SSL Certificates and Dedicated IP Addresses

With the amount of phishing, spamming and hacking on the internet, securing your website has become an essential part of good business. There are two strategies that you can use to secure and protect your website – a dedicated IP address and an SSL certificate.

At ROBICO WEB SOLUTIONS we offer both dedicated IP addresses and SSL certificates.

  • Dedicated IP
  • $75+GST/yr
  • SSL Certificate
  • Standard is $50+GST/yr
  • Premium is $150+GST/yr

Dedicated IP addresses

When you host your website on the internet, your website has an IP address (Internet Protocol address), which is a unique string of numbers that identifies where your website is hosted. The problem is that more than one website can have the same IP address, so your website might have the same IP address as 20 other websites on a shared server.

Why is a dedicated IP address better than a shared IP address?

Some people believe that a dedicated IP address is better for their SEO (search engine optimisation), makes their site run faster, and helps with ranking in the SERPS (search engine results pages).

Unfortunately, none of these beliefs have been verified – so what good is a dedicated IP address for your business?

Well, if Google or another search engine blacklists a website for spamming for example, it can just as easily blacklist the IP address, as the offending domain name. This means that all of the websites with the same IP address are also blacklisted. If you know anything about being blacklisted, you know that it is very difficult to reverse it, so a dedicated IP address is a must for your own protection.

Some applications and scripts also require a dedicated IP address to run on your website and if you have an ecommerce store, collect other people’s personal data or actively email your customers, then a dedicated IP address adds another layer of protection and trust to your site.

SSL certificates

Essentially, an SSL certificate encrypts the data flowing between your web server and your customer’s browser, so that a third party cannot intercept this data. SSL certificates are essential for ecommerce websites and any website that collects personal details, banking details, passwords or payments.

In general, there are two types of SSL certificates – standard and premium.

Standard SSL Certificates: These can be set up in minutes, are cheaper than premium SSL certificates and don’t require extensive validation. As long as you are the owner of the domain name, you can purchase and set up a standard SSL certificate.

Premium SSL certificates: These take longer to set up because the business or organisation’s identity must be verified (not just the domain name). There is also a green address bar in the browser, with information about the website available to visitors.

Can your business benefit from an SSL certificate?

If you have an ecommerce site, a shopping cart or take online payments, then you need an SSL certificate, preferably the premium certificate. If you don’t have any payment gateways on your website, but collect personal details or passwords from your visitors, then a standard SSL certificate is appropriate.

If you are looking for help with securing your website in Redcliffe, Caboolture, Brisbane or anywhere across Australia – call Robico Web Solutions on 0402 169 831, email us at: contact@robicowebsolutions.com or complete our online enquiry form.