Your Guide to Getting Set Up with an SSL Certificate

A more secure website can become a more successful website. With an SSL certificate, you could protect data for your users, build trust, and ultimately reach your business goals. Depending on the purpose of your website, an SSL certificate could be essential for doing business.

If you need to learn more about SSL certificates and want to install one on your website hosted with WebDo, then this guide will cover all the essentials.

Do You Need an SSL Certificate?

There are some questions that you should ask yourself to determine whether your website needs to be secured with an SSL certificate.

·         Do you want data to be encrypted when transferred between your website and your users?

·         Do you take personal information like email addresses, names, physical addresses, phone numbers etc. through web forms?

·         Do you have any element of e-commerce on your site where payments are not handled through a third party (such as PayPal)?

If you can answer yes to any of these questions, then having an SSL certificate would be ideal. Certificates are available for single pages, such as a payment page, or, it is possible to get a wildcard certificate that will cover every page on your website and every subdomain if you need it to.

What Are the Different Tiers of SSL Certificates?

SSL certificates are available in three main tiers, with each offering a different level of validation from the certificate provider. Some providers have sub-tiers which require more extensive validation, so look out for these when you are researching providers and need the most trustworthy certificate possible.

·         Domain Level Validation is the first tier of SSL certificate validation. It only requires that the applicant has ownership of a domain and can verify that ownership. This type of verification is performed over email and can be completed in minutes, with the SSL certificate ready to use.

·         Organization Level Validation is the middle tier and includes the SSL certificate provider confirming that an organization exists. Validation can take some days and is usually completed within one week.

·         Extended Validation is the highest tier possible. The SSL certificate provider will verify not only that an organization exists, but that it is a recognized legal entity.

The most basic form of validation should be used for securing non-critical information between a user and website. The next two tiers are used for financial transactions and personal information gathering. The highest level should be used when e-commerce transactions are the primary focus of a website.

Is it Possible to Get a Free SSL Certificate for a Basic Website?

If you are running a basic website without financial transactions, then you could create more trust and offer better security for users by choosing to install a free SSL certificate. This type of certificate only offers the most basic level of validation, but it could still help to improve your SEO while letting users know that you are committed to securing their data.

Although there are several sites offering free SSL certificates, we have found that not all of them deliver on the promise. These certificates can come bundled with other paid software, or they simply may not turn out to be free at all.

For a free solution that has no hidden fees, and no agenda, Let’s Encrypt is the only real option. This is a project sponsored by the Linux Foundation and major companies in the IT industry like Cisco, Alphabet (Google), Mozilla, GitHub, and others.

Let’s Encrypt only offers basic domain validation, so it won’t be suited for larger commercial sites. For everyone else, it is a viable solution and is particularly helpful if you just want to secure your data but don’t need protection for extensive personal information or payment information.

Installing a Certificate on the WebDo Online WYSIWYG Website Builder Platform

If you want the benefits of improved SEO, more security, and more trust, then you’ll need to know how to install an SSL certificate on your website.

1.       With WebDo you will need to have your own domain (available on our Entry, Business, and Pro hosting tiers) before you can use an SSL certificate. If you need to upgrade today or if you are not yet a WebDo user, then register a free account and head to the Control Panel to upgrade your subscription.

2.       Make sure that your domain is pointing to your WebDo hosting. You can check this in the control panel by clicking on Hosted Domains.

3.       Your hosted domain will display a Padlock Icon. Click on this to add your SSL certificate.

4.       Fill in the textbox forms here with your KEY and CRT (obtained from your certificate provider).

With these simple steps, your certificate will be provisioned on your WebDo hosted site. The first time you set up a certificate, the changes will be immediate. If you are changing a certificate, then it can take up to 60 minutes before propagation is complete.

Make Your Site More Secure Today

A secure website is a better website. More potential for higher search rankings, trust from anyone that visits your page, and encrypted information transfer are all benefits of using SSL certificates today.

Threats exist everywhere on the internet, and unprotected data could be damaging to your business. With basic certificates free from a service like Let’s Encrypt, and higher levels of validation available for a moderate fee from most providers, it has never been easier to get your site secured.