Website Security

Online customers are more wary than ever of Internet fraud, identity theft and "phishing" schemes. Installing the proper security and validation for your site is essential to gaining your customers' trust, and for letting potential customers know your site is a secure place where they can exchange confidential information, purchase products and services and complete secure transactions.

Your online customers are aware of internet fraud, identity theft and "phishing" schemes more than ever and browsers are alerting users when a website does not have a secure connection. Users are quickly learning what to look for—the lock icon and “https” in the browser address bar. Non-secure sites pose dangers to site owners and customers alike. Survey statistics* show 85% of shoppers avoid unsecured websites. Security is now a must-have for all websites—not only eCommerce sites, but also login portals. 

If your website has been marked with a “non-secure site” warning, it is an unsecured site. This problem is solved by purchasing an SSL Certificate. 

*GlobalSign Online Shopper Survey, 2014.

The “s” is a visual sign of security. It is the secure version of http (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), the basic instructions that all computers use to render websites. The https in your web address signals to users that your site has an active SSL certificate and is safe and secure for their use.

When you have an SSL Certificate installed on your server, your site will display instantly recognizable symbols that let customers know your site is secure: 

1. A padlock symbol that appears in their web browser when your site is opened. 

2. The "https" prefix in front of your URL address in the browser. 

All SSL Certificates from Web.com include https and the padlock icon. Our Extended Validation Certificates also includes a green browser bar on some browsers

Encryption changes data into a form that can only be read by the intended receiver. It used to be that only eCommerce sites or websites that manage the exchange of sensitive, private information regulated by laws such as HIPAA or FERPA used data encryption security. Today, prominent browsers and search engines that want to ensure they refer their customers—searchers—to trusted sites provide a warning message for unsecured http-only websites. With hacking and large-scale data breaches on the rise, it is best practice for any website that interacts with customer data to be protected via an SSL Certificate. 

Web.com uses 256-Bit encryption, which refers to the size of the decryption key used to unscramble encrypted data. 256-Bit encryption is considered computationally infeasible to crack and is known as a very strong SSL security.

Yes. Any website that interacts with customer data, passwords, login portals, or is under industry regulation for privacy should have an SSL Certificate. Browsers now alert users when they land on an unsecured website, warning them to leave at once. If you do not want to risk your site user receiving a “non-secured website” flag, you should get an SSL Certificate.

We offer five different levels of website security. Decision-making criteria include the size and purpose of your organization, the number of subdomains you use or the amount of guarantee you need. The level of validation your site requires will determine how extensive the validation process is and how much time it takes to complete. If you have any questions after viewing the comparison chart above, give us a call! We’re always happy to help you customize the solution that works best for you.

Validation is the process of having your domain and business or individual identity authenticated by a Certificate Authority. It's similar to a Driver's License, or any official document that provides you with proof of your identity and credentials. 

Extended Validation is the highest level of validation any business can receive. A unique benefit of an Extended Validation (EV) Certificate is that it turns the browser bar green whenever your site is opened in newer versions of Internet Explorer and Firefox—giving your visitors an instant visual indication that your site has the highest level of assurance. 

The EV application is more extensive than other certificates. For this reason it has a slightly longer validation time. 

Organization Validation does more than validate your domain—it verifies your business as a legal entity. The primary reason for a website to obtain an OV SSL Certificate is to encrypt a website user’s sensitive information during transactions. Our Basic, Advanced and Wildcard are categorized as Organizational Validation (OV) Certificates.

Web.com will authenticate the purchasing company’s identity and credentials using WHOIS database information, Dun & Bradstreet data, articles of incorporation, and other credible sources such as government-issued photo IDs. We offer a comprehensive approach to identity validation so that your SSL Certificate ensures your customers know your business is both legitimate and safe.

Xpress SSL Certificates use an email-based validation process with information from the WHOIS database. This certificate needs only to validate domain registration and can be issued within minutes.