“Your Connection is Not Secure”
No one wants to see that when visiting your website! And no one has to; it’s really not complicated or expensive to secure your website.
One of the best and most important ways to secure your website is to make sure you have an SSL certificate installed.
Click here for the video version of this post!
What is an SSL Certificate exactly?
At its core, an SSL certificate is simply a small data file that lives on your web server or more likely, your hosting company’s web server.
It’s sole job is to encrypt (or scramble) sensitive data between the web browser (i.e your laptop or desktop) and the web server (the bigger PC that displays a website).
You’ll know your website has a valid SSL when the padlock is displayed in the browser’s address bar, directly to the left of your website domain name. Also, the “http” part of your web address becomes “https”.
You can hover over this padlock and get more info on the certificate itself and the cookies used on the site.
If a site is not secured using an SSL, some type of warning message will be displayed, likely near the address bar. The specific message will vary based on browser used (i.e. Chrome, Firefox, Edge) but the gist of the message will indicate “your connection is not secure.”
Even though your website may only be displaying info about your church or faith community, worship times, location and phone number, and not collecting information from a visitor, you still want to give your website visitor and potential church visitor a warm and fuzzy feeling that your website (and church) is a ‘safe’ space.
With the proliferation of computer viruses, ransomware attacks and the like, no one wants to spend any time on a website that might be at risk.
Why is it important?
Even if your website is not selling anything or even collecting any data, it’s important to have an SSL so that Google will recognize it as a secure site and rank it favorably in searches.
In fact, since October 2017, Google has virtually mandated the use of an SSL to give page ranking a boost in search engines.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is an important aspect of your web presence that needs care and nurturing. Having an SSL certificate is one way to ensure a healthy SEO environment. If you’d like to dig a little deeper into SEO, check out one of our recent blog posts that offers 7 SEO Tips for Church Websites.
How do you get an SSL certificate?
Well, that depends. Many hosting providers include them as part of your hosting package. This is the ideal situation; it’s one stop shopping for hosting and security.
If your host does not provide it, you will need to purchase and install one.
Prices vary widely depending on your type of website and specific security needs but it’s well worth the cost to secure your site.
This is one area you do not want to skimp on.
Plus, with some research and coupon “clipping” you can find a reasonable price.
An investment in the security of your website will pay dividends for years to come.
Interested in more website and social media tips that will help with your digital presence?
Then hit that “Let’s Go” button and get on our list for weekly emails chock full of digital ministry goodness.