Welcome to Hosting.co.uk’s 3-part blog series, geared towards advising our users about distinctions in SSL certificates (Secure Socket Layer) and why it’s becoming a mandatory part of a user’s online experience. Hosting.co.uk is a trusted reseller of Comodo’s PositiveSSL Domain Validated certificates. Today we will highlight the main properties of PositiveSSL DV certificates to help you decide if it’s right for you.

Table of Contents

What exactly is an SSL Certificate?

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of why SSL certificates are important, it’s important to understand what SSL is. In addition, we’ll look at recent developments in the cyber community and how it will propel encryption for all. First of all, SSL, the foundation of our safe Internet, secures sensitive data as it navigates the world-wide web. Three main categories of SSL certification exists: Domain Validated (DV), Organization Validation (OV) and Extended Validation (EV). They all differ in the level of trust they provide to websites. Several certificates exist that fall under these three categories, they all play a vital role encrypting various parts of a given document or page.

The Internet Encryption Standard

PositiveSSL DV certificates are the standard pocket-friendly face of online security. DVs and other SSLs popularity have skyrocketed – as the online community explodes, and websites become a thing of the norm – and cyber security is now more important than ever. Security savvy users have been pushing and are still actively calling for more online security to protect them from hacking, phishing and other online threats. It’s no doubt that recent hearings with social media giant Facebook, has raised issues about privacy and the exploit of users’ private information.

Moreover, tugging and pulling online users, if not physically then virtually, for their attention is on the rise. According to ZD Net, in a September 22,2017 article, “1.4 million phishing websites are created every month,” one must raise the question about security. Furthermore, many Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Specialists say, SSL certificates give users confidence that a website is “secure, authentic and trustworthy.” In accordance, Google developers announced, “Starting in July 2018, websites on Google Chrome 68 (Launches in July) without SSL certificates will display a ‘Not Secure’ warning in the address bar when users enter data on HTTP pages.” This marks a pivotal moment in the cyber community, that will unquestionably, affect all website owners who plan to conduct business transactions online.

The Pros of PositiveSSL DV Certs:

Before getting, SSL it’s important to peruse the advantages in which can impact the bottom line of your venture.

PositiveSSL DV certs are super cheap: SSLs labelled as “Positive”, are the most affordable types of SSL certificates manufactured by Comodo.
Boost your SEO: SSL DV certs, can allow you to boost your SEO ranking in search engines like Google, because Google trust SSL protected sites more.
Fast issuance: It is for those who are looking for a fast way to implement SSL for instant trust and security.

Cons of PositiveSSL DV Certs:

With many good investments there tend to be a downside.

Affordability comes with limitations: This encryption is limited to basic coverage.
No Green Address bar: The well-known ‘Green Address bar’ is not displayed just a green lock.
Speed: HTTPS certs are encrypted and hence will take a bit longer to load than pages without SSL. Many companies have installed added software to combat slow loading pages. This is noticeable mainly on websites with a massive amount of traffic.

Do You Need SSL Certificates?

To compete on a local and international scale, building a good reputation for your company is vital. When Google begins to mark unsecured websites this July 2018, it may inevitably discourage users to interact with certain sites, or worse yet, cease to do business with it. To help, we have put together two simple questions to determine whether your website needs HTTPS and whether ‘Not Secure’ will show without SSL.

Does your website display HTTP:// in the address bar on any of the pages?
Does your website utilize contact forms, user login, search bars, and so forth?

If you’ve answered ‘yes’ to any of the two questions it simply means that you will need to introduce one. Remember, ‘NOT SECURE’ caution in the address bar is not ideal for businesses.

Positive SSL DV Certificates

The Certifying Authority (CA) delivers a PositiveSSL DV Certificates only after it checks that a candidate truly has the rights to a domain name. When installed, a browser with this type of SSL does not display the company’s name. This is because, the CA does not conduct a thorough examination on the company, and EV certificates are the only kinds which display the company name. The website, however, bears a static Comodo Secure Site Seal.

Here’s what a web browser with a PositiveSSL DV looks like:

And this is one without an SSL Certificate:

Installing a positiveSSL DV cert is a fast, pocket-friendly way for online sellers to protect a customer’s transactions. Encrypt a website with this service. It promises 99.9% browser recognition, rapid online issuance, a $10,000 warranty, PCI scanning service, superior customer support, and website thorough vulnerability scanning. PositiveSSL certificates allows you to quickly set-up a secure online business environment that suits your budget.

It is the perfect answer for internal domains. Especially for a site owner who wants to secure his/her website and want to easily improve the trust of the site. Some benefits of implementing SSL Certificate includes: increased client conversion, website authenticity, confidentiality, protection, and encryption for ecommerce related sites.

How to Install A PositiveSSL DV?

By this time, you’ve identified your basic need for a positiveSSL DV certificate. Let’s see how to install an SSl cert. We do all this from our back-end quite easily. Plus, these 4 basic steps are the same regardless of the service provider.

Generate a CSR (Official certificate request ‘letter’).
Present the CSR to your third-party certifying authority (CA) expert and complete the required information.
Get the certificate (and any chain certificates, if necessary) from the CA.
Transfer the certificate and any additional chain certificates to your Hosting.co.uk server.

It’s important to note that a positiveSSL certificate does not last forever. For this reason, we recommend setting-up an automatic renewal.

HTTPS For a More Secure Web Experience

These certificates are an important part of a website visitor’s online experience. Site owners, whether individual or corporate, have the responsibility of protecting the online security and privacy of their customers transactions. Gone are the days when websites could exist without looming privacy concerns. Building trust with users is a requisite to a company’s success. It can determine if your customers click or switch to a competitor. Consequently, one should be concerned about how Google’s changeover to “HTTPS secure site”, will affect their websites and by so doing, assure their clients that they conform to all criteria for online safety and authentication.

Conclusion

SSL for one and all is in due course. To find out more about other SSL certificates that Hosting.co.uk offers, check our web store and to find out more about the features and differences here on our blog. Feed your curiosity on SSL certificates by reading part 2 of this series about, “Why EV SSLs are Important”. Happy reading.