In today’s internet, users are accustomed to seeing the green padlock next to a website address and the letters https. For many, this symbol signals a safe resource where data is transmitted securely. However, an important question remains: can free SSL certificates — used by thousands of websites — be fully trusted? To answer this, it’s essential to understand how SSL works, how free certificates differ from paid ones, and what risks actually matter for businesses and users.
The transition of the internet from HTTP to HTTPS seems like an obvious step today, when secure connections have become the standard. However, this process stretched out for nearly two decades. Although HTTPS has existed since the late 1990s, its widespread adoption began only after 2015. The reasons for this delay lie in technical limitations, low availability of certificates, reluctance of website owners to change infrastructure, and even psychological factors. To understand why the entire world took so long to switch to a secure protocol, it’s important to look at the history, technologies, and context of internet development.
When we talk about website security, the first thing that comes to mind is the SSL certificate. It encrypts the data transmitted between the browser and the server, protecting it from interception. A site with the padlock icon in the address bar appears more trustworthy, which is why many companies use free SSL from Let’s Encrypt and similar providers. However, the question is whether this solution is always suitable for business. In reality, free SSL is a good starting point, but it doesn’t always offer the level of trust, control, and stability required for commercially valuable websites.
In today’s world, where online security is as essential as a lock on your front door, the HSTS protocol works quietly yet effectively. Every day, millions of people open websites, enter passwords, make purchases, or conduct online banking — often unaware that a hacker could intercept their connection. While an SSL certificate encrypts communication, HSTS ensures that users never connect to a site without HTTPS. It’s as if the browser receives a strict order: “Use HTTPS only — no exceptions.”
When your website is ready to go live, the most important step is ensuring that the server hosting it is properly secured. Many project owners focus on design, speed, or content but forget the essential foundation — protection against attacks and data leaks. On the internet, every server is a potential target for hackers, so security cannot be postponed. Proper preparation before launch helps avoid most risks and ensures stable website operation from day one.
An SSL certificate is more than just a file with keys — it’s proof of your reputation as a website owner. It confirms that you control your domain and ensures that all data exchanged between the user and your server is securely encrypted. However, even if the certificate is installed and the connection shows the “lock” icon, that doesn’t automatically mean everything is safe. Attackers can create fake certificates, replace them during the connection process, or even use stolen keys. In such cases, visitors may see a “secure” site that actually runs on someone else’s server. That’s why it’s essential to know how to verify the authenticity and integrity of your own SSL certificate.
Many owners of small websites — blogs, portfolios, corporate pages, or informational resources — still believe that an SSL certificate is necessary only for sites that process online payments or collect users’ confidential data. However, this is a common misconception. Today, encrypted connections are not just a technical feature of large platforms but a universal standard that determines trust, security, and even visibility in search engines. Ignoring this factor means risking your reputation, even if your site seems “simple.”
When we register on social networks, email services, or online banking websites, account protection often comes down to just a password. However, most users still rely on simple combinations that attackers can crack within seconds. Ukrainian cybersecurity experts repeatedly note that in mass password leaks, the same primitive keys appear again and again — such as “123456,” “qwerty,” or “password.” Most of these passwords are guessed by automated hacking tools in less than a second. To reduce risks, it’s important to know which combinations to avoid, how to create strong unique access keys, and why it’s safer to enter data only on websites with encrypted connections.