I would like to hear different opinions on this topic. I have some people telling me to use "PayPal" as a transaction method. However, other people say use an SSL so customers are secured on their purchases. Thoughts?
Well, the way I see it is that when you use PayPal as a transaction method, it redirects to the secure (SSL) PayPal website while doing the transaction. On the other hand, if you're wanting to do transactions on your own website, SSL is a must if you want to ensure people that your website is secure.
Yes, that is the main idea. SSL, in my opinion, isn't really needed on a webpage unless you're trying to secure sensitive data or trying to mask the user's operations on the website. Though, it can be what verifies to the user that this website is legit, but it's not always the case.
Yep. I know that in my experiences that I've never used SSL for a website. I'm currently programming one that will accept payments, and I'll be having it redirect through to PayPal. This is cheaper to do than buying an SSL certificate (which makes the URL bar yellow/green depending on the browser) and takes less time to setup, but PayPal still takes a bit of the funds.
SSL is a nice thing to have. Even if you don't have sensitive information to protect, I've discovered that visitors tend to trust a website that has an option to view pages in SSL. It makes you appear reputable.
It is not needed, but it is always attractive if users are entering private information on your own website.