With so many stories about hacking in the news, we all have to wonder if our own sites are secure. While it is difficult if not impossible to thwart all hackers, everyone knows that there are basic steps to take to secure your site. These steps include using strong passwords as well as not sharing passwords or re-using passwords on multiple sites. But do you have an SSL certificate for your website?
An SSL certificate enables an encrypted connection to your website. Since WordPress sites transmit user names and passwords when the admin area or dashboard are accessed, having an SSL certificate is very import. How important is SSL? Just ask Google. Starting in January, 2017, the Chrome browser will flag all sites that transmit passwords or credit cards that do not have an SSL certificate as insecure. This article from WPTavern explains how flagging will work.
Of course, just installing an SSL certificates is not sufficient. You must also make sure that all your content is secure and served up over https and not http. If you need an SSL certificate, several hosting companies are now offering the free “Let’s Encrypt“. SiteGround offers one-click auto-renewing”Let’s Encrypt“.
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