What is an SSL certificate, and How does it work?

April 20, 2023

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The process of SSL certificate works as follows:

When a browser tries to access a website, which is SSL certified, the browser and the webserver create an SSL connection using the "SSL Handshake" process.

The browser requests the web server to identify itself using a certificate.

Now, the web server sends the copy of its SSL certificate in the response, which also includes the public key.

Browser or Server checks the SSL certificate copy whether it is valid or not. If the browser trusts the certificate, it sends the session key using the server’s publLearn about What is an SSL certificate and why it is important.

If you are an online business owner, it is mandatory to create a safe and secure environment on your website so that your customers feel confident to make a purchase. This is one of the most important factors in growing your online business. An SSL certificate is mandatory to make a website trustable by establishing a secure connection. It helps your users to ensure that their connection is safe and secure. Browsers show an EV indicator - a green lock icon in the URL bar if your website has a valid SSL Certificate. There are several things that you should know about the SSL Certificate. Here we will talk about What is an SSL certificate and why it is important, How does an SSL certificate work, and How to install an SSL certificate.

What is an SSL certificate and why is it important?

SSL (Secure Socket Layers) is a global standard security protocol that is used to create an encrypted link between the web server and the web browser or a mail server and a mail client. It's a digital certificate that authenticates a web site's identity and establishes an encrypted link between a client and server. SSL certificate is used by millions of online businesses, organizations and individuals. An SSL certificate is necessary to make businesses secure for online transactions and customers' information. Normally, the data sent between a web server and a browser is sent in plain text, which is not safe. So the information transferred between two systems can be easily visible to an attacker and can use that information. But if a website has an SSL certificate, sensitive information such as email, credit card details, login credentials and social security numbers is transmitted securely in an encrypted format. In other words, an SSL certificate is important for a website to keep the internet connections secure and decrease the risk of private data being stolen from criminals and identity hackers. It is important to know that SSL secures millions of peoples' sensitive information every day on the internet. It is the most important security feature which is helpful when transmitting confidential information such as credit card numbers, etc. Every browser has the capability to transfer the information between a web server and a web browser using the SSL protocol. It just needs an SSL certificate to create a secure connection. If a website has a green padlock in the URL bar and shows HTTPS instead of HTTP, it means the website is secured with an SSL certificate, and there's no risk of data leakage.

How does an SSL certificate work?

The SSL certificate plays an important role in creating trust between a browser and a web server. SSL uses encryption algorithms to scramble information in transit. It prevents the data and makes it impossible to read by hackers. After that, the Web server returns an acknowledgement to start an SSL encrypted session. All the data between the browser and the web server will be encrypted, and there is no chance of data leakage. This process looks like it takes too much time to complete. But trust me, it only takes milliseconds to complete and give you a secured connection.

How to install an SSL certificate?

In your browser, if you visit a website that doesn't have an SSL certificate, you see in the upper left-hand corner next to the address, it says "not secure". You can click on that too, and it says your connection to this site is not secure. If you don't want your website to look like this, and are looking for how to install an SSL certificate, we are here to help you. Almost every hosting provider company provides a free SSL certificate in the form of the Let's Encrypt service. Let's Encrypt has now integrated with cPanel, which makes it a lot easier for people to install an SSL certificate. Here is the step by step guide for how to install SSL certificate WordPress.

So first of all, go to the Cpanel and take a note of the IP address under the shared IP address.

In order to successfully install an SSL certificate, you need to make sure that your website is pointed to your server. So take note of the IP address and go to the website called dnschecker.org and type the URL of the website.

Now, it will show you whether your domain name is pointed to your server or not. If your domain name is not pointed to the server, you're not going to be able to qualify and get an SSL certificate.

If you are qualified, open your cPanel, search for SSL and click on SSL/TLS status. Now click on "Run Auto SSL." It will check and verify whether you own this domain or not.

Once it's done and if it does validate and come back as true, it's going to show the green padlock on "AutoSSL Validated." And say auto SSL domain validated.

Final Words - What is an SSL certificate

Having an SSL Certificate is mandatory for a website owner to grow their business. It protects the customer's information, and if a website doesn't have an SSL certificate, Google will not put your website higher on the search results