Secure Web Hosting with SSL Certificate

An SSL certificate secures a section of your web site, encrypting all data being transferred. This is most commonly used to accept credit card payments on your website. The customer is made aware of the secure website by the URL changing to https://..., and a padlock icon appearing in their browser window.

Web hosting companies may offer their own SSL certificate (attached to their domain name), or you can purchase one for your own domain. Using your web host's SSL certificate is cheaper, but has the disadvantage that your visitors will see your web hosting company's URL in the browser address bar, not your own.

If you wish to use your own SSL certificate, with your own domain name, you need to ensure your web hosting account has its own IP address. If your web hosting is shared (i.e. you do not have a dedicated server), web hosts will usually charge extra for this service.

You can usually buy an SSL certificate from a popular vendor, your domain name registrar, or your web hosting company. Some popular SSL certificate vendors include: