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What is an SSL certificate?

The lock in the address bar. Everyone knows it, few know what it does and does not say.

An SSL certificate encrypts the traffic between your visitor's browser and your server, so that reading along or making changes along the way is not possible. You can recognize it by https and the lock in the address bar. Without a certificate, browsers will actively mark your site as not secure.

2 min reading time

IN COMMON LANGUAGE

What it does and doesn't mean

The lock says: no one can read what you send to this site along the way. This is essential for a contact form, a login or a payment.

The lock does not mean that the site is reliable. A phishing site can also have a valid certificate: these are free and can be requested within a minute. Encryption and reliability are two different things.

It is practically no longer a choice for you. Browsers warn visitors about sites without a certificate, and such a warning will cost you almost every visitor.

WHY IT MATTERS

How it is arranged with us

Every certificate we place is automatically renewed. An expired certificate gives a full-screen warning that looks more serious than anything: and that always happens on the weekend.

Paid certificates have no added value for most companies. The encryption is identical; you pay for a warranty scheme that you hardly ever use.

  • Automatic renewal — expired certificates are the most common failure.
  • Everything via https — also old pages and images, otherwise the lock will remain missing.
  • Redirect from http — visitors who enter the old address should automatically arrive at https.
  • Valid for all variants — with and without www.
  • Free is fine — the encryption is the same as with a paid certificate.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

More about an SSL certificate

Do I have to pay for an SSL certificate?

Not for almost all business websites. Free certificates offer exactly the same encryption. Paid variants add a guarantee scheme and sometimes more extensive business validation, which makes sense for banks and insurers and rarely elsewhere.

Is my site safe with a certificate?

No, only the connection is secured. The certificate does not protect against an outdated system, weak passwords or a leak in your software. It's one layer, and the easiest to arrange.

What happens when it expires?

Visitors receive a full-screen warning that causes most people to drop out. That is why we arrange automatic renewal and monitor the validity, so that this is not discovered on a Saturday morning.

CONTINUE READING

More on this topic

Of course, continue reading about this subject.

Technology that correct?

We look at your certificate, referrals and whether everything really runs via https free of charge.

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