An SSL certificate is required for ecommerce businesses and other websites collecting personal information from site visitors. As it can encrypt the connection between your server and visitors to safeguard personal information and sensitive data. The SSL certificate lock icon can increase trust on your online business. As a result, an SSL can also increase sales. he benefits of using an SSL Certificate is not limited to data security. Search engines, like Google and Bing, give a ranking boost to those secure sites that are protected by SSL. If you are looking for a way to gain better rankings in Google, SSL can also help. In a previous article, we introduced some web hosting providing free SSL certificate. Today, we will you how to get an free SSL for WordPress sites.
It is different from any other SSL solutions. Firstly you can get the SSL certificate without any fee. Secondly you can easily activate the free SSL certificate for WordPress site by yourself, without the needing for technical support from the web hosting service provider. Following are the steps to get the free SSL for your WordPress site.
How to enable free SSL certificate on WordPress site?
You need firstly sign up a hosting account here. All the hosting packages offer the FREE SSL, Basic, Plus, Prime and Pro. They are widely recognized as the best WordPress hosting. Their web hosting service is reliable with high uptime, fast server speed, excellent technical support. Their WordPress hosting service is really appealing. It is extremely easy to setup, backup, configure and manage. See this guide to install WordPress automatically using the auto-installer.
Once you have setup a WordPress site, you can follow these steps to enable the free SSL on your site.
- Log into the hosting control panel.
- Click on WordPress Tools at the top of the page.
- Click the Security tab at the left panel
- Select your site/domain from the dropdown list.
- Click on the switch to turn on SSL Certificate.
After that, you will see a message as following.
Working on it…
We’re setting up your SSL – may take a few hours. In some situations, we may need you to take action. If so, you’ll receive an email with instructions. For now, feel free to start exploring WordPress or jump into building your website.
You do not need to do anything at this moment. Just check back later to see if your site is redirected to the HTTPS.
FREE SSL certificate for WordPress FAQ
- All their hosting account supports free SSL, Basic, Plus, Prime, Pro.
- The free SSL is only available for wordpress websites. If you have a Joomla, Drupal or other websites, you can’t get this Free SSL.
- Are you concerned about the renewal of the SSL certificate? “The Free SSL lasts for 90 days from issuance, and is auto-renewing so your site hosted with Bluehost should never be without an SSL.”
Step by Step Guide for Enabling your Free SSL on VPS server
Visit this page https://my.bluehost.com/cgi/ssl_certs, log on your VPS account using your username and password. Select your domain name from the “Install SSL on” box. Click the Get started button in the “WordPress FREE SSL” box.
After that, the “SSL Certificate Information” displays. If your domain is using the name servers provided by Bluehost, you can simply click the Install button to add free SSL certificate to your WordPress site. Otherwise, you may need to validate the SSL installation via email first. Bluehost will finish setting up the SSL for you.
Update Jul 2018: this article was originally published in April 2014 and has since been updated. In this update, the instructions to enable free SSL for WordPress websites hosted on VPS server were added.
how long does it take. Its been two days already, and I keep getting the instuction, We’re setting up your SSL – may take a few hours. In some situations, we may need you to take action. If so, you’ll receive an email with instructions. For now, feel free to start exploring WordPress or jump into building your website.. But then nothing.
you can browse your site see if the domain or URL gets redirected from http to the https in the browser address bar. if you can visit your site through the https,, it means the installation of the free SSL certificate has completed.
Same here.
The message at the top always just says “We’re setting up your SSL – may take a few hours. In some situations, we may need you to take action. If so, you’ll receive an email with instructions…”
Is there any way to fix this?
And no, the wordpress site does not have a valid SSL certificate still…