SSL first timer!!!

[jonni]

Hi, I am implementing SSL on a e-commerce website using zencart for the first time. I'm looking for some advice and tips.

First thing is Verisign (and others, including Futurequest offer SSL certs) seeing as Verisign is the recognised standard is it best to do it through them or is it better to go through Fururequest.

Second thing is the merchant account. Is it best to go through a high street bank, such as HSBC, where the client already has a regular bank account but not yet a merchant account, or is it best to go through gotmerchant.com for example, and if so is that service available to clients in the UK or outside the US in general?

Any corrospondence or advice would be much appreciated...

J-)

[Melissa]

First thing is Verisign (and others, including Futurequest offer SSL certs) seeing as Verisign is the recognised standard is it best to do it through them or is it better to go through Fururequest.Hi Jonni,

Just to clarify--
FutureQuest offers the use of our shared certificate, but we don't issue private certificates (a private cert would need to be obtained from a Certification Authority, which FutureQuest is not, and then provided to us for installation on your FutureQuest hosting package):
http://www.FutureQuest.net/Services/VAS/#SCert
http://www.FutureQuest.net/Services/VAS/#PCert

Along with looking over the above links, if you haven't done so already I would suggest taking a look at the E-commerce & Secure Certs (http://service.FutureQuest.net/subcat42) section of the knowledgebase as well:
http://service.FutureQuest.net/subcat42

I'm sure some of the site owners with experience in this area can provide some recommendations as well.

[Matt]

Hello Jonni,

Dealing with merchant accounts outside the U.S. is entirely different than inside the U.S., so you have to specify. If it's outside the U.S., in what country are you or your client based?

As for SSL certificates, a more important question than "do I buy from a reseller or direct" is "what SSL certificate is appropriate?" Once you know which SSL certificate you need/want, you can really do your homework on where the best place is to buy that specific certificate.

I would focus on your merchant account options first and if you ask elsewhere, be sure to specify the country in which you reside, e.g. seeking UK merchant account or seeking Canadian merchant account (otherwise you will get inaccurate information).

-Matt