How important is it to have a SSL for website?
Before we dive in to knowing the importance of SSL for websites, let us first learn what SSL is and what it is used for?
Perhaps, you must have observed that some website URLs start with http and some starting with https. The letter “s” stands for secure (encryption) and differentiates the both states of hyper text transfer protocol. This can only be validated with a SSL certificate which stands for secure socket layer.
SSL secures the connection between your device and the server where the website is hosted. Any bot or person trying to breach the connection will have to break the combination of SSL which encrypts the data, in simple words entire data that sent and received from server is behind a door that has hundreds of locks.
Nowadays websites like facebook or apps like whatsapp they are all encrypted with SSL to secure the communication between your device and their servers. SSL guarantees security for the communication but it plays a tiny role in securing the server or the website. The program written for the website or the application hosted on the server and server firewall itself must not have any vulnerability. There are several types of SSL certificates depending on the required complexity of the encryption. The more sensitive information you have hosted on the server the better encryption you will need.
Types of encryption in SSL for website
Single Domain SSL Certificates
An individual domain with or without prefix is encrypted. For example http://example.com becomes https://example.com but http://www.example.com will still not be under SSL protection.
Wildcard SSL for Website
A wildcard domain protects a single domain and it’s selected or all sub domains can be covered under a single certificate such as example.com, www.example.com, mail.example.com and ftp.example.com, these sub-domains get projection along with the main domain under a single wildcard SSL certificate.
Multi-Domain SSL Certificates (MDC)
A multi domain SSL is a solution for securing starting two to 250 domains hosted on the same server under a single SSL certificate. SSL management becomes very easy in using MDC SSL when you have several domain and sub-domains to be protected for example, firstdomain.com, www.firstdomain.com, seconddomain.com and www.seconddomain.com likewise 250 domains and sub domains can be added with a M.D.C SSL.
Now that you have learned pretty much about SSL and how they work so now let’s get to your question, whether you should have a SSL for your website or not?
Well, the answer to this question is pretty simple YES, you should have a SSL for website and it is very important. SSL certificates were not as important in the past if your website didn’t have anything to deal with sensitive information like credit cards, bank account or any transaction related information.
Lately large tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Apple and open-source contributors like Mozilla and many others have updated their browsers to make the web a much secure place for users. They have taken this initiative and made it clear to all website owners to have SSL for website installed, even if the website is has simple personal or business web-pages. These browsers have started to publicly dishonor websites which do not have SSL certificates.
Generally notifications vary in browsers; some have imposed different signs of whether a site is secure. For instance, Google Chrome marks that the website is ‘not-secure’. This mark can be seen right in the browser’s address bar while Mozilla Firefox labels the website as ‘non-secure’.
Content management websites like WordPress, Joomla, Drupal or any other database-driven sites with a login page for the registered users or administrator must have a SSL which protects the login form and any type of form field that connects to database to store or retrieve data. Not having a SSL simply makes your form fields source for an attack on database tables and makes your website vulnerable. Anyone with access to this login can modify your pages or take your entire site down.
Stop finding reason for not having a SSL for website and get one now. SSL certificates are cheaper, moreover installed and managed by the hosting providers.
| Year | Percentage of websites using SSL |
| 2014 | 41% |
| 2015 | 52% |
| 2016 | 63% |
| 2017 | 78% |
| 2018 | 85% |
| 2019 | 92% |
| 2020 | 95% |
| 2021 | 97% |
| 2022 | 98% |
| 2023 | 99% |
As you can see, the usage of SSL has been steadily increasing over the years. This is due to a number of factors, including the growing awareness of the importance of online security, the increasing number of businesses that are conducting online transactions, and the increasing availability of affordable SSL for website.
In 2023, it is estimated that 99% of websites will be using SSL. This is a significant milestone, as it means that most online traffic will be encrypted and protected from eavesdropping.
Here are some of the benefits of using SSL for website:
- It encrypts the data that is transmitted between your website and your visitors’ browsers. This makes it much more difficult for hackers to steal sensitive information, such as credit card numbers and passwords.
- It helps to build trust with your visitors. When they see that your website is using SSL, they will be more likely to do business with you.
- It can improve your search engine ranking. Google and other search engines give preference to websites that use SSL.
true, i have noticed whatsapp showing an end-2-end security message in chat window. i guess its all getting encrypted, lets hope to have a safer web in future.