In life, people go to great lengths to establish trust. It’s been said that it takes years to build trust and only seconds to destroy it.

In today’s fast-paced, blink-and-be-left-behind business world you don’t have years to establish confidence. In fact, you usually have seconds at best. Extended Validation (EV) certificates provide an immediate, impactful, and meaningful level of trust by giving visitors visual cues backed by years of hard-earned reputation.

89% of consumers prefer to shop online, how will you protect their data?

E-commerce has exploded over the last decade with 89% of consumers preferring to shop online versus in the store. Customer trust is essential to financial success, customer conversion, and business growth.

However, with this increase in online business there comes a wider threat from cybercriminals who have become increasingly adept at fooling customers into thinking they are visiting legitimate websites. They do this by using visual cues similar to real online trust markers.

The growing complexity in the tactics used by criminals should cause great concern and caution among online consumers and system administrators. Customers need to be reassured that their confidential information is safe and protected from malicious activity. In short, they need to know they can trust the site they’re on.

To let users know that a website has an EV certificate, browsers show additional visual cues.  Some things to look for to ensure a site has an EV certificate include:

1. Green in the address bar

   - Green means go! This immediate visual cue gives site visitors the green light to continue their business with confidence.

2. Website owner’s organization name in the address bar

   - Having the company name in the address bar provides an additional level of proof to your visitors that they are doing business with who they think they are.

3. https:// at the beginning of the domain name

   - “S” for secure. This tells visitors their information will be kept safe and secure.

4. Padlock in the address bar

   - An effective visual cue representing the defense mechanisms in place to keep out cybercriminals and keep visitor information stored under lock and key.

5. Organization information in the certificate details

   - This shows the site has been verified as a legitimately established organization. There’s also something comforting about having access to additional details about an organization before conducting business.

These are just a few of the ways EV certificates can establish trust up front. We’re sure most of you reading this are aware of the importance of consumer trust, but in case you don’t realize just how much of a difference it can make, here are a few eye-opening statistics.

In a recent survey conducted by Tech-Ed 100% of study participants said they would prefer doing business with a company that has an EV SSL Certificate versus a simple SSL Certificate. In fact, 87% of users said they wouldn’t hesitate to enter their private information on a site secured by an EV SSL Certificate.

There’s no denying the power and confidence that comes with an EV SSL Certificate that provides visitors to your webpage with trust the first time they visit your site.

There really is no alternative when it comes to showing your customers their information is safe. EV SSL Certificates mean enhanced trust and increased conversions generating more new and repeat business.