Hello all,
I wrote earlier in RSD thread about this and Scott did explain some about using a SSL certificate and from what I have been learning ALL sites must add that HTTPS to the url even if they do not collect info from anyone. After checking with our hosting provider and also searching online I am now somewhat confused (again). Our provider does offer a free shared SSL BUT with that from what I understand your domain name is not shown??? We would have to go with a dedicated SSL cert., prices I have seen really vary and just wondering what one of the experts here in CC would recommend?
Our site has about 55 pages and according to what I read ALL pages SHOULD be SSL secured OR the site is going to be penalized in ranking???
Any thought and help is appreciated.
Ray

I think what they are talking about is a branded SSL certificate. You can see an example on PayPal here at https://www.paypal.com/us/home (Says PayPal Inc [US] to the left of the URL). That is not something Google requires. They simply want to see your pages loading over HTTPS. Using a shared SSL certificate should not be any problem as long as it is signed.

Thanks again Scott for the reply.
Would our url be able to be seen for all pages if using a shared vs dedicated SSL? That is my main concern
Ray

Certainly. Any SSL certificate applies to all pages on your website. They are never restricted to just a single page.

I looked at Bluehost and they offer a free SSL certificate on shared host for a wordpress site but in order to use the SSL protocol you need a dedicated IP address.

Thanks Eric, I guess going for Dedicated IP also cost $$$ still trying to figure what to do. Shared is ok if at least our url shows up after the Https.
Ray

Hello all,
Well still checking different companies SSL and one thing for sure is a huge range in prices. At the moment I have on my list GeoTrust and Comondo SSL DV for quicker verification. Our hosting company does offer the GeoTrust DV for $149.00 per yr plus $19 for dedicated IP seems high compared to Comondo DV at about 79.00 a year but not sure how difficult it is to install. The difference in range of price that has me confused since they both do the same thing.?? Any recommendations would be appreciated..
Ray

Yeah, everyone seems to "tack" on their own fees in that regards. Installing yourself is actually pretty complex and not worth the effort. I tried once and gave up.

Have you contacted your hosting provider to see what they offer? Typically they give nice discounts and they can install them pretty much on the fly after ordering.

Your right about "tack" on cost Scott and if you gave up installing than u know I don't even want to try I have been in contact with our main hosting company and besides the 149.00 per yr and 19.00 for dedicated IP I believe they also wanted 50.00 for installation. Thats why I am taking my time and looking into it more.
Thanks for your reply Scott I appreciate it.
Ray