Extended Validation Certificate (SSL)

[Wucube]

Hi.

I am new to the Forum. Just starting my first e-commerce site.

My question...

Is an extended validation certificate (SSL) worth it?

I like the idea of being verified but not sure if it will make any difference to sales?

Any advice/experience would be gratefully received.

Thanks.

Ian

 

[Xtm_Mike]

If you are running an e-commerce site I would say an SSL certificate is essential. There is no guarantee it will generate sales for you, but it will help keep your site secure, and may improve customer confidence.

Your payment gateway will have SSL so you don't really need to worry about it but SSL is very cheap and in most cases free these days so there is no reason for you not to have it.

 

[John Blakeman]

Google are favouring sites that use security certificates.
Users feel more secure if they know there's a pad lock.

Although if your website doesn't take personal details from users then security certificates are pretty much unless from a technical point of view.

 

[Wucube]

Thanks for the input.

I have just installed an ssl (essential padlock) and got the offer of a free upgrade to Extended Validation, whereby a 5-10 day Validation process takes place... To verify every aspect of the business..owners...addresses...accountants e.t.c..

Wondered if it was worth it? If anybody had done it? Was it worth the hassle?

I have a very innovative product and so want to avoid the Excuse cynics as best as I can.

Thanks

 

[NuBlue]

A free EV SSL is a good offer and I'd say go for it, as long as you don't mind the hassle of getting it. Their verification process involves a fair bit of work on your part to prove you are who you are.

They're often issued to the company and not the website/trading name so if your company name is Fred Ltd and website tommysrecords.com, the EV could show Fred Ltd which only confuses.

 

[Wucube]

Ah... that makes sense. There is a difference too. my company is PDFenergy Ltd and the website/product is Wucube.com

Thanks for pointing that out... Never crossed my mind. I want people to know they are dealing with an honest company is all.

 

[webgeek]

EV is awesome. The green bar represents trust and is one heck of a powerful trust signal among many. Then again, there's 20 or so other super strong trust signals you should be making use of as well - since trust and price are huge on the mind of your average buyer.

 

[Wucube]

Webgeek.. Thanks I am intrigued now.

Any idea where I could educate myself to the 20 or so trust signals?

Thanks

 

[Dan_HiHosting]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

If it's free go for it (as long as you're not locked into an expensive renewal - EV certs aren't cheap), as it gives you a full green bar. You will see PDFenergy Ltd in it though, but personally I think that's fine. You're just confirming the legal entity the shopper/visitor is dealing with.

eCommerce trust signals include having full address and legal information, being registered with the ICO, having a proper privacy policy and terms and conditions. A returns policy.
A domain name that's correctly registered and ideally has existed for some time.
Good reviews from a trusted independent source.
Being a Google certified shop or similar.
A social media presence and history. Off site content showing that you have an established presence and aren't fly by night.
Locality - such as clearly being UK based if targeting the UK market - rather than for example a website run out of India.
Awards, recognition, the list goes on really.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ecommerce+trust+signals

Let us know how you get on.

Best of luck,

Dan

 

[Wucube]

Thanks for the welcome Dan and the insight... My to do list just got bigger!

I'll check out the renewal policy. Had not thought of that. It was a free* upgrade with Comodo from an essential cert. I thought they were offering it because not many people would take it up cause of the hassle involved.
From what I can tell though a letter from the accountant and consistent registered company/website information seems to be the key for acquiring the EV

I have a few questions to ask about e-commerce and hope to do so here, as it seems like a great forum. I have read loads over the last months.

Ian

 

[Spikerok]

Just make sure not to get your information wrong first time round when registering EV SSL, because it can cause you a lot of hassle...

A client of mine has used wrong phone number at the registration process (or something like that) due to which we had to spend quite a few weeks sending accountant approved letters to the SSL provider trying to prove that we are who we are.

 

[PipeTen-Carl]

We've seen significant drop-off in the effectiveness of EV over the past ~2 years since majority of browsers removed the significant uniqueness of the "green bar" (will be interesting to see how this further changes with Googles push toward warning about non-https sites).

The free EV upgrade from Comodo is a separate/additional certificate to your instant/essential/comodo so this will be issued near immediately (recommend CNAME based validation), so any delays in EV validation/issuance won't hold you back.

In addition to what others have said about the EV process, ensuring you get the right entities for applicator, requestor and approver is key along with ensuring the advertised applicant entity has publicly verifiable information (your callback telephone number listed against the company name on Scoot or Yell foremost).

HTH,
Carl

 

[NuBlue]

You will see PDFenergy Ltd in it though, but personally I think that's fine. You're just confirming the legal entity the shopper/visitor is dealing with.

Agreed, the site references the Ltd company so the EV bar showing PDFenergy won't be a problem.