SSL Certificates & VeriSign

Hi, everyone : )

I know that hosting companies offer SSL certificates (for example, when you host your Wordpress blog on Hostgator, the Baby plan offers a 'shared' SSL certificate, and the Business plan offers a Dedicated SSL certificate) ~

What is the significance of the VeriSign SSL certificate? I've seen the emblem on e-commerce sites, and I have to admit that I like seeing it, even though I'm not all that sure that it 'ensures' anything out of the ordinary.

Soo...If one hosts a Wordpress site on Hostgator, and they receive a shared SSL certificate - how does VeriSign enter into the equation? And...is VeriSign something ultimately desired, or...does it really matter?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts : )

the only thing that needs to be secured with a SSL certificate is your order form when you are taking people's credit card/private info.

then, your order form page will have the https instead of just http.

other than that, there is no real reason to worry about SSL on your site.

My understanding is that a shared SSL certificate will make the address of a page look something like https://yourdomainname.com.yourhostingcompany..... whereas the private SSL removes the hosting company from the address. A private SSL requires a dedicated IP so your account would need to upgrade to that.

Verisign is a well known company that issues the certificates and you pay extra for the goodwill that their name implies. You can get a private SSL for as little as $10 per year if you know how to install it yourself. Hostgator sells one and installs it for $50 which also comes with an image to let visitors know that their information is secure. I guess the question is whether having Verisign would result in more sales. Maybe others here have seen data on this.

sometimes you can simply access your site using the https with a shared certificate. just depends on the host and how they have it setup.

robert