What is a SSL Certificate, and do I need one?

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What is a SSL Certificate?
A SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Certificate is a file containing the "fingerprint" of your server and your domain name. This fingerprint is encoded for security, so that it cannot be forged. The certificate is uploaded to a specific location on your server, where it will be looked for when a page on your website is loaded in a secure environment. If the certificate is found, and its contents match the fingerprint of your server and domain, then the secure version of the web page will be allowed to load. Otherwise, a security warning will be displayed by your web browser software.

What does the SSL Certificate do?
The SSL certificate allows webpages to be loaded in a secure, encrypted environment. You can tell if a webpage is being displayed in a secure environment because the "http://" in the web address will be replaced with "https://". When a webpage is loaded in a secure "https://" environment, the page content is encrypted by the server before it is displayed on-screen, so that it cannot be read by third parties.

Do I need a SSL Certificate?
If your store is hosted in Modular Merchant's "starter" client area, such as http://www.modularmerchant.com/clients/MyAccount, then you will not need to purchase a SSL certificate for your store. Accounts hosted in the starter client area share the SSL Certificate used by the Modular Merchant website.

If your store is hosted under your own domain name, such as http://www.MyWebsite.com/store, then you will need to purchase a SSL certificate for your store if your store accepts credit cards. Credit card companies will only accept online orders that come from a secure "https" connection. The presence of a SSL certificate also increases customer confidence in your website, and, as a result, increases sales.

SSL Certificates are assigned to a site's subdomain. That means that if your site is split into two subdomains, such as http://www.MyWebsite.com and http://store.MyWebsite.com, and you want them both to be secure, you will need two SSL certificates: one for the "www" subdomain and a second for the "store" subdomain.

How do I get a SSL Certificate?
There are many SSL Certificate providers, such as GeoTrust and Verisign. Modular Merchant also offers SSL Certificates to our clients at a discount. If you purchase a SSL Certificate from Modular Merchant, we'll configure, install and annually renew it for you! No fuss, no muss.

If you chose to purchase and install your own SSL Certificate, instructions are available in the Plesk Domain Administrator's Guide.
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