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What are DNS and SSL certificates?
DNS and SSL certificates are certificates which are used to identify and show that a website is secure and safe to use on the internet. Let’s go over each in more detail below.
DNS Certificates.
DNS stands for Domain Name System. All devices that are connected to the internet technically need an IP address.
The IP address is the address of any particular device on the internet. IP addresses use a series of numbers divided by dots, in plain English.
Whether that IP address is for a cell phone, your computer or a server where your particular website is hosted on, all these require an address so that someone looking for your device or your website can find it.
So basically your website is given this DNS address and this address will depend on where your website is being hosted on.
When you first register your website, you will need to point your DNS nameservers to a particular host where you are hosting a website.
SSL Certificates.
An SSL certificate is basically a certificate that’s given to a website that has met certain protocol conditions in order to make sure it is protected to some degree from hacking by nefarious actors on the internet.
Again, in plain English, an SSL certificate basically lets your website have the right to have that little lock sign before it in the website address at the top of your browser.
Also, it will also allow your website to have the prefix of HTTPS at the beginning which signifies it’s secure. Most websites now have to have this SSL certificate.
In fact, Google practically requires it in order to allow your website to be accessed from its browsers.
Although this isn’t necessarily the case, it can affect your search engine rankings for example, if you do not have an SSL certificate.
SSL certificates vary as far as the strength of their security. SSL certificates come in a range of prices from free to quite expensive.
If you’re a simple website or blog, you can normally get away with a free SSL certificate.
However, if you have any monetary transactions, purchases on your website or it contains very sensitive information or access to sensitive financial information from customers, you will need a higher level SSL certificate to help secure your website.
DNS and SSL certificates and why you need them.
DNS Certification Authority or “CA”, basically allows DNS holders who are authorised to issue digital certificates for particular domain names.
In order to get an SSL certificate you need to get this from a authorised certificate authority.
There is a list of certificate authorities that are authorised to issue SSL certificates, that are approved by this certification authority or CA. Here is a link to the list.
For the purposes of this post, for simple website owners, the most important thing you need to consider is where you buy your domain name from and getting an SSL certificate for your website domain.
You then need to decide how secure you want your SSL certificate to be.
Needless to say you cannot have a website without an SSL certificate nowadays since it will be pretty hard to present yourself as a legitimate website without some form of SSL certificate.
What are DNS records?
DNS records basically match up your domain name with the IP address, hosting and other registration information that you need when you buy a domain name for your website.
Can I get a free SSL certificate?
You can get a free SSL certificate. Actually, nowadays most hosting companies will provide you with a free SSL certificate, which is usually “Let’s Encrypt”.
This wasn’t always the case.
In fact, before choosing a host, one of the criteria you should have is whether or not that host offers a free SSL certificate.
Free SSL certificates are very useful for those who have a simple blog or website and are not collecting valuable information, especially financial information from your visitors and or customers.
What is “Let’s Encrypt”?
“Let’s Encrypt” is the most popular and free SSL certificate. Most hosts do offer a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate.
The “Let’s Encrypt” SSL certificate allows you to basically have that little lock symbol before your web address at the top right of your browser.
What Is an SSL certificate authority and is it important to my website?
An SSL certificate authority is basically the SSL certificate issuer.
An SSL certificate issuer must be registered with the certificate authorization authority or CAA.
The most reputable SSL certificate authorities are quite well known like Sucuri or Komodo for example, but there are others.
These SSL certificate issuers provide various levels of SSL certificates depending on the sensitivity of the information that your website holds and the kinds of transactions that your website will do.
For example, if customers are going to be making purchases off your website, they will be transferring sensitive credit card information for example.
If this is the case then you will need a higher level of SSL certificate which may be required by your payment processor.
How to get an SSL certificate fast.
The fastest way to get an SSL certificate would be to simply get the “Let’s Encrypt” that’s offered by most website hosts and is usually included in their plans.
Next you would need to download the WordPress plugin that can easily install the SSL certificate onto your website. Both of these are free of charge. See below for the “Really Simple SSL” plugin.
Do I need to provide my domain name for an SSL certificate?
Whether you get “Let’s Encrypt” or any other SSL certificate, you would need to provide your domain name for the SSL certificate at the very least.
The more secure and higher level the SSL certificate, the more information you may need to provide to your SSL certificate issuer.
How to generate a “Let’s Encrypt” certificate.
If you have a WordPress website the simplest way to generate a “Let’s Encrypt” certificate would be to install this plugin:
Follow the instructions and provide the name of your host. The plugin should do the rest.
What are the types of SSL certificates?
There are various types of SSL certificates including:
- Extended Validation Certificates (EV SSL)
- Organization Validated Certificates (OV SSL)
- Domain Validated Certificates (DV SSL)
- Wildcard SSL Certificate
- Multi-Domain SSL Certificate (MDC)
- Unified Communications Certificate (UCC)
Are all SSL certificates the same?
Not all SSL certificates are not the same. They go from free to much higher priced SSL certificates. These prices depend on the levels of protections and liability coverage they offer.
However, various types of SSL certificates provide various types of security and protection for your website as well as your customers and visitors to that website.
The level of security and the cost will depend on the type of information and transactions that will occur on your website.
Many SSL certificates also provide a level of insurance in case of any breaches and security.
So for example, if your website was hacked and sensitive financial information like credit card numbers etc. were stolen and if any of those credit card numbers were fraudulently used, the victim can actually sue you for damages and compensation.
Your SSL certificate can cover those costs as part of the package.
Check the SSL certificate issuer for the levels of coverage each SSL certificate has that they provide.
DNS and SSL certificates summary.
For most small website owners who have no direct financial transactions happening on their website or sensitive information being exchanged between your website and the visitor, a simple SSL certificate would be sufficient.
However, if any sensitive information like financial transactions etc. occur on your website, then you would need to investigate further the levels of protection provided by each SSL certificate and choose the most appropriate one.
Remember, not only do SSL certificates help ensure a level of security from being hacked etc. but they also provide various levels of insurance to protect you from any financial harm that may occur because of hacking.
It’s always worth checking out the various plans from the more reputable SSL certificate providers before deciding which is best for you.
