Just when you thought you had everything under control, along came the EV (Extended Validation) SSL Certificate. What's that then I hear you cry?...

The succinct explanation is that that if you are using a lower-end SSL certificate to secure your SSL pages, you may soon notice the address bar in the browser turning red, or warning messages about the SSL certificate appearing (in newer browsers). This is because the cheaper SSL certificates will be reported as "not supplying identity information" and therefore are deemed to be less trustworthy than those for which additional identity checks have been carried out before issue.

In other words, the verification process is slightly more rigorous for EV SSL certificates and you really have to prove your business identity before you can get one. This in turn, is meant to improve customer confidence. We can expect marketing campaigns urging us to "look for the green" bar in much the same way that we were urged to look for padlocks in the past.

So, it is a gimmick? Well, yes and no... what it is clear is that not having EV SSL in the long term is:

• Likely to erode customer confidence; not what you want for an eCommerce site
• Going to be very visible to the end customer, thanks to the newer browsers providing lots of visual cues
• Going to cost you much more than you may be used to

Whether you think that this is just a gimmick, some slight of hand to give online customer confidence a little boost, or just the SSL certificate companies looking to cash in on the increase in online business, one thing is sure; EV SSL looks like the future, so it looks on more overhead of doing business online we all need to bear from here on in.