Install Let’s Encrypt free SSL Certificate in Just 2 minutes – WordPress CMS

You wonder how can you install a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate on your WordPress site? If yes, then read on to learn how to add SSL to WordPress for free.

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is the standard for encrypted communication between web servers and web browsers. It ensures that the communication between a web server and browser is encrypted and private.

Also Read: What is SSL and How it works?

When a website is secure with an SSL certificate, a padlock icon is visible in the address bar and the URL prefix changes from http:// to https://.

Here is an example from Flipkart shopping site where you can see a padlock icon is visible in the address bar.

Additionally, by adding this certificate, you get an extra SEO benefit for your WordPress site, as search engines like Google consider a secure website more trustworthy than a website with no HTTPS.

In this guide, we will walk you through step by step instructions to install a free SSL certificate to your WordPress site using Let’s Encrypt. Let’s get into it!

What is Let’s Encrypt?

Let’s Encrypt is a free SSL certificate provider for general public. It is sponsored by many companies including Google, Facebook, Sucuri, Mozilla, Cisco and others.

The objective of Let’s Encrypt is to make it easy for ordinary users to set up an HTTPS server and have it obtain a browser trusted certificate – automatically.

Note: Let’s Encrypt offers Domain Validation (DV) certificate only for 90 days, after expiration of the certificate you can renew it for another 90 days and so on.

By using Let’s Encrypt, anyone who owns a domain and hosting can add SSL to WordPress or any website without any cost.

The main features of Let’s Encrypt are:

• Compatibility – Compatible with all browsers.
• It is free – You can install it for free on all your domains.
• Secure – It uses the highest standards of security for the exchange of information.
• Shared Hosting – Can be used on shared hosting and not just dedicated or VPS.

Now you understand who the heck is this Let’s Encrypt, let’s take a look at how you can add a free SSL certificate to your WordPress site with Let’s Encrypt.

How to install a free SSL certificate on your WordPress website

There are two main ways you can get up and running with an SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt. The first route is to do it manually whereas the second route is to find a hosting company that explicitly supports Let’s Encrypt.

Unfortunately, not all hosting companies support Let’s Encrypt. Here is the full list of hosting businesses that support Let’s Encrypt.

We are currently using Godaddy as our hosting partner where we will install Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate on shared hosting. Sometimes it is daunting stuff for novice user to install SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt who has just started his blog and want to shield his blog with SSL.