How to Get VeriSign Secured on a Website
If you've ever bought anything online, you might have noticed the VeriSign Secured Seal that appears on some websites. VeriSign is a Certificate Authority (CA), an organization that increases online security by certifying that a website is what it purports to be. The VeriSign seal is useful for e-commerce sites because it instills trust in the user, thereby lowering the number of abandoned shopping carts and increasing sales. According to VeriSign, over 90,000 domains currently display the VeriSign Secured Seal, and if you want to join them, here's how you go about it.
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Instructions
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Decide what kind of certificate you want. VeriSign offers four kinds, and as of May 2010, the most expensive certificate is Secure Site Pro with Extended Validation (EV) at $1,499 per year. The EV feature is particularly reassuring to customers because the address bar turns green to indicate authentication. The cheapest package costs $399 per year but doesn't include EV.
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Generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR), a string of text generated by your server that is an essential part of the digital "handshake" that forms the authentication process. The method for generating the CSR differs from server to server, so consult the Resources to learn how to generate a CSR for your server.
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Begin the application process using the online form. You will need to have the CSR to hand, as well as the contact information of people in your company.
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Verify your business. You will need to prove that the business actually exists, that you own the domain name and that you are employed at the company with authority to deal with the certificate. Among the accepted documents are your company's article of incorporation and certificate of formation.
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Insert the code in your site. Once your application has been approved, you will be sent JavaScript code to paste into your site. Place the seal so that your visitors don't have to look for it--for example, near the top of the page--and at a point when the customer needs reassurance, such as when they are about to hand over credit card details.
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References
Resources
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