In general, most SSL certificates need to be renewed every year, although there are some variations depending on the level of security your website requires and whether or not you’ve purchased additional security features for your SSL certificate.
Renewing your SSL certificate is a critical part of managing your website and ensuring that it runs smoothly. After all, having an SSL certificate allows your website visitors to access the site via a secure connection, which protects them from hackers.
If you do not renew on time, your website may be blocked from being accessed by anyone who visits it until you complete the process. This could result in lost business and revenue for you if people are unable to use your site because they are unable to access it securely through https:// instead of http:// (the less secure version).
What is an SSL Certificate?
An SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate is a digital certificate that authenticates the identity of a website and encrypts information sent to the server using SSL technology. Encryption is the process of scrambling data into an undecipherable format that can only be returned to a readable format with the proper encryption key.
When you go to a website, the URL will usually start with HTTP or HTTPS (the “S” stands for secure). If you see HTTPS, it means that the website you’re on has an SSL certificate.
An SSL certificate is a tool that shows visitors to your site that you are who you say you are — and also makes it harder for hackers to intercept information from your site and use it in nefarious ways.
Once upon a time, the only people who needed SSL certificates were banks and government websites. These days, however, we send personal data — like email addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers — to websites all the time. And even if you don’t have a shopping cart or blog on your website, people may fill out forms or send messages through your contact page.
If your website doesn’t have an SSL certificate protecting that information, it could be intercepted by hackers and used in all kinds of ways. An SSL certificate essentially protects your visitors and yourself from those potential threats by encrypting the data that gets sent between browsers and servers so that no prying eyes can see what’s being sent.
Why Do You Need an SSL Certificate?
If you want to be successful online, it’s really important to protect the information your customers give you, and also to make sure they know that their information is safe. An SSL certificate tells your customers that they can trust you.
Just as a lock and key keep your house safe, SSL certificates are there to help protect and safeguard your website. They do this by encrypting the data between your visitors’ web browsers and your website.
If you accept any kind of payment on your website — credit cards, bank account numbers, PayPal accounts — or if you collect any other sensitive information (passwords, address details), then you need an SSL certificate for both legal and ethical reasons.
It’s important to note that SSL certificates aren’t just for ecommerce sites. Even if you don’t sell anything on your website, you should still consider installing an SSL certificate, since it helps keep the information from being intercepted.
An SSL certificate is a great way to add an extra layer of security to your site and stay on the good side of search engines.
An SSL certificate encrypts the connection between your site and your visitors, which helps protect sensitive information, like credit card numbers and passwords, from being intercepted by malicious actors.
SSL certificates also help you appear higher in search engine results because Google favors sites that use encrypted connections.
Check SSL certificate online to learn more about the expiration date, issuer, and current configurations.