Since the first SSL certificates were developed by Netscape in the mid-nineties, they have become increasingly important protocols for website owners, particularly those with business interests online. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) ensures that data flowing to and from a website is encrypted and authenticated, creating a safer environment for anyone visiting and entering data on your website.
Since the Encrypt All Things movement began, and Google began pushing for more SSL adoption, SSL Certification has become a crucial aspect of building any new online environment. In July 2018, Google rolled out their new “not secure” tag on all sites that hadn’t implemented SSL, and the impact of this on many businesses, especially those that pride themselves on security, was hugely detrimental.
For something so important, you would think there would be an easy way to ensure your site was certified. But as one entrepreneur from Pune, India, discovered, this just wasn’t the case.
Sagar Patil and SSL Zen
Sagar’s story of entrepreneurial success started earlier than most. At age sixteen he started his first business, a web development agency that helped both startups and fortune 500 companies setup and maintain their websites, as well as helping develop their apps and online marketing strategies. While his business grew rapidly, he was constantly under pressure to find new clients or expand on his established business relationships. This pressure led Sagar to seek out his own product offering, one which he could promote and grow on a budget, without the pressure of competition from other, similar service offerings.
After building Ressy (a platform offering restaurant discounts), MetaWorks (a dropshipping business), and RapidVM (an add-on for a crypto trading bot), he stumbled across the complicated world of SSL Certificates while upgrading one of his own websites. He was aware of the necessity for the certification, but the implementation of SSL on WordPress proved trickier than expected, especially for something so ubiquitous online. He searched for plugins that might help, but nothing made the process easier. So, sensing an opportunity to build something useful, he set about investing his own money into a new SSL solution.
Sagar hired a PHP developer, utilized an open source SSL certificate issuer, and set about bridging the gap between the certificate provider and on-site implementation. In just two months they had built and launched their product, all at a cost of $1,200 of Sagar’s money.
While Sagar didn’t yet know if this would be a profitable business venture, he soon found that people were lining up to trial his product.
The Path to Growth
“So when we launched the plugin, it was a free plugin and it only worked on certain type of websites,” Sagar says when we interviewed him post-sale. (In 2021, FE International helped Sagar sell his plugin.) “It was compatible with only cPanel based websites to begin with, as we just wanted to test the market. There were four steps that you needed to go through before you could get an SSL certificate and all of those steps were manual. So, you had to verify that you own the domain. You had to upload a file. Then you have to download the SSL certificates and install them in your cPanel. That was the free version. And after six months, once we realized that there was a market for this, we relaunched, and that is how we started generating revenue.”
As only around 40% of websites used cPanel, Sagar set about partnering with a company called StackPath to widen his service offering, but as any plugin developer knows, it’s not as simple as just putting your product up on WordPress.org. You have to get yourself noticed.
“When I launched the plugin there were about 55,000 plugins on WordPress, so I had to stand out. I made sure I had a good website that communicated the problems that users faced and explained our solution. I also made sure that the content featured on WordPress.org was short and precise. I broke the process down into four steps, and they were intuitive, and everyone could see that.”
The plugin ended up receiving 5,000 users in the first few months. They then launched the paid version, which further automated the processes. “After that, we just started adding features.”
Sagar hired a support person who answered questions for both paid and free users, which helped them scale up, but he avoided any traditional marketing push. “Almost all of our all of our traffic came through a WordPress plugin directory search. So, once our WordPress site was up and running and our SSL plugin was ranked number two, we could just acquire all those users. WordPress promotes you based on your star ranking, and we were 4.9. But we also researched the right keywords to use to ensure we ranked. WordPress also encourages you to answer support tickets on WordPress, so I think they took that into account.”
The Benefits of SSL Certificates
There are several reasons why you should consider getting an SSL certificate for your site if you haven’t already, including:
1. Visitors’ Trust
More and more people across the internet are becoming both more data conscious and more aware of the dangers of visiting sites that lack basic safety protocols. Depending which browser your visitors are using, they may see a broken padlock in the search bar when they visit your site. They may also get a clear warning not to visit your site. Either way, it creates a less professional atmosphere and will make them less likely to convert.
2. Site Security
The improved site security that comes with data encryption will not only protect your visitors’ sensitive data like addresses, credit card details and personal information, but will also protect any data you send out to your visitors too. SSL Secure sites are less likely to be targeted by scammers looking to hijack site data, which in turn puts the site owner at less risk of accusations of data mismanagement.
3. Boost to SEO
It has becoming common knowledge that sites with SSL Certification are prioritized by the Google Search algorithm, helping them rank better and therefore receive more organic traffic. As sites without SSL Certification become increasingly rare, the penalties for not being certified will likely only increase. Being certified could make the difference between outranking or being outranked by your key competitors.
4. Securing Subdomains
One lesser-known fact about SSL Certification is that you can use a special Wildcard SSL Certificate to not only secure your main site but all your subdomains too. This can make a huge difference to larger businesses with a variety of subdomains. A standard SSL will require individual installation on each and every subdomain.
How to know if you have an SSL Certificate already
It is possible that your site has already been set up with an SSL Certificate. The easiest ways to tell if your site is secure are:
1. Check the URL
If your site is secure the URL will display https:// instead of http://. You can see this in the search bar when you visit your site.
2. Check the Padlock
In the image above you can also see the padlock icon to the left of the URL. This may display differently in different browsers, but if the site is not secure, this image will appear broken/open.
Important: It is possible that you can have both of the above but your site is still not secure. You need to check that your certificate hasn’t expired. The best way to do this is to use an online tool like this one.
FE International and SSL Zen
FE International acted as M&A advisor to Sagar when he decided to find a buyer for SSL Zen. He had been running the business for over three years and felt that, given the steady increase in revenue and the largely passive nature of his role, it was time to move on to other things. He initially contacted FE for a valuation and, satisfied that we understood the business’s USP, we began work on preparing the business for market.
Through interviews with Sagar and a thorough assessment of the competitive landscape and buyer market, we prepared a detailed prospectus for the business and promoted the business to our extensive buyer’s network. Due to the familiar space (WordPress), passive nature of the role and general interest in SaaS applications, we received a flurry of inquiries about the business, including an offer at full asking price. After some negotiation, including a deal for Sagar to stay on with the business as a consultant for a set period of time, the contracts were exchanged and SSL Zen officially changed ownership.
It was a pleasure for FE International to work with Sagar Patil and we are excited to see what he comes up with next.