Organization Validation (OV) SSL certificates ensure the domain name ownership and the company registration.
However, all major online businesses prefer Extended Validation (EV) certificates to OV. If you’re trying to choose between the two products, it might be helpful to understand this trend.
There are several key reasons why people decide to use EV SSL certificates with their online businesses.
Build trust
When a customer or site visitor considers engaging in business or commerce with an organization online, they want to be sure they can trust the company. The Extended Validation identity verification process requires that the organization:
- verify its exclusive rights to use a domain,
- confirm its legal, operational and physical existence, and
- prove it has authorized the issuance of the Certificate.
EV SSL Certificates use the highest level of authentication and were specifically designed to boost and maintain customer confidence in e-commerce. EV SSL Certificates guarantee that the website has passed a rigorous and globally standardized identity verification process.
Specifically, the EV SSL certificate ensures that:
- the company name or DBA (“doing business as”) you see on the website is the same as what appears in the company’s official registration documents;
- the legal documents of the company have been reviewed and validated by a Certificate Authority (a form of third-party audit);
- the company actually exists and operates.
If your website has an EV SSL Certificate, your visitors can be confident about making payments in a secure environment. This, in turn, can increase your transaction conversion rates.
Display known and trusted visual indicators
Visual secure site indicators include the following:
- https:// and the padlock or tune icon;
- Absence of security warnings;
- The name of the organization that owns the website and the name of the Certificate Authority that issued the EV SSL Certificate;
- The Trust Logo, a site seal that shows company information (domain name, company name, address, city, state, and country) appearing in the corner of the screen.
Note: From September 2023, the new version of the Chrome browser will replace the padlock symbol with a tune icon. This update is occurring as the secure HTTPS connection is now standard practice online, according to Google, and it is no longer required as a trust indicator. This means the tune symbol will not serve as a trust indicator, but it will provide a clear, clickable way for users to get more information about the site they’re visiting, such as its connectivity settings. Moving forward, the absence of security warnings will define the safety of a website’s connection.
Protect and promote your brand
Any website that collects data or processes logins and online payments benefits from the increased trust provided by this higher class of SSL. EV SSL Certificates also allow less well-known brands to use a standardized level of trust usually found with more familiar and established online brands, thus increasing legitimacy.
EV certificates assure customers that a business is legitimate and the site is secure. Customers know the company cares about their security. In particular, EV Certificates help protect customers against phishing schemes because customers can verify that they are on a legitimate company site.
EV SSLs extend trust and security in a simple way that visitors both see and understand. Visitors will feel safer making purchases through a website that has been verified and secured. With an EV SSL Certificate, your customers can establish your true identity, online and offline.