Security & SSL

How do I protect my website from hackers?

You get security in the form of a website firewall, which your website host provides, and you can also purchase your own, additional firewall, perhaps from a different company, to add extra projection. This would be like having two padlocks with each from a different company.

Will an SSL protect my website from hackers?

No. Really. The answer is no.

What is an SSL for?

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It's not important to know what a socket or layer is. What's important to know is that an SSL involves cryptography. An SSL encrypts information between websites so it can't be read – same as a credit card machine uses.

That means an SSL is a MUST-HAVE if you DO have an ecommerce site.

That means an SSL is a NOT-NEEDED if you DO NOT have an ecommerce site.

However, if you're concerned a visitor will leave your site if they don't see the little lock icon to the left of your website address, then there's no harm in getting an SSL.

You buy an SSL from a website host or SSL vendor and each is $75-$125 a year. Each website must have it's own SSL. Any competent web designer can install it for less than the company you bought it from will likely charge.

Will getting an SSL help your Google rankings?

Technically, yes and no! Practically, no!

Technically there are thousands of website attributes that contribute to your search engine ranking for any particular search.

The question is … what’s the value of each attribute.

Is each one major or minor?

Well if getting an SSL was major, and this has been a ranking criteria since 2014, wouldn’t the number of site visitors gone significantly gone down since 2014?

Have you dropped in ranking position? … are there new websites getting listed above your website that have an SSL and you don’t?

I can’t find a single example of that.

I can’t find an article from SEO ‘experts’ that show an example of that.

Every week I get spam emails selling SSL and when they don’t go to the junk folder I press a button and it replies with a message saying “Show me an example of either a site dropping in ranking because they don’t have an SSL or a site that rose in rankings by getting one.”

I’ve yet to see an example.

Therefore, technically, an SSL MIGHT help your search engine rankings. But practically speaking the search engine ranking value of an SSL is something akin to a grain of rice in a 5lb bag.

But there is also a scenario where an SSL will HURT your search engine rankings!

Imagine your site has several thousand backlinks ... so many they actually help your search engine ranking. Now you get an SSL and your website address changes from http to https! Instantly your thousands of backlinks going to http(no "s") are invalid and hurt your search rankings.

How do I get an SSL?

You buy it from a website host and it's $75-$125 a year. Any competent web designer can install it for less than the company you bought it from will likely charge.

It encrypts data.

The world’s largest hosting company says to get an SLL because

"No site is too small to get hacked.”

it’s another true statement that has no relevance because:

(1) Sites that don’t need an SSL have nothing to hack - a brochure website doesn’t have anything behind the scenes to get … what you see in the browser window is the whole thing and anyone and everyone can see the HTML for your site and copy out the graphics if they wanted to. SSL has nothing to do with that … SSL only applies to data that your site purposely exchanges with other sites such as credit card info.

This also means that …

(2) SSL does not stop a WordPress site from being hacked. Hacking a WordPress site typically means someone is trying to get your site to display advertising … if your WP site is a brochure site then there’s nothing to be hacked into just as with a non-WP site.

Getting an SSL for a non-ecommerce site is very very much like buying a padlock for a trashcan. If there really is something in there you want to protect then by all means get one.

UPDATE!!!
UPDATE!!!
UPDATE!!!
UPDATE!!!

The question is … “which is the lesser of two evils”

Https Means google doesn’t much care about back links anymore because after 15 years they finally realized that the well intended back legs ideas for personal articles to make the best articles the most popular and search results was abused by businesses trying to fake interest in their products.

https And Google… The next generation of a SEO has finally arrived.

Knee-jerk reaction taking advantage of a knee-jerk reaction To Profit… Go Daddy is just plain lying.

Ask them to see a single example in the entire Internet we’re getting an SSL improved ranking for a regular brochure and non-e-commerce site.

"An SSL certificate protects users of your site from having their communications intercepted by a 3rd party. I think it is likely that when you say your site was hacked, this isn't what you're talking about. An SSL certificate does not validate the content of your site, nor does it prevent anyone from accessing it as intended or otherwise. Controls for these are outside the realm of SSL.

There is no warranty regarding SSL certificates other than potential civil liability. Unless your certificate itself was compromised by actions of the issuer, you have no case against them and no warranty is implied.

As far as figuring out what was insecure about your site, how you were compromised, or what needs to be addressed to fix it, you need to have forensic analysis performed on your compromised machine. A review of the website code for the site in question may also be in order.”

SSL it’s a bad decision for most website owners. Your ranking will suffer and no one will leave your side because it’s not secure anymore than they left their site in the last 20 years of the Internet.

Your links will go bad.

Go Daddy is lying.

Not a single one of my clients has lost results because they didn’t have an SSL.

Absolutely if you have clients that are not very computer sophisticated and it’s possible they will not enter your site because chrome says the site is not secure. Well why not just make the site secure right? Well because if you have a lot of back links if your SCO has been dependent on back links which is one scenario and all those back links go bad.

I need to find a host that will let me buy a SSL I shared SSL for all my clients so I can bundle of us part of SCO.

Before you buy an SSL give me a call and lets find out what will likely happen.