Most MSMEs Are ‘Pick Mes’ Online: A look at how a Secure Website can increase your chances!
Every other day, you and I, and many other persons are searching for, and getting access to enormous information and incredible opportunities on the internet. How incredibly the web has become an important ‘utility’ tool cannot be understated. As personal web profiles become staple, many businesses are finding out that they can only ignore the internet at their own peril.
The web is a democracy and the internet arguably provides a level playing ground for all.
When you google something random like ‘AC Repairs in Columbus’, perhaps because you want to change your service provider, or because you just moved to the area, Google, and many Yelp-like pages immediately return several options to you, regardless of history, experience, or expertise. Though we are all familiar with filter options like ‘reviews’, ‘ratings’, ‘social media comment sections, and more. The eventual choice you make will most likely come from browsing through the websites of a few.
Now, how do we pick from that few? What filter options exists in our mind? If you have a website that is performing well on Search Engines, if you have your business already listed on many online Yellow Pages, endorsed by professional associations, how do you increase the chances that the people doing this search are going to pick you?
There are many possible answers to that questions that we could explore. But one that sits right at the top is ‘security’. Security is a big deal in how many persons interact with the internet. The same way we associate the web with access to opportunities and information is the same way many have come to associate it with scams, and harm. There are recorded instances of people visiting a website and having their personal information exposed to — and harvested by ill-intentioned hackers. You don’t want to be the owner of the business website where that happens.
If you are a MSME, SME, or start-up without the trust capital of household name organizations, you want to make sure your web visitors aren’t put off when they see that ‘not secure’ tag on your website. And so, as I said at the beginning of this article — while many businesses are finding out that they can only ignore the internet at their own peril — that ignorance cannot be brushed off by simply setting up a web page. As you tick off your site design, SEO performance, and site content check-list, as you upgrade and maintain your site every other year, you need to make sure your website is — and stays — secure!
The presence of that ‘lock’ icon or a ‘beware’ sign beside your web url (mywebsite.com) can determine whether you are going to get new business or not. A secure website will usually look like this: https://yourwebsite.com, while a not secure website will look like this: http://yourwebsite.com. While the ‘lock icon’ registers the presence of a SSL certificate on your website, the ‘beware’ icon mostly indicates the absence of one.
There are recorded instances of people visiting a website and having their personal information exposed to — and harvested by ill-intentioned hackers. You don’t want to be the owner of the business website where that happens.
An SSL certificate does more than bestowing legitimacy on your business (website), it assures your website visitors that they can enter personal information on your site. It has become the ‘secured’ sticker of the web.
According to Namecheap, a leading domain registrar: “the SSL (short for secure socket later), is a technology that encrypts communication between users and a website. This encryption ensures that important data such as usernames, passwords, and credit card information is sent from the user to the site without the risk of interception. The SSL certificate binds this encryption to the organization responsible for the website.”
How do you get one? These days, depending on the type of SSL, it hasbecome easier to get since many domain providers will offer it to you for free, or at a very affordable fee as part of your domain purchase package. Its continued absence on many websites still, can either be due to ignorance, or negligence. Many business owners simply forget to turn on, or update their SSL certificate when their domain is due or when their website is being updated.
As part of our Web Redesign offer at the Akin Collective, we don’t deploy insecure websites. The new websites we build always come sorted with an SSL certificate that we take responsibility for. So even when our clients forget, we will keep it on for them. We know that running your business can become tough, so we put everything in place to make sure new business can keep coming in via your website.
Let me conclude with this quote from Namecheap’s exhaustive technical guide on SSLs: “earning trust is a critical success factor for all companies operating online, regardless of whether they are an online business or host an e-commerce website. Investing in SSL technology and implementing using trust marks is an effective and proven way to establish a bond with your users.”
Is that ‘not secure’ tag on your website? Turn it on now!
