Many CAs (Certificate Authorities) offer SSL certificates for websites. This results in your website becoming a “secure website” (with a closed-padlock symbol displaying in visitors’ browsers). It effectively moves (or, rather redirects) all your website traffic from HTTP to HTTPS.
But all certificates are not created equal.
Different Types of SSL Certificates
Differences exist not primarily as to price, but to certificate validation levels. Cheaper ones (and even the free ones) certainly are more than enough. They help you avoiding the (alleged) ranking disadvantages in search engines. Business owners who are serious about maintaining a trustworthy and secure website are usually advised to use an EV (Extended Validation) certificate. In reality, these higher level certificates may be the choice mostly if you want to impress website visitors. The purported credibility of these could make your website look more legitimate and professional. (This mostly works with mass-market websites where audiences are less sophisticated or more gullible than in higher-quality market segments.) We view low-price (and also free) SSL certificates as generally sufficient for most uses, especially for small business. The more compliance-heavy and expensive EV certificates may pay off for volume sellers and high-traffic websites.
So if you are some eBay or Amazon-style operation, you might prefer EV and proudly display your “trusted site” badges.
Do note, however, that relevant content well-written and crafted with SEO in mind will do a much better job. An SSL certificate is no silver bullet. At the end of the day, ranking your website with good content offering value to your site visitors will benefit you a lot more than mere reliance on SSL certificates for the sake of displaying the HTTPS prefix.
Finding the Best Options for Small Business
Our audience is mainly small business owners. Offering all levels of SSL certificates works best in this situation. Many business websites do not need more than just basic validation. We don’t push more expensive ones as being better. We have no financial interest in selling clients on any particular level. Making money off selling the more expensive options is not good business, but understanding the facts, and providing information based on these facts, is. We offer advice on what’s needed for you; and what’s not.
Cutting Through the Noise
The market is full of rumors, but we can help you cut through the background noise.
It is not true that more secure, more trustworthy websites are created by simply taking advantage of an EV certificate alone. We will show you which steps will — in real life, before you commit to either option. Just ask! You are welcome to use our contact form to speak to an expert.