Comments on: Extended Validation EV SSL Certificates – Should Your Website Have One?

By: Rapid Tooling

Rapid Tooling — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:09:43 +0000

I like the EV SSL Certificates. The green address bar is a quick and easy way to tell if it’s a real business.

By: Rob Mangiafico

Rob Mangiafico — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 01:35:08 +0000

Thanks for the feedback Cypressguy. EV certs are gaining in both popularity and customer awareness. Since Windows Vista/7 and the major browsers natively support the green bar, more people are seeing and recognizing when the address bar turns green. This “event” is becoming synonymous with a website being safe and secure.

EV approval is actually much more involved than a simple fax. The vendors *actually* verify your business credentials. Here is a list of what Geotrust does to approve an EV certificate:

http://www.geotrust.com/support/true-businessid/ev-validation-requirements/

It is true VeriSign (now owned by Symantec) owns a number of brands including GeoTrust, Thawte, and RapidSSL. But that does not mean all the certificates are the exact same. That’s like saying just because Toyota owns Lexus, that Lexus cars are inferior.

EV certificates are not for every business. However, if you are concerned with offering the highest level of security combined with browser options not available in standard certificates, EV is a great choice.

By: cypressguy

cypressguy — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:29:04 +0000

Until Verisign starts major ad buys drumming up awareness of EV certs to the public, I highly doubt most of my customers have a clue.

A few years ago I bought a Thawte cert, and had to fax documents to them, etc. and that cost under $300. And for another $700 for an EV from the big V, what more will they do?

How much respect am I supposed to have for V if they own RapidSSL? That’s like saying BMW will sell me their version of a Ugo.

By: Rob Mangiafico

Rob Mangiafico — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:26:05 +0000

EV SSL certificates validate the business entity that will be using the cert. This means that websites that have EV SSL certificates are almost always run by a legitimate business. It removes doubt as to whether or not the company running the site is a scam.

Since more is involved in vetting the business, the certs. cost goes up as well.

They are not for every website, but any ecommerce business that wants to convey security and trust should consider them.

By: webdesign

webdesign — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 23:20:15 +0000

Investing money on these certificates seem to be a low profitable action . They are not much necessary . How much sequrity can t provide ??

By: Rob Mangiafico

Rob Mangiafico — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:20:50 +0000

For some online stores this may be true. If your average customer already implicitly trusts your company, it may not be necessary. However, if some or many of your potential customers are not familiar with your brand, and are not sure they can trust you, offering the highest security and a visible indication your site is secure is important.

It just takes a few sales per year that were convinced by the EV green bar to complete a sale for the product to more than pay for itself.

By: ezautoshippers

ezautoshippers — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:09:10 +0000

These certificates seem to be just another ploy for the people that like to pray on consumers fear. They are not necessary and are just another way to throw your hard earned money away.

By: Rob Mangiafico

Rob Mangiafico — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:26:23 +0000

Since it’s a newer product offering, many large merchants haven’t fully evaluated the product. Reasons range from already being trusted (like Amazon), to IT policies requiring a specific cert. type, to IT managers set in their ways. I believe this number continues to climb in the next year as EV becomes more of a standard for online security.

There are many vendors out there that offer lower cost wildcard certificates. We don’t work with these vendors, so I don’t have a specific recommendation.

By: Accountants Hove

Accountants Hove — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 18:56:33 +0000

Hello,

I have a couple of questions:

1) you said only 20% of the top 100 retailers use EV SSL… why so few?

2) do you know of any cheaper security certificates available to people with multiple sites?

Thanks,

Morera

By: Kelowna Hotels

Kelowna Hotels — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 17:52:38 +0000

Excellent article, sent it over to my guy who has setup our SSL Certificates on our travel and shopping cart sites. We used and EV SSL Certificate on a auto parts site. Cost more to setup but people like the added security.