SSL certificates encrypt the data that passes between your website and its visitors (and enables you to use the “https” version of your website and adds the little padlock you see in the address bar of your browser). Where this was once a nice thing to have, it is now a must if you intend for your website to be competitive in search engines, like Google. The hosts below have SSL certs available, in many cases for free.
Basic Plan by Bluehost
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: 50 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: 5
Operating System: Linux
Basic Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: 50 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $3.95Regular Price: $7.99
Plus Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $5.95Regular Price: $10.99
Choice Plus Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $5.95Regular Price: $14.99
Hatchling Plan by HostGator
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
Starter Plan (Builder Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $3.84Regular Price: $4.99
Baby Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $3.95Regular Price: $9.95
Hatchling Plan (Cloud Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $4.95Regular Price: $8.95
Ecosite Starter Plan by GreenGeeks
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: Unlimited
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
Ecosite Pro Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $6.95Regular Price: $14.95
Ecosite Premium Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $16.95Regular Price: $24.95
1 GB RAM Plan (VPS Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 25 GB
Bandwidth: 1000 GB
Today’s Price: $39.95
Lite Plan by A2 Hosting
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
Swift Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $3.70Regular Price: $9.99
Lite Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $4.90Regular Price: $9.99
Unmanaged Entry Plan (VPS Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 20 GB
Bandwidth: 2 TB
Today’s Price: $5.00
Basic Plan by Just Host
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: 50 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: 5
Operating System: Linux
Plus Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: 10
Disk Space: 150 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $6.95Regular Price: $10.99
Prime Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $6.95Regular Price: $14.99
Standard Plan (VPS Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 30 GB
Bandwidth: 1 TB
Promo Price: $19.99Regular Price: $29.99
WP Starter Plan by FatCow
Hosting Type: Wordpress
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
Original Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $4.08Regular Price: $12.95
WP Essential Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $6.95Regular Price: $12.49
Basic Plan (VPS Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 40 GB
Bandwidth: 1 TB
Promo Price: $19.99Regular Price: $24.99
Starter Plan by One.com
Hosting Type: Builder
Disk Space: 25 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
Professional Plus Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 200 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $3.49Regular Price: $6.99
Plus Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 200 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $3.49Regular Price: $6.99
Essential Hosting Plan by HostNoc
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: 2 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 5
Email Accounts: 25
Operating System: Linux
Essential Hosting Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: 5
Disk Space: 100 MB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $3.36Regular Price: $5.60
WP Starter Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $3.75Regular Price: $7.49
Pro Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $3.95Regular Price: $11.95
Simple Plan by PowWeb
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: Unlimited
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
Simple Plan by WebHostingPad
Hosting Type: Builder
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
Power Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $1.99Regular Price: $3.99
WP Basic Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: 5
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $2.99Regular Price: $4.99
WP Pro Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: 10
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $3.99Regular Price: $5.99
Starter Plan by DreamHost
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Contact provider
Operating System: Linux
Standard Plan (Builder Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Contact provider
Bandwidth: Contact provider
Today’s Price: $4.95
All Access Plan (Builder Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Contact provider
Bandwidth: Contact provider
Today’s Price: $7.95
Unlimited Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $7.95Regular Price: $10.95
Personal Plan by AccuWeb Hosting
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: 500 GB
Websites: Unlimited
Email Accounts: 150
Operating System: Linux
Personal Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: 500 GB
Today’s Price: $3.49
Personal Plan (Cloud Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: 500 GB
Promo Price: $4.79Regular Price: $5.64
Basic Plan by Hostwinds
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
Advanced Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: 4
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $4.23Regular Price: $8.99
Unmanaged Plan (VPS Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 30 GB
Bandwidth: 1 TB
Promo Price: $4.49Regular Price: $4.99
Cloud Plan (Cloud Hosting)
Websites: Contact provider
Disk Space: 30 GB
Bandwidth: 1 TB
Today’s Price: $4.99
Standard Plan by InterServer
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: Unlimited
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
Standard Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: 25
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $4.00Regular Price: $5.00
Beginner Plan by Liquid Web
Hosting Type: eCommerce
Disk Space: Contact provider
Bandwidth: Contact provider
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Contact provider
Operating System: Linux
Standard Plan (VPS Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 40 GB
Bandwidth: 10 TB
Today’s Price: $59.00
Basic Plan (eCommerce Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: Contact provider
Bandwidth: Contact provider
Today’s Price: $99.00
Professional Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: 10
Disk Space: 50 GB
Bandwidth: 5 TB
Today’s Price: $99.00
StartUp Plan by SiteGround
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
StartUp Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $3.95Regular Price: $11.95
GrowBig Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 20 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $5.95Regular Price: $19.95
GrowBig Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 20 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $5.95Regular Price: $19.95
C10 Plan by TurnKey Internet
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: Unlimited
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
Unlimited Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $4.99Regular Price: $19.99
Creator Plan (Builder Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: Contact provider
Bandwidth: Contact provider
Today’s Price: $7.95
Professional Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 20 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $7.99Regular Price: $15.99
Pathfinder Plan by Rebel.com
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: 1 GB
Bandwidth: 5 GB
Websites: Contact provider
Email Accounts: 10
Operating System: Linux
Adventurer Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Contact provider
Disk Space: 5 GB
Bandwidth: 15 GB
Promo Price: $1.50Regular Price: $4.99
Globetrotter Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: 25 GB
Promo Price: $1.50Regular Price: $4.99
cPanel Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: 5
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $2.00Regular Price: $11.00
2G Plan by Beyond Hosting
Hosting Type: VPS
Disk Space: 40 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: Unlimited
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
8G Plan (VPS Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 125 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $49.99Regular Price: $99.99
16G Plan (VPS Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 150 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Today’s Price: $149.99
M620 - 1 Plan (Dedicated Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 240 GB
Bandwidth: 7 TB
Today’s Price: $225.00
Economy Plan by GoDaddy
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: 100 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Contact provider
Operating System: Linux
Basic Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: Contact provider
Today’s Price: $8.99
Deluxe Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Today’s Price: $10.99
Starter Plan by HostPapa
Hosting Type: Builder
Disk Space: Contact provider
Bandwidth: Contact provider
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Contact provider
Operating System: Linux
Starter Plan (eCommerce Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: 100 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $3.95Regular Price: $7.99
Starter Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: 2
Disk Space: 100 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $3.95Regular Price: $7.99
Starter Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: 2
Disk Space: 100 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $3.95Regular Price: $8.99
Starter Plan by Media Temple
Hosting Type: Builder
Disk Space: Contact provider
Bandwidth: Contact provider
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Contact provider
Operating System: Linux
Personal Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: 2
Disk Space: 50 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Today’s Price: $20.00
Pro Plan by Weebly
Hosting Type: Builder
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Contact provider
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Contact provider
Operating System: Linux
Business Plan (Builder Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Contact provider
Promo Price: $25.00Regular Price: $35.00
Performance Plan (Builder Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Contact provider
Promo Price: $38.00Regular Price: $46.00
Combo Plan by Wix
Hosting Type: Builder
Disk Space: 3 GB
Bandwidth: 2 GB
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Contact provider
Operating System: Linux
Unimited Plan (Builder Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Today’s Price: $14.00
Standard Plan by Easyspace
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: Contact provider
Email Accounts: 25
Operating System: Either
Note: Prices for this host are based on exchange rates that are subject to change without notice.
Premium Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Contact provider
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $7.81Regular Price: $10.42
Wordpress Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: Contact provider
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $10.48Regular Price: $13.97
Managed Plan (VPS Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 30 GB
Bandwidth: Contact provider
Today’s Price: $12.69
Basic Plan by eUKHost
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: 2 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: Contact provider
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
Note: Prices for this host are based on exchange rates that are subject to change without notice.
Intermediate Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Contact provider
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Today’s Price: $6.33
Basic Plan by FastDomain
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: 50 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: 5
Operating System: Linux
Pro Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $19.99Regular Price: $27.99
Basic Plan by HostMonster
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: 50 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: 5
Operating System: Linux
Plus Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: 10
Disk Space: 150 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $6.95Regular Price: $12.49
Prime Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $6.95Regular Price: $14.99
Standard Plan (VPS Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 30 GB
Bandwidth: 1 TB
Promo Price: $19.99Regular Price: $29.99
Plus Plan by Netfirms
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: Contact provider
Email Accounts: Contact provider
Operating System: Linux
Advantage Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Today’s Price: $8.99
Business Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Today’s Price: $12.99
Personal Plan by WireNine
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: 5 GB
Bandwidth: 50 GB
Websites: Unlimited
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
Personal Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 5 GB
Bandwidth: 50 GB
Promo Price: $15.00Regular Price: $20.00
Startup Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: 100 GB
Promo Price: $25.00Regular Price: $30.00
Startup Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: 100 GB
Promo Price: $25.00Regular Price: $30.00
Medium Plan by Contabo
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: 50 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 11
Email Accounts: 1000
Operating System: Linux
Note: Prices for this host are based on exchange rates that are subject to change without notice.
VPS 300 Plan (VPS Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 300 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Today’s Price: $4.56
VPS S SSD Plan (VPS Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 200 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Today’s Price: $5.71
Starter Pro Plan by Heart Internet
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: 50 GB
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: 1000
Operating System: Linux
Note: Prices for this host are based on exchange rates that are subject to change without notice.
Home Pro Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: 100 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Today’s Price: $13.99
Business Pro Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: 3
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Today’s Price: $19.08
Base Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 50 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Today’s Price: $38.18
Lite Plan by Webhosting UK
Hosting Type: Wordpress
Disk Space: 1 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: 1
Operating System: Linux
Note: Prices for this host are based on exchange rates that are subject to change without notice.
EasyWP Starter Plan by Namecheap
Hosting Type: Wordpress
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: ~10 GB
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
Stellar Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: 3
Disk Space: 20 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $1.29Regular Price: $2.57
EasyWP Turbo Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: 50 GB
Bandwidth: ~50 GB
Promo Price: $2.00Regular Price: $7.88
Stellar Plus Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $2.20Regular Price: $4.41
Single Plan by Hostinger
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: 100 GB
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: 1
Operating System: Linux
Premium Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 20 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $2.15Regular Price: $11.95
Business Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 30 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $3.45Regular Price: $15.95
1vCPU Plan (VPS Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: 20 GB
Bandwidth: 1 TB
Promo Price: $3.95Regular Price: $8.95
Basic Plan by Domain.com
Hosting Type: Shared
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: Unlimited
Operating System: Linux
WP Starter Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Today’s Price: $3.75
Deluxe Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: Unlimited
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Today’s Price: $6.75
WP Essential Plan (Wordpress Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Today’s Price: $6.95
Business Plan by 123 Reg
Hosting Type: Builder
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: 1
Operating System: Linux
Note: Prices for this host are based on exchange rates that are subject to change without notice.
Essentials Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: 10 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $4.41Regular Price: $6.30
Business+ Plan (Builder Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $6.29Regular Price: $12.61
Business Plan (Shared Hosting)
Websites: 5
Disk Space: 100 GB
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $6.93Regular Price: $10.09
Startup Plan by 3dcart
Hosting Type: eCommerce
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Websites: 1
Email Accounts: 2
Operating System: Linux
Basic Plan (eCommerce Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $14.50Regular Price: $26.10
Plus Plan (eCommerce Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $39.50Regular Price: $71.10
Pro Plan (eCommerce Hosting)
Websites: 1
Disk Space: Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unlimited
Promo Price: $114.50Regular Price: $206.10
Note: WHdb.com is funded with the help of our visitors. We receive a small commission fee when a user signs up for hosting at no additional cost to our visitors. All information on this website, including prices, is intended to be informational only.
How Much SSL Certificates Cost
SSL certificates can vary drastically in price depending on the type and scope of SSL you’re looking to add. Prices can range from $5 a year to $250 annually. However, it’s becoming common place for web hosts to offer SSL certs for free from providers like LetsEncrypt. If you’re on a hosting provider that charges for SSL, it is possible to add a certificate yourself – although that’s not recommended for beginners.
The largest factor in the pricing for an SSL certificate is the amount of coverage you’re looking for. If you’re adding it to a single domain, a simple SSL from your host or a free provider will suffice. If you need it to cover several subdomains as well, you’ll need a wildcard SSL certificate. This option is ideal for sites with client-facing portals like shopping carts, technical support, or forums. You can also install Multi-domain SSL certificates which can cover multiple domains – perfect for hosting accounts with multiple sites.
Why SSL Certificates Are Necessary
Websites can function without SSL certificates. That said, there are two major reasons why you should strongly consider adding them to your site:
- Browsers having started indicating whether or not your website is using a secure connect via SSL (i.e. using an “https” version). While the direct impact of https on search engine rankings is so far minimal, seeing that your site can alarm some users and hurt traffic to your site.
- Companies that have leaked user information to the public take a massive hit to their reputation – and sometimes they’re even on the hook for damages from lawsuits. SSL is an additional layer of security protecting people who visit your site.
SSL Or TLS
One thing that can be confusing when you first start looking into SSL encryption is the difference between the terms TSL and SSL.
- SSL – Secure Sockets Layer: The standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This is a term often used to group both SSL and TLS technologies for ease of reference.
- TLS – Transport Layout Security: This supersedes SSL as a technology and may be used as an underlying technology for SSL services. This provides the secure communications on the Internet for e-mail and other data transfers.
Web Managers Now Have Options For SSL
Previously, the complexity and cost of an SSL certificate were a barrier to providing this layer of security. More recently, many companies have pledged to secure their websites with SSL now that it is more accessible to all. With Google pushing the benefits of SSL, many social media sites have followed too.
Website managers now have options, they can obtain and install the certificate themselves on their web server, they can ask their host to do this (or another web professional), they can use a third party service.
Getting An SSL Cert From A Web Host
One option to get your website secured with SSL is to ask your host to acquire and install this for you. Most hosts provide this service, although sometimes for a cost. It would be worth looking into before choosing a host if you expect to need this service in the future.
This was the option I initially always took as the process was new to me, and I wanted my website to have the best security it could have. It can be a good option for busy web professionals and business owners.
Installing An SSL Cert Yourself
It is also possible to install the SSL certificate yourself. This can be a complex process and have several steps, including choosing a certificate authority to supply the SSL, generating a certificate, and installing this on the web server.
Sometimes, the SSL Cert can be conveniently installed via the cPanel of your hosting account. To do this, navigate to the SSL Certificates section of cPanel and look for the option to install it. This is also the section that can be used to find out if your host provides free SSL certificates (usually from LetsEncrypt). If this section or option is not available, you will likely need to follow a somewhat complex process of installing it using shell access to your account – and that access may or may not be permitted by your hosting.
Using A Third Party SSL Service
There are now services available that make the SSL process easy. Two high-quality free services are Cloudflare and Let’s Encrypt. These are services I use myself as they are free, easy to use, and have added performance boosting benefits in areas like security and optimization.
Cloud Flare – Get Started
Plans start for free for those who just want to secure a personal blog or other small websites, with various paid plans also available for business and enterprise level. Cloudflare guides you through the process, and I find is especially easy to use as you will be helped with SSL configuration and optimization and don’t have to worry about expiring certificates.
I also really like the fact that each page my visitors visit renders as fast and efficiently as possible due to performance boosting features. These include a content delivery network designed to bring your content closer to your users and several optimization features, like auto-caching to lower the load on your server and auto-minify to save up to 20% load time by automatically minifying your CSS and Javascript files.
A word of caution: when updating your website with auto-caching, you will need to disable Cloudflare to see the results. The caching limits how frequently visitors can see changes to core files like CSS and HTML modifications.
Something else worth noting: Cloudflare won’t encrypt the full pathway from your visitors’ browser to your servers. When you use Cloudflare, you point your domain to their servers, and they point their servers to your hosting provider’s server. If you do nothing else and only use Cloudflare, only the connection from the browser to Cloudflare’s servers will be secure.
For most small websites or blogs, this isn’t an issue. However, if you collect and process personal or financial data from your visitors, you will want to take measures to ensure that encryption protection is in place every step of the way for their data.
Let’s Encrypt – Get started
Let’s Encrypt is a free, automated, and open Certificate Authority. This service offers only free plans and have provided more that 10 million SSL certs since their inception. It is a service that is supported by Mozilla.
There are not quite as many benefits as Cloudflare, but it is a more singular focused service with the security of your website at the heart of its services. Let’s Encrypt automatically renews SSL certificates, is community-run service built on transparent and cooperative principles, and compares this approach to the SSL/TSL protocols themselves.
Are Free SSL Certificates Safe?
Yes! All SSL certs provide an additional layer of security to your site and protection for your customers. While all SSL cert aren’t created equal, depending on type and coverage, a single domain SSL certificate that is free will provide the same benefits and safety as those that you pay for.
With services like Cloudflare, it is even possible to add free TLS encryption to your site. While SSL is the industry standard for encryption, TLS, or transport layer security, represents the next step up.
How To Install A Free SSL Certificate
There are generally 3 ways to add a free SSL cert to your website. The first is through the control panel for your account. Log into your hosting account and navigate to your control panel (often labeled cPanel). Once there, look for the section called “SSL Certificates” and click on it. In this section you will be able to choose from a selection of SSL certificates (both paid and free) and install them. At this point, installing the certificate is just a matter of clicking a couple buttons.
Adding SSL through a service like CloudFlare can be a bit more involved. Sometimes, you’ll be able to add this through your account’s control panel with relative ease. If not, you’ll need to create an account with CloudFlare (don’t worry, there’s a free level that’s suitable for most users). Once you’ve done that, you’ll need to log into your domain registrar and point the nameservers to CloudFlare. During this process, your site shouldn’t experience any downtime.
It should be noted that CloudFlare technically doesn’t add a full SSL connection between your visitors and your site, just between your visitors and their servers. For most businesses though – especially those with no online transactions – this is a non-issue.
The final way of adding a free SSL certificate to your site is to do it manually through accessing your server directly. This approach is not recommended for beginners though.
The Best Free SSL Certificate Authorities
When it comes to free SSL certs, there is only one thing to take into consideration: some certifying authorities only provide the initial certificate for free. Once it expires and you must renew, you will have to pay at that time. While many web hosts do include free SSL as a part of their hosting plans, some host do not – and you might be surprised that this even includes some of the most popular names in hosting. Always research a web host before making a decision.
