With the goals of improving efficiency, increasing market value, and pushing the limits of innovation, more and more businesses have integrated digital technologies into almost every aspect of their daily business operations. This revolution in how business is done marks the peak of the digital transformation age. However, the changes that digital transformation brought about are not all positive. Breakthroughs in technologies also present new opportunities for cybercrime. The good news is that cybersecurity has also stepped up a notch in response to this growing threat. An SSL certificate, for instance, offers security not only to big corporations but also to small businesses.
What is an SSL Certificate?
An SSL or Secure Sockets Layer is a digital technology that creates a secure or encrypted link between your web browser (e.g., Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, among others) and the server hosting the website you are trying to access. A trustworthy website has a custom web design SSL certificate issued by a trustworthy authority. This certificate is recognized by your web browser. Without an SSL certificate, cybercriminals can intercept any data passing between your web browser and the server. This is bad news if these cybercriminals get access to your sensitive personal information, like your credit card information.
What are the Types of SSL Certification?
Partial SSL Certification
Partially secure websites are web domains that have SSL certificates but contain web elements (such as images and scripts, among others) that are hosted on unsecured servers. In theory, these unsecured web elements can be used as vantage points and exploited by cybercriminals to achieve their unscrupulous goals. The extent of the threat when dealing with partially secure websites depends on what web elements are unsecured. In general, caution should be exercised if these websites are asking for personal information, such as credit card details and social security numbers.
EV SSL Certification
Extended Validation (EV) SSL certification involves a more extensive verification process and offers the highest level of authentication. An EV SSL certificate is the industry standard for business and enterprise websites as it provides the greatest level of trust to their consumers. What’s more, an EV custom website design SSL certificate activates the green address bar feature on select web browsers. This web browser feature displays the authenticated company name next to the domain’s web address. As a website owner, this is beneficial as it authenticates the legitimacy of your business, boosting the confidence of your visitors to your website.
How does having an SSL Certificate benefit you?
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It affirms your business/brand identity.
According to a DataReportal report, there are five billion people around the world who use the internet—that’s equivalent to 63 percent of the world’s total population. And this number continues to grow. The latest data indicated that the world’s connected population grew by almost 200 million in the 12 months to April 2022. With these whopping numbers, it is not a surprise why there are plenty of scams and fake websites on the web today. They compete with legitimate websites for online users’ attention. Having a professional web design SSL certificate distinguishes your website from these domains set up for nefarious purposes.
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It ensures security for website owners and their web visitors.
According to a Forbes report, a single consumer’s stolen credit information card sells for around $5 to $150 depending on the amount of supplementary data included. This may seem low but selling in bulk guarantees a lucrative payout—even if the fraud does not ultimately succeed. Furthermore, stolen credit card information can lead to cybercriminals learning the purchasing behaviors and shopping habits of your customers. As a business owner, you don’t want any of this to happen. A professional web design SSL certificate protects your company and your clients from malicious attacks and ensures the confidentiality of your transactions.
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It satisfies PCI DSS requirements if you are accepting online payments.
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of security standards designed to ensure that ALL companies that accept, process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. The PCI DSS is administered and managed by the PCI SSC, an independent body that was created by the major payment card brands (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and JCB). The PCI DSS applies to ANY organization, regardless of size or number of transactions, that accepts, transmits, or stores any cardholder data. A custom website SSL certificate is one of the primary requirements set by the PCI for these organizations.
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It improves your website’s search engine rankings.
DataReportal reports a total of 12 ½ trillion hours spent online in 2022. This record marks a new milestone for internet adoption. With people all around the world spending a lot of time online, it pays to invest in your search engine results page ranking. Netizens use the internet for almost everything, from making online purchases to making reservations. And most of the time, everything starts with a search engine. Aside from SEO, a custom web design services SSL certificate can help boost your website’s SERP ranking. In 2014, Google made changes to its algorithm to give secure websites the upper hand.
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It boosts confidence and trust in your brand.
In our digital world where consumers have more choices than ever before, business owners need to step up their game to acquire and maintain their client relationships. This is where brand trust comes into the picture. An Edelman’s global survey reveals that there are three main reasons why consumers trust business brands. One of these reasons was a positive customer experience. The best value custom web design SSL certificate ensures data security through encryption and authentication. Aside from knowing that you handle their data securely, an EV SSL certificate also allows your consumers to view your company details. A customer at ease will be more than eager to do business with you.
How do Different Industries Benefit from SSL Certification?
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Home Care
Trust is important in any professional relationship, and it is particularly important for those in the home care agency. Caregiving requires collaboration between caregivers and care recipients. When trust is present between home care providers and their clients, ensuring quality in the care services provided is easier to achieve. The importance of trust is not just limited to the provision of home care services. It also applies to your business website. With a non medical in home care web design SSL certificate, clients who contact you through your website should feel safe when they provide you with their personal information. A home care website design SSL certificate reassures your clients that all the information they give you through your online forms is secure and well-protected.
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Home Health Care
Much like home care, home health care is another industry that operates around trust. While home care focuses on non-medical care, home health care focuses on providing professional medical assistance in the comfort of the client’s home. This means that in the provision of home health care services, the personal health records of your clients are involved. It is not uncommon for online forms found on home health care websites to ask for a client’s medical information. Leaking this information, even if it is due to data theft, is a serious violation of patient confidentiality. Give your clients peace of mind by activating a home health care website design SSL certificate for your website.
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Medical Transportation
Unreliable or inaccessible transportation is one of the major healthcare issues in the country today. Missed doctor’s appointments and disrupted medical treatments can lead to longer and more expensive hospital stays, especially for those with chronic diseases. With this, it is not a surprise why more and more patients are turning to medical transportation services. As a medical transportation provider, you must ensure that the information your clients provide you through your website forms, such as their health records and insurance details, is safe from data theft. You can do this by ensuring an encrypted connection through a medical transportation web design SSL certificate.
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Healthcare Staffing
Staffing contributes a lot to maintaining the stability of the country’s healthcare system. Healthcare staffing agencies help ensure adequate facility staffing, reduce workforce burnout, and increase patient satisfaction. With the data richness of the healthcare staffing industry, it is not surprising why it has become a favorite target of cyberattacks. In December 2021, HealthcareITNews.com reported the exposure of the data of thousands of medical workers, nurses, and caregivers due to a data leak. A data breach can be costly, not to mention detrimental to your business brand. A healthcare staffing web design SSL certificate is your first line of defense against these malicious attacks.
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Medical Supplies
No one is safe from cyberattacks, not even medical suppliers. And when these happen, they entail costly consequences. Such is the case for Solara Medical Supplies, an independent supplier of Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) and Insulin Pumps in the United States. In an article, HealthITSecurity.com reports that the company is now facing a $5-million proposed settlement after a 2019 data breach that affected 114,000 individuals. This incident is a reminder to all business organizations of the importance of a solid cybersecurity framework. In short, as a small business owner, you can begin by activating a medical supplies web design SSL certificate for your website.
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Pharmacy
Personal health information is one of the most valuable pieces of data for cybercriminals to collect and sell on the black market today. Unfortunately, pharmacies are hackers’ favorite targets. Independent pharmacies aren’t the only ones that are at risk. Also, even large pharmacy chains can fall victim to cyberattacks. In a report by Console and Associates Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. , CVS Pharmacy, Inc. confirms that the company experienced a cybersecurity incident resulting in the personal information of more than 6,000 consumers being compromised. If you are a small pharmacy owner, make sure that your online transactions with your clients remain private. A pharmacy website design SSL certificate can make this happen. By purchasing a pharmacy web design SSL certificate, you are encrypting all the data that your clients provide you through your online forms.
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Healthcare
Healthcare industry is among the most vulnerable sectors when it comes to cybersecurity threats. But if you need one more affirmation to convince you why you should start seriously considering getting a healthcare website design SSL certificate, you might want to take a look at this article published by HIPAA Journal.
In the report, HIPAA Journal lists the largest healthcare data breaches of 2021. One of the cases cited was the hacking incident at the Florida health plan, Florida Healthy Kids Corporation (FHKC). The breach was reported in January 2021. It was due to the failure of a security vendor to apply patches to fix multiple vulnerabilities on the FHKC website for seven years. The incident might be caused by the failure on the security vendor’s part. But it only shows how your website can become a vantage point for cybercriminals to exploit.
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Professional Services
“Professional services” is a broad term that encompasses a wide range of industries. As a general definition, a professional service can be anything that a business owner may need to outsource to optimize their business operation. For example, logistics, project management, IT services, business consultancy, and digital marketing. Most companies that offer these services are now using online payment as their primary means of collecting service fees. Furthermore, to successfully set up a payment option on your website, you must secure a professional services SSL certificate as required by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
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Insurance Companies
Trust is a big deal in the insurance industry. It is a key factor in how people purhase and use insurance plans. If there is no trust between insurance companies and their clients, these clients will have doubts about what they are paying for. They may also withhold critical information, which can result in damages for all parties involved. Furthermore, it is not helping that the media portrays insurance companies in a negative light. With all these challenges, insurance companies should focus their efforts on building trust with their clients first and foremost. Certainly, activating an insurance web design SSL certificate for your business website is one great way for you to start.
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Nonprofit and Charity Organization
Nonprofit and charity organizations contribute to economic stability and mobility by providing services that promote healthy and thriving communities. Strong community relationships and first-hand local knowledge allow these organizations to better understand their communities’ needs and the best ways to provide for them. Certainly, they play an important role in catalyzing growth and creating opportunities for their beneficiaries.
However, in our time when government resources are shrinking, nonprofit and charity organizations are pushed to do more with limited resources. That’s why many of these organizations are finding ways to increase donations and raise more funds. One way to do this is to make donating easy and convenient for everyone. Also, you can set up a donation page on your website. Now, you don’t have to worry about web security. That is to say, a nonprofit website design SSL certificate or charity organization web design SSL certificate ensures that donations made through your website are safe and secure.
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Social Assistance
Social assistance refers to programs funded by government—and sometimes, private—organizations to provide income support for individuals and households living in poverty. This income support can come in many forms, such as direct cash transfers and in-kind benefits (e.g., food stamps and rent subsidies). Social assistance helps reduce poverty, increase social and economic participation, and promote equality of opportunity among the underprivileged. Activating a social assistance website design SSL certificate for your website helps establish the legitimacy of your organization. Also, this can prevent your beneficiaries from becoming victims of scams that are rampant on the web today.
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School
Educational institutions can benefit a lot from purchasing an SSL certificate for their websites. For starters, an SSL certificate makes them easily identifiable on the web by establishing the legitimacy of their domain. Domain spoofing is so rampant nowadays. You can’t just take the risks of assuming your educational website is safe from these malicious attacks. Likewise, fake domains can harm your reputation and put your clients’ information at risk. With a school website design SSL certificate, you can assure your web visitors that they are on the right website. They will trust you that any information they provide is safely and securely encrypted.
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Ecommerce
Ecommerce covers any activity that involves the buying or selling of goods and services on the web. It also applies to the transfer of money and information during these transactions. With more consumers preferring to shop online, many companies are now turning to eCommerce to do business. However, for eCommerce websites to be successful in attracting online clients, they must first be visible on search engine results pages (SERPs). Aside from employing SEO strategies, activating an eCommerce SSL certificate also helps in improving their website search engine rankings.
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Business Services
One of this digital transformation era’s identifying characteristics is the shift to digital marketing. More and more businesses today are prioritizing digital outlets to promote and advertise their products and services. While the benefits of digital marketing are palpable for all industries, the advantages are more pronounced for companies in the service sector. With the wider reach of digital marketing campaigns, service providers can connect with more clients at a time. You can further extend this reach by ensuring web security. Improve search engine rankings through a business services SSL certificate.
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Legal Services
The legal industry is one of the sectors that rely heavily on trust. Trust is a critical factor that affects the outcomes of casework and future businesses. Also, losing trust, especially among your clients, is greatly detrimental to your law firm’s reputation. The trustworthiness of your law firm is one of the things that your prospective clients take into consideration. By activating a legal services SSL certificates, you tell your clients that you value their safety online. You ensure them that any sensitive information that they provide you is secure from unscrupulous third parties.
What’s the Takeaway?
In conclusion, modern breakthroughs in digital technology give way to promising opportunities for improvement as well as pose new challenges to cybersecurity. As we hit the fast-forward button toward the digital shift, business organizations are becoming more vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. However, it is not all bad news. There are ways to protect your small business’ website from malicious attacks. One of which is by activating SSL certificates for your website. The advantages are incredible and also extend to your customers. By taking full advantage of the HTTPS revolution, you add an extra layer of security to your website. Let’s boost your customers’ trust.
With web security ticked off from your priority list, you can now focus on other business matters. Proweaver specializes in customizing web designs according to your brand identity and business goals. To get started, call us at +1-877-216-0852 today!
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