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SSL security is what provides the “s” in HTTPS, and the little green padlock in your address bar, signaling that you’re on an encrypted connection and it’s safe to provide sensitive information. Many services now offer free or “flexible” SSL services for your website. Is it too good to be true? Well, yes and no…it all depends on how and why you’re using it.
There are lots of different reasons to use SSL on your website. It might be simply for your users’ peace of mind, it might be for a boost in your organic SEO results; it may be to protect the data that changes hands during an ecommerce transaction, or it may be to protect users’ sensitive personal account information.
There are also lots of different options for implementing SSL. One of the more recently-developed options is “flexible SSL,” which is made available for free through content delivery networks (CDNs) like CloudFlare. This is an attractive option for website owners that are used to shelling out monthly or yearly fees to maintain an SSL certificate through big-name providers like Verisign. But here’s the key difference…
If you’re on a CDN, Flexible SSL will encrypt data transferred between the user and the CDN’s servers–but not between the CDN’s servers and your server. So you’re really only half-protected. This level of protection is good enough for an informational website that wants to provide peace of mind, or to get a slight boost in their SEO rankings. But if you’re dealing with sensitive personal or financial information, you need to go a step further and implement full SSL security to encrypt data along the entire transmission path.
If you have questions about this topic, or any other questions/suggestions about website development, brand development, or digital marketing, please send an email to [email protected]. We appreciate your suggestions, and enjoy helping you make the most of your brand and your online presence.
