An SSL certificate secures online payments and customer data

We believe in a secure Internet and we’re striving to ensure that the threats that exist are recognised and controlled. It’s vital to us that our customers are protected and fully informed, so they can secure their data and that of their customers. To this end, we’re giving a free SSL certificate (Alpha, non-wildcard) with every domain name you have registered with us.

Alpha SSL offers basic protection, but for those of you needing super-protection, you can take a look at our SSL certificate comparison chart and choose one to suit your business and your customers.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a protocol for website security. It protects online communication and transactions using the strongest encryption available. An SSL certificate validates the identity of your website, rather like a passport. Once activated it displays a padlock icon and https:// in your URL. For the Extended Validation (EV) certificate, your address bar will be in green. These trust indicators let your customers know that your site is genuine, protected, and private.

As an online retailer, it’s your duty to protect the information that your customers share with you. An SSL certificate on your website scrambles or encrypts the traffic between a web server and a web browser. This means your customers' personal information is secure. Without SSL, any computer can intercept and steal credit card numbers, usernames, and passwords.

Google has stated that HTTPS will be a ranking signal. Excellent news - it means your website’s page ranking will be boosted if you have an SSL certificate.

All of them, but some sites are more vulnerable than others such as financial institutions, big-name brands, and government entities. You must use SSL protection if your website is PCI compliant and accepts payment cards, or does any of the following:

• Banking sites asking for financial information.
• If your website accepts payment cards (American Express, Diners Club International, MasterCard, Visa. Including credit, debit, prepaid, and gift cards), you have to comply with the credit card associations' rules about data security. The goal being to protect cardholder data. This has been standardised under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). If you don’t use an SSL certificate on your website, you won’t be complying with the PCI standards.
• Your website asks customers to provide personal or sensitive information such as email addresses, social security numbers, medical records, and passport numbers.
• You have login forms on your website asking users to enter their username and password.
• Your site provides webmail where users can login and read email in a secure environment.
• There are subscription pages for newsletters, mailing lists, etc.

You'll get the highest levels of security the industry offers. Our certificates work with the majority of browsers and devices, and they protect an unlimited number of servers. Our partner and Certificate Authority, GlobalSign, has over 15 years’ experience. It will only issue an SSL certificate once a company's completed rigorous validation. Here’re more reasons why you should choose our certificates.

• Each SSL certificate includes the SHA-2 algorithm (SHA-1 certificates are now vulnerable and raise an alert in most browsers), and 2048-bit issuing authority.
• Our IPv6 infrastructure ensures the fastest site load speed in the industry.
• Phishing alerts of potential attacks, so website owners can regain control of their sites quickly.
• Our SSL certificates are compatible with all popular browsers, applications, and devices.
• There’s a wildcard option with Alpha, Domain, and Organisation certificates which means you can use the certificate on an unlimited number of subdomains and servers.
• Cool bonus! Google have stated that a website secured with SSL (https) will have an improved search ranking.