The web world is constantly evolving to protect data and user information, and one of the larger changes has been the prioritization of using SSL certificates on sites. SSL is an abbreviation of Secure Sockets Layer. This cryptographic protocol secures communication between the server and the users and establishes a secure connection. Such secured connection offers several benefits:

  • Safeguarding sensitive data being transferred between browser and server.
  • Preventing criminals or any intruder from reading the information transferred.
  • Avoiding misuse of vital information like credit card numbers, financial information, addresses and names.
  • Safeguarding the information transferred from unwanted modification.

Where this was once only a major consideration for sites that gathered sensitive information, most major browsers have now shifted to displaying “non-secure” warnings on sites that do not have an SSL certificate – even if the site is not asking for any information. On top of this, search engines will rank sites with SSL higher than sites without it. So while implementing SSL on your site is not critical to keeping it running, we strongly recommend this in order to keep your site treated well by browsers and search engines.

Recommended Steps

This is where we step in to help. We are offering a special package to our maintenance clients combining a basic WordPress 5.0 compatibility assessment and implementation of a SSL certificate on the site.

  • Run Basic WP 5.0 compatibility assessment
    We’ll set up a staging environment and conduct a big-picture compatibility assessment with the upcoming WP 5.0 changes. If we run these tests and don’t encounter any serious (i.e. site-breaking) issues, then we’ll simply be good to go for when the WP 5.0 rolls out. On the other hand, if we do observe serious issues then we’ll provide a detailed assessment on what’s wrong and options for how best to proceed (e.g. more in-depth troubleshooting, etc.).
  • Facilitate configuration of SSL certificate

We encourage you to let us know as soon as possible if you’re interested in this package, so that we may prioritize your project and avoid a backlog when WP5.0 rolls out.