Are you looking for Afrihost SSL certificate? In this article, we will reveal the type of SSL you should go for and the price.
Also, you will learn how an SSL Certificate works and why you should have one.
Table of Contents
What is an SSL certificate?
SSL in full stands for Secure Socket Layer, which is a form of security tool installed on your website to deter intruders from access data in your website.
Its job is to encrypt data, keep it off-limits from unauthorized access, for example, from hackers and phishing cybercriminals.
No matter how private your website or organization is, Cyber Crimes are becoming more and more common.
All sensitive data transferred between two systems can be left open to being read and altered.
It can also become an identity theft risk. Hence, having an SSL certificate is vital for the security of both your visitors and your business (more on this in a minute).
How does it work?
When a user comes to your website to view some information, say, place an order, their browser sends requests to the server housing your site’s content.
And once it retrieves the requested information, it displays back to the user through their screen (either on mobile or desktop).
Now, an intruder might want to intercept this communication between your website and the server.
And when they do, you never know what they can do.
They can choose the alter the information being sent back to the user (phishing) or even worse, decide to steal personal data.
Either way, you don’t want to happen.
So what do you do?
You install an SSL certificate.
What it does is, SSL acts as a safe tunnel through which the communication between the website and server happens.
It does this by encrypting the information on transit, and only decrypting it once it reaches its destination.
And when the intruder tries to intercept the encrypted data, all they are is a bunch of characters that carry no meaning (because they are encrypted).
Your data is safe thanks to SSL certificate encryption.
Why do you need an SSL certificate in South Africa?
There are a ton of reasons why you must install an SSL certificate on your website.
But we are going to look at only two that carry the heaviest consequences if ignored.
a). Protect personal data
If you have been online for the last couple of years, you must have seen on the news the issue of data leaks.
Companies being sued for handling personal data clumsily, a good example is the Facebook Cambridge Analytica incident.
The Times reported that in 2014 contractors and employees of Cambridge Analytica, eager to sell psychological profiles of American voters to political campaigns, acquired the private Facebook data of tens of millions of users — the largest known leak in Facebook history.
What ensued is chaos in the tech industry on how these companies handle personal data, the CEO of Cambridge Analytica stepped down, and Facebook was fined millions of dollars.
Why am I telling you this story?
Personal data is not something to joke around with.
And while tech giants like Facebook still struggle with the same issue, the right way to get started is by acquiring an SSL certificate.
It helps shield your website from malicious attacks and acts as the first line of defense against attacks.
b). Ranking on Google
Google has made it public that it is using the security of the website as a ranking factor.
In their own words, Google states that ‘Security is a top priority for Google. We invest a lot in making sure that our services use industry-leading security, like strong HTTPS encryption by default….’
What does this mean to you?
If your website is still running the HTTP protocol, you are in danger!
As of now, you won’t find any ‘insecure’ website ranking on Google for any keywords.
If your rankings and organic traffic matter to your business, you should consider getting an SSL certificate like the Afrihost SSL certificate.
Types of SSL certificates in South Africa
In general terms, there are only two types of SSL;
a). Free SSL certificates
Issued by LetsEncrypt.org, these are the types of certificates you can find without paying anything.
They last for up to 3 months, and then you can renew them once again.
Additionally, it only protects one domain.
How can I get it?
Well, if you have access to a cPanel, you can install it directly from there.
If not, contact your web hosting company in South Africa and ask them to install it on your domain.
The free SSL certificate in South Africa is only recommended for small blogs with a few users month.
But as your blog grows into a company or you start selling stuff on your site, you SHOULDN’T use the free SSL.
b). Paid SSL
Your guess is right, you need some money to get your hands on this type of SSL in South Africa.
Paid SSL comes in different flavors as well.
- Standard SSL: This covers your domian.com -eg: www.yourdomain.com
- Wildcard SSL: This covers both your domain and its accompanying unlimited number of subdomains
Paid SSL comes with additional perks like a warranty and of course, lasts longer than free ones.
In fact, a paid SSL can last for up to 1 year before you can renew again.
Does Afrihost offer an SSL certificate?
Yes, Afrihost offers SSL certificates in South Africa. You can get both the free and paid SSL. All you have to do is email them at [email protected], specify the domain name, and request the type of certificate you require. You will receive an email once the certificate has been loaded.
How much is Afrihost SSL?
From the information we could find, Afrihost SSL Certificate costs R250.00 per year and Wildcard SSL costs R1800 per year. And it also requires a dedicated IP to be assigned to your domain/server for use with the SSL certificate.
The information was posted in 2017, so be sure to contact them if you have further questions about the Afrihost SSL certificate.
Best Afrihost SSL certificate alternative
If you are looking for both free SSL and paid ones, Truehost Africa got your back.
You can easily install the free SSL certificate directly on our cPanel. And if you find it hard, our support is team is on standby 24/7/365 to help you out, just chat with them through the live chat feature on the website.
And if you want the paid ones, we have something for everyone.
You can get a premium SSL from as low as R60.65 per annum.
This SSL also comes with a $10K warranty and can be deployed in under a few minutes.
Click here now to view our cheapest SSL certificates.
