As you probably already know, the internet is a magical place full of valuable information that is waiting for you just a few clicks away. That being said, with such a huge database, this biggest library in the world constantly deals with transferring information from the browser (user) to a certain web page and back again.

However, if this transfer is not secured, it opens up the door to various malicious individuals and software alike. Now, while in some cases the matter of security of a website is not too important – if, for instance, you are looking for a cake recipe, there are other instances where you’d be better to abandon the site and look for business elsewhere than to leave any personal trace. That’s why it’s of the utmost importance for websites to implement an SSL certificate and thus ensure a secure environment for their visitors.

Let’s see how choosing to implement an SSL certificate to your website can influence your online business.

How does it work?

Before we proceed any further, it’s first important to mention how an SSL certificate works. SSL, also known as Secure Sockets Layer, offers a secure connection between any two parties on the web. The most important and most obvious perk of SSL is the fact that it secures the transfer of any sort of sensitive information across the web. These include any money transfers, social security numbers, sensitive personal and business information, or basically anything else you do. Remember the aforementioned cake recipe? If you were to look for one on an unsecured webpage, any third party that manages to tap into that transfer of information could use it to their advantage and make a profit off of selling such information. And while this may sound innocent, it’s really not.

SSL makes your business more trustworthy

With all that’s previously been mentioned, it becomes quite obvious why websites that have an SSL certificate come off as generally more trustworthy. By securing your website with an SSL certificate, you will show your visitors – and customers – that you value their privacy and that the security of their personal information is your top priority. Simply put, if you are offering your website visitors a chance to purchase something from your website or leave virtually any similar type of sensitive info, such as their name, social security number on anything else really, the last thing you’d want is to enable some third party – let’s say a hacker or any other cybercriminal – easy access to that information.

SSL makes your website PCI compliant

Furthermore, websites that are secured with an SSL certificate are automatically PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards) compliant, as the SSL certificate is one of those standards. For further information on what this means, websites such as Delphix can provide more background into this area. Being PCI compliant means that, in order to actually be able to meet PCI standards, your web server must contain an SSL certificate. For instance, the industries that can greatly benefit from having their URL begin with https include the banking, medical, gambling, and eCommerce industry, to name a few. Ever since the ability to pay for services online became available, the PCI Security Standards Council made having an SSL certificate a must.

There are a variety of PCI levels that you will need to look into to see which one is suited to your situation. If you are a merchant business that processes 6 million or more card transactions daily, then a pci level 1 will be the right fit for you.

SSL will make your website more appealing to browsers

Finally, another thing you should be thinking about as an online business owner is the position of your website on different browser searches. Preferably, your website should be optimized in such a way that it’s found to be favorable by different search engines. Aside from investing a bit in SEO and trying to boost your rankings organically, you must also see to it that you implement an SSL certificate. This is because security is one of the most important ranking factors and no SEO will ever be enough to get you near the top page of a browser search results if your website is not as secure as possible.

These were just the most obvious benefits of implementing an SSL certificate on your website. Therefore, it’s safe to say that both you and your business can only benefit from adding this additional layer of security because it’s bound to make your business more appealing to your audience, which will definitely bring more traffic your way. And we all know that more traffic means more business, which is certainly something every businessperson is looking to achieve.