In this blog, I listed out the best ways to get a free SSL/TLS certificate for WordPress websites and other applications.
SSL certificates have become very important for all websites. Whether it’s a blog, website, or API, an SSL certificate provides the first security layer. Now with many free SSL certificate options, you can easily implement it for your SSL requirements.
SSL certificates make it very secure when users share personal data with you or when applications talk to each other.
When it comes to Google search engine rankings, SSL(HTTPS) is one of the ranking signals. As of 2022, 95% of traffic across Google is encrypted using SSL/TLS.
What are the Free SSL Certificate Options for WordPress in 2023?
Let’s have a look at all the options to get free SSL/TLS certificates for your WordPress website.
1. Free SSL From Hosting Providers
The easiest option to get a free SSL certificate for WordPress websites is through web hosting providers. Many web hosting providers include a free SSL certificate with their web hosting plans.
In order to get the free SSL certificate, you will need to sign up for a web hosting account with the provider.
It eliminates the overhead of managing the SSL certificates separately. All you have to do is, just enable SSL in the cPanel.
Following are the top web hosting providers that offer free SSL certificates.
- Bluehost
- Hostinger
- Cloudways
- HostGator
- DreamHost
- SiteGround
- A2 Hosting
- InMotion Hosting
- GreenGeeks
- iPage
- FatCow
- JustHost
1. Letsencrypt
Letsencrypt is a nonprofit Certificate Authority. More than 240 million websites use the free SSL certification from Let’s Encrypt.
WordPress websites can use Letsencrypt to obtain a free SSL certificate and enable HTTPS. Doing so offers a number of benefits, including improved website security and ranking in Google search results.
In addition to the improved security and SEO benefits, Letsencrypt SSL certificates are free to obtain and easy to install. WordPress users can take advantage of these benefits by installing the Letsencrypt plugin and following the instructions on the Letsencrypt website.
All the hosting providers I mentioned above use Letsencrypt to offer one-click free SSL along with the hosting plans.
You can also check the article on letsencrypt setup on nginx.
2. ZeroSSL
ZeroSSL is another provider of free SSL certificates. Like Letsencrypt, ZeroSSL offers easy-to-install certificates that are compatible with WordPress websites. ZeroSSL certificates offer the same security and SEO benefits as Letsencrypt certificates.
To obtain a ZeroSSL certificate for your WordPress website, simply sign up for an account on the ZeroSSL website and follow the instructions. After your certificate is issued, you can install it on your WordPress site using the recommended Really Simple SSL plugin.
3. SSL for Free
SSL For Free is a free SSL certificate provider. WordPress websites can use SSL For Free to obtain a free SSL certificate and enable HTTPS.
To use SSL For Free, simply sign up for an account and then follow the instructions to generate a free SSL certificate. Once you have generated the certificate, you can then install it on your WordPress website.
SSL For Free offers a wide variety of features, including the ability to generate wildcard SSL certificates, support for multiple domains, and more.
4. Cloudflare
Cloudflare is a free CDN and DNS service that also offers free SSL certificates. WordPress websites can use Cloudflare to obtain a free SSL certificate and enable HTTPS. Doing so offers a number of benefits, including improved website security and performance.
In addition to the improved security and performance benefits, Cloudflare SSL certificates are easy to enable. WordPress users can take advantage of these benefits by signing up for a Cloudflare account. To get a free Cloudflare SSL certificate for WordPress websites, you just have to enable the Flexible SSL option in the Cloudflare configuration.
5. OpenSSL (Self Signed Certificate)
OpenSSL is a utility to create self-signed SSL certificates. It is not recommended to use self-signed certificates on live WordPress websites.
However, if you are developing a WordPress website on your local computer, then creating a self-signed SSL certificate with OpenSSL is the quickest way to enable SSL on your website.
If you want to try out OpenSSL, check out the guide on how to create self-signed SSL certificates.
What is SSL/TLS?
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and its successor, TLS (Transport Layer Security), are both cryptographic protocols that provide communication security over the internet.
SSL/TLS uses a combination of public-key and symmetric-key cryptography to encrypt data being transmitted over the internet.
With SSL/TLS, data is encrypted using a public key and then decrypted using a private key. The public and private keys are generated using a mathematical algorithm.
Following are the benefits of having SSL for your website.
- SSL ensures that the data being transmitted over the internet is encrypted and thus, secure.
- SSL also provides authentication. This means that you can be sure that the website you are visiting is actually the website that it claims to be.
- SSL helps to build trust between a website and its visitors.
Following are some interesting stats about TLS security incidents.
- In July 2018, Google Chrome began displaying a “Not secure” warning in the address bar for websites that do not have SSL/TLS.
- In January 2019, Microsoft announced that it would be making changes to Edge and Internet Explorer to make them more secure. One of the changes is that these browsers will no longer display the “Not secure” warning for websites that do not have SSL/TLS.
- In February 2019, Mozilla Firefox announced that it would be making changes to the way it displays security information in the address bar. One of the changes is that Firefox will no longer display the “Secure” or “Not secure” labels. Instead, it will only display a lock icon for websites that have SSL/TLS.
Importance of HTTPS for WordPress Websites
HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP, the protocol used to communicate between your browser and the websites you visit. When a website is accessible over HTTPS, it means that all communication between your browser and the website is encrypted. This makes it much more difficult for someone to eavesdrop on or tamper with the data being exchanged.
Google announced in 2014 that HTTPS would be used as a ranking signal in its search algorithms. This means that websites using HTTPS may enjoy a boost in their search engine results pages (SERPs).
Google announced that HTTPS will be one of the ranking signals for search engine ranking. So it is very important to have SSL for your website if you want to rank higher in search results.
Conclusion
There are a number of free SSL certificate options available to WordPress users. I have listed the best options with less overhead.
These options offer the same security and SEO benefits as paid SSL certificates. In addition, they are easy to install and use. WordPress users can take advantage of these benefits by choosing one of the free SSL certificate providers listed above.
Also, if you are looking WordPress cloud hosting, check out my blog on the best cloud hosting for WordPress websites.
