Just Released: SSL Certificates Now Available on All New Plans

(Update: SSL certificates are now available on all new Instapage plans as of August 1, 2017.)

Here at Instapage we’re always thinking about new and better ways you can optimize your advertising campaigns with high-converting post-click landing pages.

When we’re in conversation with others; we talk a lot about the importance of a well-crafted headline that demonstrates your unique value proposition (UVP), the necessity for easy-to-read copy, including a hero image, why you need an elegantly designed lead form that is appropriate for the offer, and a relevant, eye-catching CTA. All things you need to do in the name of generating maximum conversions.

Another step that can be made to get that coveted conversion is to guarantee your prospects that their information is 100% protected and secure. Sure, you can provide your privacy policy to help ease their concern, but there’s an even greater step you can take. That’s where an SSL certificate becomes a factor.

What is SSL?

SSL stands for “Secure Sockets Layer” and is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browsers remains private and integral. SSL is an industry standard and is used by millions of websites in the protection of their online transactions with their customers.

On a post-click landing page, SSL security certificates can reduce a user’s anxiety over leaving their personal information and eliminate friction. This makes it much more likely that your prospects will convert on your offer because they know their information is being sent over a secure and private connection.

How does SSL relate to HTTPs?

When a visitor attempts to access a page with the “https” prefix, the browser will (as a first step) request an SSL certificate. If that visitor can access the page with an https prefix and it loads successfully, that means all sessions from that page are encrypted. “Https” is Http secure. If the server has an SSL certificate, it will send the certificate over, and the secured connection is established.

Conversely, if there is no SSL certificate, the connection will fail. Therefore, all transactions from a page that is served via https, are secure.

Instapage and SSL security

Starting today, the Instapage platform now offers SSL certificates for all customers on the new Instapage plans who publish post-click landing pages to any custom domain, at no additional cost. The new SSL feature enables customers to secure all interactions on their post-click landing pages, thereby complying with security policies, improving their customer experience, and helping increase conversions. This means any personally identifiable information (PII) that is transferred via a form will be encrypted.

Your customers demand SSL, they just don’t know it.

The proliferation of phishing and spam sites makes consumers increasingly wary of sharing their personal information in web page forms. When consumers click through to a post-click landing page that requires personal information, they expect that the information they’re sharing is secure. post-click landing pages that lack security features may make them reluctant to fill out forms — resulting in fewer conversions.

Why do marketers need SSL?

Marketers use post-click landing pages to create great first impressions, offer memorable brand experiences, and persuade visitors to take a specific action. One of the key components of a post-click landing page is the form that collects visitor information. For marketers who use post-click landing pages to collect personal, health, or financial related data; it’s imperative for both legal and trust reasons that this information is kept secure and private.

In many business sectors, marketers must adhere to certain security and privacy standards like PCI-DSS and HIPAA in order to conduct business, collect information, and transact. For all marketers, the ability to make visitors comfortable sharing personally identifiable information (PII) or payment data, is essential in creating a bond of trust that will, in the long run, go a long way toward forming greater loyalty to your brand.

The Instapage solution

To ensure that both consumers and marketers are confident that shared or gathered data is secure, we now offer customers SSL security certificates for all post-click landing pages published to any custom domain. This feature:

• Verifies that a website is valid and authentic
• Confirms that the connection is from a legitimate website
• Ensures that all interactions between the browser and the website are secure and encrypted
• Supports your own EV or DV SSL certificates

Marketers can now offer their customers fully secure post-click landing page lead capture forms. End-users can confidently enter their information knowing that their privacy will not be compromised.

Now, Instapage customers can satisfy compliance requirements and offer a better user experience. Whether you want to apply your own EV/DV certificates, or need a new SSL certificate for your custom domain, our platform is now capable of meeting your need to provide secure post-click landing pages for visitors. It’s a win-win for everyone!

How will I know my page is secured with SSL?

A secure page is published on a URL that looks like this: https. In the Instapage application, you will also know which domains are encrypted with SSL and which domains are not secure by the color of the globe next to the domain connection.

The gray globe identifies an unsecured domain:

The green globe identifies a secured domain:

Now that we’ve covered what SSL is and how it benefits consumers and marketers, consider the following popular use-case scenarios:

Enterprise businesses

Maybe you’re an enterprise business looking to achieve aggressive growth goals and have strict security and privacy policies. Plus, your IT and Legal departments require all post-click landing pages be published on secure connections.

How SSL solves it:

SSL is a key compliance requirement for security services, namely PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and others. An SSL certificate allays consumer security concerns when conducting transactions on your post-click landing pages, making them more likely to purchase. This makes it easy for enterprise marketing teams to satisfy security policies laid out by their IT and Legal teams.

Healthcare industry compliance

As a healthcare provider, you would like to convert all of your paper, phone, and in-person information gathering to digital transactions on post-click landing pages. You cannot collect patient data unless you comply with HIPAA standards that state your post-click landing page domain is secured with an SSL certificate.

How SSL solves it:

SSL is a key compliance requirement for security services, namely PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and others.

E-commerce transactions

You’re an e-commerce business and want to create post-click landing pages for the payment process. However, you cannot perform transactions unless you comply with PCI-DSS standards that require your post-click landing page domain to be secured with an SSL certificate.

How SSL solves it:

SSL is a key compliance requirement for security services, namely PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and others. An SSL certificate allays consumer security concerns when conducting transactions on your post-click landing pages, making them more likely to purchase.

“My industry doesn’t have compliance requirements.”

Maybe your brand operates in an industry that doesn’t have any compliance requirements. Instead, you have a large Google Ads budget, and you send visitors to optimized post-click landing pages where they are asked to fill out a form to take next steps. Except that, many of your visitors are not comfortable signing the forms on unsecured post-click landing pages, which results in fewer conversions and wasted ad spend.

How SSL solves it:

An SSL certificate allays consumer security concerns when conducting transactions on your post-click landing pages, making them more likely to convert or purchase.

“I’m seeing lower conversions on unsecured post-click landing pages.”

Clearly, not the ideal situation and you want to resolve it as soon as possible.

How SSL solves it:

An SSL certificate allays consumer security concerns when conducting transactions on your post-click landing pages, making them more likely to convert.

What’s required of me to have SSL?

For all pages published to new custom domains, add the “secure” CNAME as instructed during the publishing process. Then, follow these steps to make sure:

1. All links on your page point to https URLs (https://) or schemaless URLs (//), including your redirect links on your forms or buttons.
2. Any custom code under Settings – JavaScript, Settings – HTML/CSS, or in HTML widget boxes on your page only point to https URLs (https://) or schemaless URLs (//).

For pages published to existing custom domains, simply change your current CNAME record to secure.pageserve.co and follow the same two steps above. Finally, email the Instapage support team (help@instapage.com) with the domain name or page URL so they can enable SSL for you.

Create a better user experience with SSL security

post-click landing page optimization isn’t just about including the right elements for your offer. It’s also about eliminating any friction that prevents visitors from converting. And, unsecured post-click landing pages are a huge friction point you should avoid.

At Instapage, we offer customers unlimited subdomain publishing, and won’t nickel and dime you for every custom domain you publish secure pages to. All Instapage users can start enjoying the new SSL security feature today.

Your visitors are entitled to a secure and private post-click landing page, so give it to them. Start creating a better user experience for visitors, with the new Instapage SSL feature. Request an Instapage Enterprise demo today.