate Authority issues the DV SSL certificate, the requestor will undergo a less strict validation process by only proving that they own the domain with which the certificate will be attached.
2. Organization Validated SSL Certificates
For optimum functionality of your eCommerce website, you might want to consider the Organization Validation SSL certificate. OV SSL certificates offer a high level of assurance, almost similar to that of EV SSL certificates. While issuing an OV SSL certificate, the CAs will conduct a detailed check on the company details in addition to their domain owners. Organization Validation SSL certificates are comparatively pocket-friendly than Extended Validation SSL certificates, making them ideal for newbies in the eCommerce landscape.
3. Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificate
Like the Domain Validation and Organizational Validation SSL certificate, the EV SSL certificate protects all web visitors from data breaches and privacy intrusions. SSL certificates achieve encryption by encoding the information or data in transit to make it unreadable to any unauthorized party except the intended recipient. So, why spend extra money purchasing an EV SSL certificate when you can get the same level of encryption from a cheap DV or OV SSL certificate?
Most website owners ask me this question. While it is a worthy one, users should understand that, unlike other SSL certificates, Extended Validation offers more than just data encryption. Although an SSL certificate’s primary purpose is to ensure secure and encrypted connections between two ends on the internet, getting an SSL certificate that does more than that is a great stepping stone. An Extended Validation SSL certificate enables an organization running the website to present its validated identity and authenticate itself to its customers. It will give the highest identity assurance levels to your web visitors.
Any eCommerce store that wants to succeed should first earn its customers’ trust. “Trust is a good business practice” so to get the highest trust level of security and industry standards for business websites, an EV SSL certificate is an ideal certificate.
Policies and procedures agreed upon by the CA/Browser forum require that, before issuing an EV SSL certificate, the CA should carefully confirm the identity of the requestor. It is necessary for web visitors as it will help them avoid visiting fake websites masquerading to be your website.
Conclusion
There is a good reason to ensure that your business has an online presence, but there is even a better reason to ensure that you safeguard your business’s online presence with an SSL certificate. EV SSL certificates are a great option, but for the case of your eCommerce store, you can also work with OV SSL certificates. This article has explained why you need an SSL certificate and the type of SSL certificate to choose for your eCommerce store.
