Hey there,

It's been a while. My BlueHost subscription is up for renewal and I'm looking into it a bit further to see what I absolutely need and what I can get by without...for a little while anyhow. I'm a bit confused about the SSL Certificate ($12/year). I know what it's for, for the most part, but it says that when you go to a website, it should have a little padlock to let you know it's safe. I've visited a few websites and haven't seen that yet. How important is this really? Or is it just a "nickel and dime you" thing? It's not that I mind the $12/year, it's that I don't want to use my primary domain for the time being, but want it as the primary for if or when I decide to use it. For now, I assigned another of my domain names to the primary as an add-on. The way the SSL works, with Bluehost anyhow, is that it can only be added to the primary account - no add-ons or sub-domains. So, if I want to use it on the add-on, I have to change my primary to that domain which means my current primary can never be used as my primary again. I'd rather not do this.

What have y'all done with this? I want my customers to feel secure, but is this all THAT necessary or is there another way? I know if you use PayPal, that gives you security there. What if you have contact forms?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. TIA

Stephanie

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy:

Hi Stephanie, unless you are running a shopping cart on your site, or have a form where you're taking payment information (credit cards, specifically) or other sensitive info I don't see an SSL as at all necessary. Even if you have a 'client log in' area where you share project info, I still don't see it as necessary for a non-commerce site.

I hope this helps!

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Thanks! Yes it does.

I actually found out more information clarifying who does and doesn't need an SSL Certificate as well. Here's the link:

http://www.sslshopper.com/article-do...y-website.html

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy:

Originally Posted by StephanieP

What if you have contact forms?

Does the client have to log in to the contact form, or do they just need to supply their email address?

If they don't sign in, then I don't see any real danger of using no SSL in that situation. If they do sign in...and if you are worried about the fact that many people use the same passwords on other sites...well...then set the password to something strong and secure when you create their account. Then, the worst thing that could happen if their username and password were to get stolen would be that the criminal would be able to send you trouble tickets and feedback from the client's account!