What are SSL Certificates?

An SSL certificate is a website security certificate. The abbreviation SSL stands for secure sockets layer, which is complex technical jargon that essentially means "your data is protected." In order for any data submitted through a webpage to reach its destination, it has to be sent over the internet. Without secure SSL certificates, it's possible for even an inexperienced hacker to intercept that data. If all that you're sending is information about your favorite flavor of ice cream, it doesn't really matter if it's intercepted. But for ecommerce sites, that information contains complete credit card data and potentially more sensitive personal info. Trusted SSL certificates encrypt the data, making interception impossible. Your website's server knows how to decrypt it, and the visitor's computer knows how to encrypt it, but the third party hacker has no way of knowing the exact key that was used. Investing in SSL digital certificates mean that you take data security seriously.