SSL Certificates Explained

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) also known as a Digital Certificate is generally used to create a secure link between a website and the browser of a visitor. It prevents hackers from stealing confidential user information like credit card numbers, data transfers, logins, etc. SSL certificate plays a critical role in E-commerce website security which accepts customer credit cards online.

Technically, they are small data files that securely bind a cryptographic key to an entity’s details. SSL certificates bind a domain name, server name, or hostname and the identity of an organization (company name, location). It ensures a secure connection from a web server to a browser as it activated the padlock and HTTPS protocol when installing on a web server.

Once the connection is secured, the application protocol (HTTP) changes to HTTPS where “S” denotes the security.

How to buy an SSL Certificate?

Before you buy an SSL Certificate, decide on the type of certificate that your business demands. Depending upon the type of certificate required, the following information may be required.

• Dun & Bradstreet registration numbers
• Proof of physical address via database listings
• An opinion letter from legal counsel or public accountant
• Other corporate, financial, and government documents such as Articles of Incorporation, bank accounts, and business licenses
• Government-issued photo IDs

The Certification authority reviews and verifies all the documents and performs additional checks if required before issuing the SSL Certificate. Generally, the process takes 24 hours and may extend up to 3 days.

The SSL Certificate Price ranges from INR 500-INR 1500

Find the right certificate and the right offer for you to make the best use of SSL certificates for data encryption.

Types of SSL Certificates

There are two types of SSL certificates, Free SSL Certificate and Paid SSL Certificate. As the name implies, free SSL certificates are free of cost and fall into two categories, self-signed certificates, and CA-signed (Certificate Authority) certificates. The need for delivering free SSL certificates was to make access to HTTPS available for all websites. When comparing the encryption standards Free SSLs are equivalent to Paid ones.

Paid SSL Certificates are signed and issued by a reliable certificate authority (CA). Direct purchase from the certificate authority or from a third party called ‘Resellers’ is possible. Free SSL certificates do not have Organization Validation (OV) options and Extended Validation (EV) certificates, whereas the paid SSL certificates have provisions for OV & EV which are very much necessary for business website security. Paid SSL certificates have significant differences concerning the level of validation, validity period, support, level of trust, and warranty.

Concerning the performance and functionalities, mainly there are three types of certificates offering three levels of user trust. They are:

a) Domain Validated Certificates (DV)

A domain validation SSL certificate is available for all individuals, businesses, sole traders, and private customers. They are checked against the domain registry without any identification of organizational certificates. This is the cheapest type of SSL certificate and should never be used for any commercial purposes. It is recommended to use the Domain Validated SSL Certificates where security is not a concern, like protected internal systems.

b) Organization Validated (OV) Certificate

These are a more trusted group of certificates. An OV certificate can confirm the authenticity of your business. They are most suited for businesses, non-profits, and educational institutions. OV certificates can make your customer feel your site is safe and legitimate. They show a padlock in the visitors’ address bar and make them feel it is safe to submit passwords, contact information, or donations. It is also proven to improve search engine rankings.

c) Extended Validation (EV) Certificate

This is the most trustworthy SSL Certificate i.e., the highest form of SSL Certification in the market. It has a globally standardized verification pattern to ensure exclusive rights to use a domain, confirm its legal, operational and physical existence, and prove the entity has authorized the issuance of the certificate. This can ensure increased customer confidence.

Steps for choosing the Best SSL Certificate

The most complicated question to be answered next is choosing the best SSL certificate. Let us dive into some of the steps to choose the best one!

1. Is your Domain registered?

Ensure your domain is registered as the Certificate Authorities verify the domain ownership.

2. The level of trust required

Decide on the level of trust required as per the nature and performance of your business. Then carefully analyze the three main trust levels of SSL certificates. Keep on thinking about the level of trust you want to build with your customers before reaching a conclusion. Also, think about the requirement of brand presentation on the address bar or just on the certificate.

3. How many domains do you need to protect?

If only a single domain is to be protected, then a single domain or standard certificate has to be purchased with the trust level – DV, OV, or EV of your choice.

If the requirement is to secure multiple domains or multiple sub-domains a Wildcard or Multi-domain Certificate has to be purchased. A single certificate that can cover multiple fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) is preferred to purchasing multiple individual certificates.

Decide upon the above-mentioned factors and buy an SSL certificate which is no more an option in today’s cyber world.

What happens in Web Hosting?

Once the hosting company hosts your website, users can obtain it by typing your web address in their web browser. Achieve this, and the computer will connect to the server, which is the host to the website. The server, in turn, serves the website to your web visitor in their web browser.

Different types of Web hosting

We know that there are many types of web hosting. We are the ones who have to choose the best that suits us. The following points talk about the different kinds of web hosting, and the positives and negatives. For a better understanding of the same read the rest:

a. Shared Hosting

As the name suggests, the client is given a shared space with the other user. Every user gets a section of the server in which they can host their website files. A shared server hosts hundreds of users and has access to features like databases, monthly traffic, disk space, email accounts, FTP accounts, and other add-ons granted by the host. The advantage of this type is that it is very cost-effective and easy to maintain. Yet again, everything comes with its share of both advantages and disadvantages. If the server suffers any problem or errors, the website can run slow and maybe even shut down eventually.

Advantages

• It is very cheap
• Easy to handle
• User-friendly
• Technical knowledge not required
• Offers add on services

Disadvantages

• Shares resources with other websites
• Has performance issues
• Slow loading time
• Poor up-time rates
• Not scalable
• Limited resources

b. Virtual private server (VPS) hosting

VPS hosting is a kind of internet hosting account that you can select for your online hosting. You ought to have a database file on a webserver to have a website on the internet. These physical servers are regularly split into various or shared VPS servers.

Advantages

• Makes custom configuration to the server
• Faster loading speed and higher uptime rates
• It is less expensive than that of a dedicated host
• It has a dedicated server resource

Disadvantages

• Shares central server with other websites
• Not as easy as a shared host to set up
• Extra maintenance required
• Is costly with managed services
• It is under the mercy of a shared server

c. Dedicated server hosting

You need this kind of service when your business is prominent and needs to demonstrate many more of its services on the World Wide Web. It is an independent service, and so, there is no interference. Here clients for sure need to take the help of web hosting companies to maintain this kind of technology.

Advantages

• Has complete control over the server
• Does not share resources with any other websites
• High security
• Optimal performance
• Speedy load time
• Great uptime

Disadvantages

• Very expensive
• Requires technical knowledge
• You will be responsible for everything

d. Cloud hosting

Cloud-based web hosting refers to a somewhat new hosting technology that lets hundreds of individual servers work together so that it seems like one giant server. The idea of cloud hosting is that, when the need grows, the hosting company adds more commodity hardware to make a more extensive grid or cloud.

Advantages

• Resource allocation is scalable and automatic
• Towering reliability and performance
• High security
• Very less downtime

Disadvantages

• Increased pricing for unpredictable traffic
• Limited customization
• Complicated management

e. Free web hosting

As the name suggests, this kind of service lets the clients create a web page or small websites that they can give as a free initial site. As it is free, most of the services will be restricted. As you create a free website with a hosting firm, the company will place ads on the website to make revenue.

Advantages

• Free of cost
• Provides free space
• Has global reach
• No contract (you can terminate your account at any time)

Disadvantages

• No main domain
• No customer support
• Limited bandwidth and speed
• Limited space

General advantages of web hosting

We saw what web hosting is, what a web host is, what happens in web hosting, what are the different types of web hosting, and the advantages and disadvantages. Now, these are the general advantages of web hosting as laid down below:

• Improved site performance

When you have to succeed online, your site’s performance will matter. You only have a few seconds to seize your visitor’s attention before they leave your site and never return. If your site takes forever to load, then your visitants aren’t going to stick around. Not only that, but your site’s performance affects your search engine rankings. With a high-quality web host, loading speeds will not be an issue for you. Now, you could have a very high-performing host and, your site could be optimized wrongly, but once you set your website’s slow loading times, you should discover your site loads quickly.

• Outstanding technical support

If you’re providing products or services through your website, then you realize the value of timely and helpful customer support. Your hosting firm should be no different. Now assume that your site goes offline, and you know that your offline site will cost you if you have a reliable host provider, their support team will be able to bring the site online.

• Domain-associated email address

If you want to seem professional, then you’re going to need a branded email address that uses your domain name. When you catch up with your customers through email, it should be perfect. When you have a hosting service that provides quality, it will grant you the ability to create a domain-specific email address.

• Improved website security

Many of us forget about website security, and it is nearly impossible to guarantee 100% security. But make sure that you are not having any threats and ensure that your website is as secure as possible. The foundation of your website’s security starts with your host service provider. After all, this is where all of your site’s data are going to be stored. A quality host will have various levels of security in place.

• High reliability and uptime

When you are looking for the right hosting mind, it is necessary to make sure that the hosting company has high reliability and uptime. A hosting company with high uptime can be very profitable to your bottom line. After all, people can’t purchase your products or aids when your site is offline.

Now, as we are wrapping up, just keep these points in mind, as these can be helpful for you now and also for future reference too. Before concluding the blog, we can dig up a few more features of web hosting.

The advantages of taking the advice of a professional web hosting company are that the clients can rely on them on getting the best and updated technologies and services that suit their business best. Startup and small web hosting companies may not be that experienced in handling big clients, but that’s never the case with a professional. The client has gained complete access to the data or content of the website. Clients have their say in the design and development stage, and every suggestion is more than welcome and taken into consideration. With a private domain name, personalized email, and maintaining thousands of emails is not easy, but web hosting companies can filter and get you just the required mail that can be beneficial to the clients. Hence, Web hosting is basically the strength of all websites.

Apachebooster is a cPanel plugin that helps you in getting the most reliable server performance for which you have been waiting. It is the only server speed-enhancing plugin embedded with SSL technology