SSL Certificates Explained  

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SSL Certificates Explained  

Article by John Gershman

What exactly are SSL certificates? To understand wiki certificates are you first have to understand what SSL means. The term SSL stands for secure sockets layer in is a form of encryption. The basic idea is that an individual’s web browser can communicate safely and securely with a Web server. You most often see this used when someone is registering for a website and especially using their credit card information.How SSL WorksSSL works by having two different keys. One key is used to encrypt the information from your browser to the server and that is a public key. The other key is a private key which the server has to be encrypt information. When an individual contacts a website and then goes to the secure page there’s a handshake paid. This is where the certificate comes in.The CertificateA certificate is provided by a third-party to validate that the server you are communicating with is the one that says it is. So you obtain a certificate from a third-party and typically they are a domain registration company. There are various forms of certificates some which do not require much information and some require more. A typical certificate just validates the domain while others validate ownership and some also validate the company and corporate information with an attorney or accountant. See this godaddy promo code list for discounts when getting your certificate.for RegistrationYou may have a site which requires registration. Even if the registration is free you want to make sure that everyone wants to sign up does sign up. Is not worth losing people because you do not have a secure connection. Some people these days are very worried about privacy if they see you do not have a secure connection to your server they will not register for your site.for eCommerceIf you are selling anything on your site would deftly need a certificate. You do not have to have one but you may lose sales if you do not. If someone is going to enter their name and password they may want to see a certificate but if someone is going to enter their credit card information they will definitely want to see a certificate.Should I get One?So if you have a website and want to show that you are secure by the lock appearing in the browser bar you would need to obtain a third-party SSL certificate. This gives everyone the peace of mind the information being shared is secure. I suggest you do obtain one.

About the Author

John works online daily, utilizing social media and more. Website resource information is what John focuses on.