SSLs and Why You Need One

One of the most important components of online business is creating a trusted environment where potential customers feel confident in making purchases. SSL certificates create a foundation of trust by establishing a secure connection. To ensure visitors their connection is secure, browsers provide visual cues, such as a lock icon or a green bar.

SSL certificates have a key pair: a public and a private key. These keys work together to establish an encrypted connection. The certificate also contains what is called the “subject,” which is the identity of the certificate/website owner.

Once upon a time, we only needed to apply an SSL certificate to sites that had credit card processing. You've probably noticed on browsers, such as Google Chrome, that some sites will say "Not Secure" in the URL bar for any site that doesn't have an SSL. Even on sites that do not have online ordering. As of 2020, many browsers won't even display a site at all if it doesn't have an SSL.

So now, ALL websites must have an SSL installed.

Viable E-Mail Addresses

We cannot release a website without a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate. There are strict guidelines on how an SSL is issued that cannot be changed. The request for the SSL must go to one of the following 5 email addresses on your domain:

• admin@....
• administrator@....
• hostmaster@....
• webmaster@....
• postmaster@....

For example, if your website URL is AcmeGardenCenter.com, the SSL request would have to be sent to admin@AcmeGardenCenter.com, or adminstration@AcmeGardenCenter.com or hostmaster@AcmeGardenCenter.com, etc. If none of the 5 email addresses exists, have your email administrator setup 'admin@....'.