How to Get a Free SSL Certificate for a WordPress Website
Considering how much SSL certificates cost, getting a free SSL certificate for a WordPress website is obviously a great thing. Imagine not having to pay the $50 to $200 per year cost for the certificate? The good news is that you can get a free SSL certificate from your hosting company. Keep reading to learn more.
What is SSL?
SSL is the abbreviation for Secure Sockets Layer. This is an internet protocol that secures data that is being transferred between a browser and a website. SSL is recommended for all websites more so websites that collect user information such as login details, credit cards and payment information. Websites that have an SSL certificate are verified by a browser address bar with a padlock sign as well as HTTPS instead of the old HTTP. SSL encrypts data transferred from the user’s browser to the website thus keeping the user safe. With that being said, let’s look at how you can get a free SSL certificate for a WordPress website?
How to get a free SSL certificate
Most website owners don’t use SSL because of the added cost. This leaves their websites vulnerable. To combat this problem, a non-profit project called Let’s Encrypt chose to offer free certificate authority. The purpose of this is to make it easier for website owners to get the free SSL certificate. The Internet will be safer when more websites use SSL. The significance of the Let’s Encrypt project earned the support of major companies such as Facebook, Google, WordPress.com, Shopify and many others.
The challenge is that installing the free SSL certificate by Let’s Encrypt is not for beginner because significant server systems and coding knowledge is needed. On the bright side, all the best WordPress hosting companies offer free SSL certificate in their hosting plans. These companies include:
- Bluehost
- Liquid Web
- HostGator
- SiteGround
- Dreamhost
- WPEngine
- GreenGeeks
- InMotion Hosting
- iPage
If you are using any of these hosting companies, all you need to do is activate the free SSL certificate. You can do so from the hosting dashboard under the ‘Security’ section. If you use Bluehost, you will find the free SSL option at My Sites>>Manage Site Page. Switch to security tab and activate the free SSL.
The process of activating the free SSL certificate from your hosting company will differ. Feel free to contact your hosting company for help on enabling the free SSL certificate.