DEFINITION

SSL certificates are what enable websites to move from HTTP to HTTPS which is more secure. An SSL certificate is a data file hosted in a website’s origin server. SSL certificates make SSL/TLS encryption possible, and they contain the website’s public key and the website’s identity, along with related information. Devices attempting to communicate with the origin server will reference this file to obtain the public key and verify the server’s identity. The private key is kept secret and secure.

What information does an SSL certificate contain?

SSL certificates include:

• The domain name that the certificate was issued for
• Which person, organization, or device it was issued to
• Which certificate authority issued it
• The certificate authority’s digital signature
• Associated subdomains
• Issue date of the certificate
• Expiration date of the certificate
• The public key (the private key is kept secret)

The public and private keys used for SSL are essentially long strings of characters used for encrypting and decrypting data. Data encrypted with the public key can only be decrypted with the private key, and vice versa.

HOW TO GET FREE SSL CERTIFICATE

If you have a personal website or a blog, StartCom will give you one unlimited domain-validated SSL/TLS certificate completely free. All you need to do to get this free certification is to validate that you own the domain. This can take a few minutes or a few hours at the most, and you can validate it over email.

How Can I Get an SSL Certificate for Free?

A lot of website owners are reluctant to use SSL due to the additional cost. This left many small websites vulnerable to data and information theft.

A non-profit project called Lets encrypt decided to fix this by establishing a free certificate authority.

The purpose of this certificate authority is to make it easier for website owners to get a free SSL certificate. Internet becomes a safer place if more and more websites start using SSL.

Due to the significance of the project, it quickly earned the support of major companies like Google, Facebook, Shopify, wordpress.com and many others.

The challenge is that installing the free SSL certificate by Let’s Encrypt for a beginner user is quite difficult because it requires coding knowledge and server systems knowledge.

Thankfully, all of the best wordpress hosting companies are now offering free SSL certificate with all their hosting plans (some are using Let’s Encrypt).

Choosing one of these providers will save you from the hassle of installing the free SSL certificate on your own.

Here are the top WordPress hosting companies that offer free SSL certificate with their hosting plans.

• Bluehost
• SiteGround
• HostGator
• WPEngine
• Dreamhost
• InMotion Hosting
• GreenGeeks
• Ipage
• LiquidWeb

You can also register in zerossl.com and get free ssl certificate

If you are already using one of these companies, then you can turn on your free SSL certificate from your hosting dashboard. Simply login to your hosting account’s cPanel dashboard and scroll down to the ‘Security’ section.