SSL Encryption

All WideRange websites utilize encrypted SSL connections and secure https web addresses.

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer and, in short, it’s the standard technology for keeping an internet connection secure and safeguarding any data that is being sent. It uses encryption algorithms to scramble data in transit, preventing hackers from reading or modifying the data as it is sent over the connection. You can tell if a website uses secure SSL encryption when its address starts with “https://” instead of just “http://” (notice the extra “s” in the secure address). Also, the browser bar will show a little lock symbol to signify that the website is properly secured.

You might ask: what’s the point of having an encrypted website if we’re not handling any sensitive data? After all, sensitive customer and payment information is handled on PayPal or Stripe’s secure servers during the checkout process. The problem is that in the last year or so browsers have started explicitly labelling non-secure websites as “non-secure” regardless of whether or not they are handling sensitive data. So even if there’s no danger when a customer uses a non-secure website, they still might be afraid to shop on the website when they see the “non-secure” warning. Secondly, Google has been pushing hard to encourage all websites to move to SSL encryption and have even stated that they will include it as factor in their search rankings. Finally, if we can have secure websites, there’s no reason not to!

You do not need to pay any extra fee for a security certificate; this is automatically included in your annual website hosting fee.

Please contact me if you have any questions!