An SSL certificate is an essential asset for any Professional Marketing International client wanting to conduct business through a website. PMI education representatives always utilize SSL certificates for their own personal websites., Why? Because SSL certificates make visitors feel safe and secure on your site. Your customers will not want to submit their credit card numbers and financial data unless they are absolutely sure that this private information is protected from spurious interception. An SSL certificate is the best way to do this.
Registering your SSL certificate with an established authority, such as GoDaddy.com, ensures that your certificate is recognized and trusted by web browsers. Your customers’ browsers will verify your website identity and security each time it is accessed, allowing them to safely send encrypted information. In short, your certificate is the way your website proves to a browser that it is legitimate and safe. If you have ever made an online purchase with your credit card, you certainly understand how important this is. With the increasing sophistication of modern criminals, you don’t want to take a chance that your financial information might be compromised.
Here’s a quick breakdown of how the process works:
- A customer contacts your site and accesses the secure URL.
- Your server responds and sends your website’s SSL certificate to the customer’s browser.
- The customer’s browser accepts the SSL certificate and creates an encrypted code – or session key – to protect all information shared in the session.
- Your website syncs with the session key and is the only website that can read the unique code.
- The secure session is established and all communications are encrypted and can only be viewed by your website and the customer.
This process only takes a matter of seconds. You have probably made online purchases in the past and had no idea this process was taking place. That is the beauty of an SSL certificate – it is quick, easy and requires no work from the customer.
