Shopify is a popular e-commerce platform for businesses of all sizes. Creating and optimizing a great Shopify store can provide a ton of benefits, including an increase in traffic and conversions. One of the most important steps in creating a great Shopify online store is having Shopify SSL.
Making sure that your online store is secure protects your data. It can also help to build customer trust. Luckily, Shopify makes this process very simple. With just a few easy steps, you’ll be on your way to protecting yourself, your business, and your customers.
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What is Shopify?
Shopify is an e-commerce platform that helps users start or grow their online businesses. More than 1 million businesses in 175 countries currently use Shopify. The site is also easy to use and offers multiple affordable starter plans. Shopify can help users set up a storefront, display their products, and accept payments.
It also provides tools to help engage with customers. Shopify’s e-commerce website builder allows businesses to sell their products online on their own website. It also has a wide variety of features, from beginner to advanced. Another great bonus is security. All domains on the site receive free Shopify SSL protection!
Shopify offers a variety of plans depending on the user’s needs. These range from $29 to $299 per month. They also offer a 14-day trial, so you can see which features work best for you. You can set up an online store, check out the free apps, and even work towards your first sale.
The basic and standard plans work best for new businesses and stores looking to grow. The advanced plan is most useful for scaling businesses that need advanced features. Shopify also offers specialty services for businesses with more specific needs.
Shopify Lite
This is the most basic plan, starting at just $9 per month. This option is best for smaller businesses that already have an existing website not hosted by Shopify. With this plan, businesses can install a “Buy Button” on their site. This will allow them to make sales through their own website.
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus is Shopify’s enterprise e-commerce platform for larger businesses. It’s expensive, at $2,000 per month, but offers the advanced features necessary to handle the largest level of business. This plan offers advanced reporting, high priority support, and other features to help maintain high order volumes.
Shopify POS (Point of Sale)
Shopify POS is an application that shops can use to sell their products in-person, offline. Businesses can sell their products at physical stores, pop-ups, or even trade shows. With the Shopify POS app, you can also accept payments on any mobile device.
What is an SSL Certificate?
SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer. It is a type of security that protects data as it travels between a website and the internet. This layer of protection encrypts the data, preventing it from being read by anyone else.
Gaining an SSL certificate changes the URL of a website from HTTP to HTTPS. It also adds a padlock symbol in front of the URL. Both of these are indicators that the website is safe and secure. SSL certificates contain a lot of important information, including:
- The site’s domain name
- The person (or organization) who obtained it
- Which authority issued it
- Associated subdomains
- The issue date of the certificate
- The expiration date of the certificate
- The public key (the private key is not visible)
Why Should You Have a Shopify SSL Certificate?
In the mid 1990s, Netscape built a protocol called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption upon which HTTP could run to transmit sensitive data for ecommerce websites. This secured version of HTTP was called HTTPS. This enabled users to safely communicate credit card information over an encrypted connection. The SSL protocol provides for the encryption of data, the authentication of the website and the protection of the integrity of the data being transmitted.
The way this works is upon accessing the secured website, the web server sends a valid SSL certificate for the ecommerce site to the user which contains a public encryption key. If the public encryption key matches the private encryption key, then the identity of the ecommerce SSL certificates will be verified by an independent certificate authority. There are several types of certificates with different levels of authority.
In 2014, Google announced that it would begin factoring whether a website uses HTTPS in its search results ranking. In July of 2018 Google Chrome began identifying all HTTP websites as “not secure” by the address bar. Most web browsers have since followed suit.
Having Shopify SSL protection is an important part of keeping your website safe. A website needs an SSL certificate in order to protect user data, verify ownership, and prevent fake copies of the site. It will also build trust between your business and its customers. Customers are far more likely to complete their purchase if there is an SSL secure checkout.
Seeing the padlock symbol next to the URL lets the customer know that they can safely enter their information. They can complete their purchase without worrying about their data falling into the wrong hands. Besides the obvious benefit of protecting your business and your customers data from third parties, using an SSL certificate for e-commerce is also better at preventing data from being corrupted in transmission.
Another added bonus of having Shopify SSL is ranking higher on search engines. The security of a website has a huge impact on ranking. In fact, Google search has made it clear that site encryption is a critical factor in determining search rank. Google considers security one of the best practices toward effective search engine optimization (SEO). Optimizing your store for Google search will provide a huge boost in visibility and traffic.
Obtaining a Shopify SSL Certificate
When you register a domain name, be sure to add an SSL certificate. This will help to keep you and your users safe. When using an unsecured site, you are vulnerable to hackers who could potentially steal your private information. This typically includes things like passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive information. This is especially important on e-commerce platforms, where tons of this kind of information is transferred every second.
The great news is that Shopify provides free SSL certificates for all domains! They have made it very easy for all online merchants to encrypt their stores and protect their data. After a domain has been properly set up, SSL certificates are automatically created and added to the online store.
Keep in mind that it can take up to 48 hours for the SSL certificate to be set up. During this time, your browser might display a security error. Be sure to keep an eye on your website and contact Shopify if the problem persists. Once the certificate has been authenticated, your store’s URL will change from HTTP to HTTPS.
How to Create a Shopify SSL Custom Domain
As mentioned earlier, all domains set up through Shopify are automatically given an SSL certificate. There are two main options for creating a Shopify SSL custom domain. The first option is to buy a domain through Shopify. The price to purchase a domain on Shopify starts at around $11 per year.
After you buy a domain through Shopify, you can manage your settings on your Domains page. Here you can edit and create subdomains. You can also pay for and renew domains. Domains purchased on Shopify are registered for one year and renewed annually.
The second option is to use a third-party domain. This is a great way to create a Shopify SSL custom domain if you are already managed by another provider. You can use your third-party domain by either transferring it or linking it to Shopify. Most domains are transferable to Shopify.
Once you transfer a domain, all management of the domain moves to Shopify. If you still want to use a third party, then linking would be the choice for you. If you link a third-party domain to Shopify, your other provider will still manage your domain settings. You will also continue to pay for and renew your domain through the third-party provider.
Shopify for a Secure E-commerce Website
Shopify is trusted by over one million merchants to keep their e-commerce websites secure. This means that there is enormous pressure on Shopify to maintain both merchant and customer data security. Beyond offering Shopify SSL, the platform also has many other enhanced security features. Shop owners can even display a Shopify secure badge on their website. This lets users know they can shop with confidence.
Secure Payment Options
Shopify employs the highest available standards for safe credit card processing. In fact, all stores powered by Shopify are PCI compliant by default. This means they strictly follow rules for data safety. Customers will be able to shop without worrying about their credit card info.
This is one of the greatest benefits of choosing Shopify over self-hosting. In addition, the fact that they offer free SSL certificates to all domains means that each purchase is done through an SSL secure checkout.
Admin Security
The back end of Shopify’s website is secure and uses a staff permission system. This means you can set up accounts for each person with access to your Shopify admin. This helps to protect your online store from security breaches. It’s done by enforcing security steps to authenticate users. This will also block access to suspicious activity. Shop owners are able to limit access to staff only.
Fraud Protection
The Fraud Protect feature on Shopify helps to protect eligible merchants from fraudulent chargebacks. To be eligible, the store needs to be U.S.-based and use Shopify payments. After Fraud Protect is activated, any online orders made through Shopify will be classified as “protected” or “not protected.”
Merchants pay a fee for protected orders and Shopify guarantees the payment. If there is any fraudulent activity on a protected order, Shopify will handle it for you.
Optimizing Your Shopify Store
Shopify is a fantastic platform for creating and maintaining an online business. One of the most important steps to success is obtaining a Shopify SSL certificate. There are many other steps you can take to optimize your store and increase sales. If you would like help creating your Shopify storefront, contact SEO Design Chicago today! Their team of Shopify web development experts can create and optimize your ultimate e-commerce shop.
FAQs:
- What does SSL stand for?
- What is Shopify?
- Do I need a Shopify SSL certificate?
- How can I secure my online store?
- How can you create a custom domain on Shopify?
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