Buying an SSL certificate can be a big decision. It can be particularly hard to know whether it is even worth paying out the money to get one. Therefore it is worth considering what is available, how much they are and what use they will be. If you are using your website as an ecommerce site, and processing payments yourself, then an SSL certificate will make a big difference. If you get the right certificate, it will encrypt the data being transferred to and from the site, which will keep the bank details of your customers secure. You may find that you will get no business unless you can show that you are able to offer this sort of protection to your customers.
You will need to make sure that you purchase the right sort of WildCard SSL certificate for your needs and these cost different amounts of money. A basic certificate will give a green address bar and show that the website has been verified. It offers no protection except it shows customers that it is a genuine website and not a phishing one.
A higher level of protection and hence a more expensive certificate will encrypt the data being sent and therefore protect credit card details from being intercepted. These will show the padlock on the browser or an https:// address and most Internet users understand that these will protect their personal data. Each seller will explain what you get with each certificate and so it is easy to decide which one will do the job that you need it to. The more security you get, the more you will have to pay.
If you decide that an SSL certificate is too expensive then you may find that you lose custom as a result. You will need to decide whether you need to make that investment because it will be worth it if you are able to make back the money due to being able to get a lot more business. It is a risk to take, but if customers are not happy with you then they will not buy anything and showing them that they can make secure transactions is one way to keep them happy. So GeoTrust SSL certificate can be fantastic value for money if you find that you get no customers unless you have one. Therefore if you have an ecommerce site with a merchant account, then you will need one. However, if you use a third party payment processor or you do not have an ecommerce site, then you may not think that the investment is worth it.
Some companies still verify their identity and this is not so expensive. It is a way of showing that you care about security and may just make customers feel happier about you as a company. However, there are some large companies that do not even bother with this and it may not have an effect on your business, so it is very much a personal decision. It is unlikely to be good value for money really unless you take pride in keeping your company looking as professional as possible.
