Glossary · websites
What is SSL certificate?
An SSL certificate, more precisely a TLS certificate, is a small file installed on a web server that lets browsers connect over an encrypted https connection and confirms the site is the domain it claims to be. Without one, Chrome and other browsers mark the site Not secure, and many visitors leave, especially on any page with a form. Google has used https as a light ranking signal for years. Basic certificates are free from Let's Encrypt and included by most hosts; they renew automatically every few months, and a failed renewal takes the site down with a scary browser warning.
What does SSL certificate mean for a business in Pakistan?
Cheap hosting plans sold in Pakistan sometimes charge separately for SSL or leave it to the client to install. Others include free certificates that silently fail to renew after a domain or DNS change. An expired certificate on a payment or booking page in Islamabad is a lost sale per visitor until someone notices.
A worked example
A Rawalpindi coaching centre moves its site to a new host. The free certificate is not reissued because DNS still points partly at the old server, and visitors see a full-page security warning. Fixing the DNS record, issuing a new certificate and setting a 301 from http to https restores the site and keeps old links working.
Terms that go with this one
These come up in the same conversations and are worth reading together.
- DNSDNS settingsDNS, the Domain Name System, is the internet's address book. It turns a domain name that people type into the numeric address of the server that…
- Web hostinghostingWeb hosting is the rented server space where a website's files and database live and from which pages are sent to visitors. The main types are shared…
- 301 redirect301 redirectA 301 redirect is a permanent instruction from a server that a page has moved to a new address. Browsers send visitors straight to the new address,…
- Payment gatewayonline payment systemA payment gateway is the service that sits between a website's checkout and the banks, securely taking a customer's card or wallet details, getting…
- Uptimesite kitna time chalti haiUptime is the share of time a website is online and reachable, usually quoted as a percentage over a month or year. Hosts often advertise figures…
SSL certificate — quick answers
What does SSL certificate mean?
An SSL certificate, more precisely a TLS certificate, is a small file installed on a web server that lets browsers connect over an encrypted https connection and confirms the site is the domain it claims to be. Without one, Chrome and other browsers mark the site Not secure, and many visitors leave, especially on any page with a form.
SSL certificate ko Urdu mein kya kehte hain?
ایس ایس ایل سرٹیفکیٹ — though in practice almost everyone in Pakistan says "SSL / https". Cheap hosting plans sold in Pakistan sometimes charge separately for SSL or leave it to the client to install.
Why does SSL certificate matter for a business in Pakistan?
Cheap hosting plans sold in Pakistan sometimes charge separately for SSL or leave it to the client to install. Others include free certificates that silently fail to renew after a domain or DNS change. An expired certificate on a payment or booking page in Islamabad is a lost sale per visitor until someone notices.
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