QOTD: What is an SSL Certificate & Why won’t my (enter payment gateway here) work without it?
Answer: If you’re using your website for e-commerce an SSL certificate is ESSENTIAL! it’s not mandatory for some payment gateways like Square or Paypal, but it is for some like Simply Commerce & Stripe. an SSL allows for a Secure transaction between your customer and your website & SIGNIFICANTLY decreases the chances of you customer’s credit card information ending up in the wrong hands. ever wonder what that little lock next to the url at the top of your browser window meant? Yep! that’s what it is, it’s verification that the site you’re on is secure.
Normally an SSL costs about $37/year but you can purchase multiple years at a time for a slight discount.
For more indepth information about SSL certificates, you can view this article Here.