SSL Certificates and How They Can Help You! :)

SSL Certificates and How They Can Help You! :)

Well, I'm sure we all know what SSL Certificates are. They're those things that come up on your browser when you go to a secure link on your web browser. A little lock icon comes up. Usually, when you go to websites starting with https:// instead of http:// the little lock icon will come up showing that the site you just visited is secure. Now let's discuss the details of SSL Certificates.

Why You Need One:

Who needs SSL Certificates? People who have eCommerce websites, sell stuff on their websites, or have payment processors that process payments directly on their website. It's also useful for people who have databases full of clients' information. SSL Certificates are great for those websites because they keep the pages secure and helps to decrease exploits and vulnerabilities found in your website. SSL Certificates are also really helpful when it comes to legitimacy. If you have an SSL certificate and people go to your site and see it, it makes you look like a legitimate business and can help drive more traffic to your website.

What Kinds Are There?

There are different types of SSL Certificates and each one comes with it's own special features. The following is an example of one or two: single domain, extended validation, wildcard. I'll explain each as we go. Now Let us begin, shall we?

Categories:

• Single Domain
  
• Multiple Domain
  
• Extended Validation (Single Domain)
  
• Extended Validation (Multiple Domain)
  
• Wildcard
  

Single Domain and Multiple Domain Certificates

Single domain certificates, are, as the title implies, an SSL Certificate for a single domain (example: yourdomain.com). Multiple domain certificates are for multiple domains.

Extended Validation for Single and Multiple Domains

Extended Validation also known as EV certificates are for extreme level security. If you have users entering personal details or financial information into your website, this is the certificate you'd want to use. These are also the most expensive certificates and give you a fully green lock icon on your website so visitors see your website is totally secure. Every SSL Certificate company has their own names for all the types of SSL Certificates. For Comodo it's called Comodo SSL, for GlobalSign it's called DomainSSL, and other companies have their own names for different types.



Wildcard Certificates
These certificates are the same as Single Domain, except their called wildcard certificates because they help with subdomains. For example, if you have a domain like billing.yourdomain.com, you can use a wildcard certificate to secure it. In my own opinion, I suggest you use multiple domain certificates, as it is more secure.


FREE SSL CERTIFICATES

There are many different free SSL Certificates, I'm gonna outline the best ones for website use. Comodo offers a free SSL Certificate which you can find on their website for free. It's a 90 day SSL and I think you can renew it at the end, but I'm not 100% sure. AlphaSSL (By GlobalSign) offers a free SSL for a year when you SWITCH from another SSL Certificate provider. AlphaSSL is what I would use. Find a way to get a super cheap SSL for like $10 (Or if you buy a domain from NameCheap, it costs $2 extra for a Comodo Full SSL Certificate) then switch, it works great. There are more but those are the top two in my book.
There are way more ways to get free SSL Certificates, but those are the top ways I know of to get them. I will start making more articles like this. Feel free to leave comments below if there's something website, SEO, or anything Web 2.0 related you'd like me to talk about. I'll do the research, and write the article. I'll leave your name at the bottom so you can have some credit for the idea. Hope you guys decide to help me out and I hope you enjoyed the tutorial! Talk to you soon!