SSL Analysis & Certificate Guide

Examine your site's SSL certificate in depth; if something is wrong, find out exactly why and how to fix it, step by step.

What Is an SSL Certificate?

An SSL/TLS certificate is the digital security document that protects data by establishing an encrypted channel between browser and server. Below we explain how it works and why it became essential.

To see it for your own site, enter your domain above and press Analyse SSL.

Encryption

All data between user and server is encrypted; nobody in between can read it.

Authentication

The certificate proves the site really is the site it claims to be.

Data integrity

It guarantees the data wasn't altered in transit.

Trust and SEO

The browser padlock plus Google's HTTPS signal, both working in your favor.

How Does SSL Work?

When a browser connects to an HTTPS site, it performs a “handshake” (the TLS handshake) with the server. During that brief exchange the server presents its SSL certificate, and the browser verifies that it's valid, unexpired and signed by a trusted certificate authority (CA). If verification succeeds, the two sides agree on a shared encryption key and everything from that moment on flows encrypted.

At the heart of that process sits public key cryptography: data encrypted with the public key in the certificate can only be decrypted with the private key on the server. So even if somebody intercepts the traffic (a man-in-the-middle), they can't read it.

Why Did SSL Become Essential?

In 2018 Chrome began marking every non-HTTPS site as “Not secure” in the address bar. Today SSL is effectively mandatory for any site with a form, a login or a payment. On top of that, modern speed protocols such as HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 only work over an encrypted connection, which makes SSL a prerequisite for speed as well as security.

What Does Broken SSL Cost You?

A certificate that has expired, doesn't match the domain or has a missing chain shows visitors a full-page security warning. Most users leave at that screen, and Google pushes insecure pages down. SSL problems usually appear quietly (a certificate isn't renewed, an intermediate is forgotten), which is why regular checks matter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are SSL and TLS the same thing?

In practice, yes. SSL is the protocol's old name; the version in use today is technically TLS (1.2 and 1.3). The industry still says 'SSL certificate' out of habit, but the protocol running underneath is TLS.

What's the difference between HTTPS and SSL?

HTTPS is the HTTP protocol encrypted with SSL/TLS. The SSL certificate is the digital identity document that makes that encryption possible. So installing an SSL certificate is what moves your site from HTTP to HTTPS.

Does an SSL certificate affect SEO?

Yes. Google has used HTTPS as a ranking signal since 2014, and browsers mark insecure sites with a 'Not secure' label. Invalid or missing SSL lowers both your rankings and your click-through rate.

Is free SSL secure?

Yes. Free certificates such as Let's Encrypt offer the same encryption strength as paid DV certificates. The difference lies in the level of trust and organizational validation, not in the encryption itself.

Want to see your site's full technical health? SSL is only the beginning; Turksemveri Web examines security, speed and SEO together across 90 checks.

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