The SSL certificate
An SSL Certificate is a form of security for webpages; you'll have seen them all over the web. They add an extra layer of encryption to a site, usually used for ecommerce. At Iconography, we recommend it for several reasons, partly for the security and partly for peace of mind for the customer.
The thing is, you probably won't have noticed, unless you know where to look.
Like all encryption, SSL's work is largely done behind the scenes, but if you know where to look, you can find it:
Just keep an eye on your address bar.
When you can see the padlock symbol, you know you're secure. The one above is taken from Google Chrome, but other browsers do have similar icons.
Still, there's another, really important reason:
Google visibility
Since 2014, Google have been recommending that you have an SSL certificate. In fact, Google explicitly say that they use it as a ranking signal.
That means an SSL certificate will have a beneficial effect on your search rankings.
That's great!
On the other hand, but they want even more: