How to Get a FREE SSL Certificate to Secure Your Website (HTTPS)

Have you been putting off adding an SSL certificate to your website because of the cost? I‘ve got great news for you – you can enable HTTPS on your site for free!

As an IT security analyst and website optimizer, I regularly see the benefits that free SSL certificates provide for both website owners and visitors. In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll show you several options to get a free cert and use it to transition your site to HTTPS.

Why HTTPS Matters for Your Website

First, let‘s quickly cover what exactly SSL and HTTPS do, and why they‘re so important:

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a standard protocol for encrypting data sent between a web server and browser. It uses public-key cryptography to create an encrypted tunnel protected from snooping and data theft.

HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP that uses SSL. The ‘S‘ stands for ‘Secure‘ and shows visitors your site uses encryption.

Here are 5 big benefits of enabling HTTPS on your website:

1. Data Security – Encryption prevents hackers from stealing login credentials, payment info, and any sensitive data transmitted.

2. Trust & Legitimacy – The padlock and green bar in the browser reassure visitors your site is safe to use.

3. SEO Ranking Boost – Google gives a search ranking boost to sites using HTTPS over ones with just HTTP.

4. PCI Compliance – HTTPS is a requirement for online stores accepting credit card payments.

5. Improved Analytics – Encrypted traffic provides more accurate analytics and attribution data.

Let me be clear – lack of HTTPS hurts your site. Visitors question if your site is safe. Search engines penalize you in the rankings. And any submitted data is vulnerable.

That‘s why adding a free SSL certificate is one of the best ways to instantly improve site security and trust.

Okay, convinced on why you need HTTPS? Great! Now let‘s explore some top options for getting a free SSL certificate.

3 Trusted Providers for Free SSL Certificates

There are a handful of reputable certificate authorities (CAs) offering free SSL certificates through streamlined, automated services.

Based on my analysis and experience, these 3 providers offer the best free SSL certs:

1. ZeroSSL


ZeroSSL is my top recommendation for several reasons:

• Certificates are 100% free and take just minutes to issue and install.

• The validation process is fully automated using industry standard ACME protocol.

• ZeroSSL is owned by DigiCert, one of the largest and most trusted commercial CAs.

• You can get up to 3 free certificates for different domains. Paid plans have unlimited certificates.

• The certificates automatically renew every 90 days. You can also monitor and renew them manually from your dashboard.

ZeroSSL is ideal if you need a simple domain validated (DV) cert right away to activate HTTPS on your site. With the backing of DigiCert, you know the free certificates are reliable.

2. Let‘s Encrypt


Let‘s Encrypt is a free, non-profit certificate authority operated by the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG).

Here‘s why I recommend Let‘s Encrypt as well:

• Fully open-source and non-commercial model aligned with security best practices.

• Over 200 million active certificates issued, making it the largest CA.

• Backed by Mozilla, Cisco, Google and other major tech companies.

• Valid for 90 days and auto-renew continuously on your server.

• Supports wildcard and multi-domain (SAN) certificates.

Let‘s Encrypt is integrated directly into many web server control panels and hosting platforms too. So it can be the easiest option if you don‘t want to mess around with manual installation.

Overall, Let‘s Encrypt is a great choice if you prefer open-source software and value transparency.

3. SSL For Free


SSL For Free essentially provides a nice user interface and API for obtaining free Let‘s Encrypt certificates.

Here are the advantages of using their service:

• Streamlined site to request and download certificates.

• Supports single and multi-domain certificates.

• Option for 90 day or 1 year validity period.

• Automatically reissues certificates before expiry.

• Dedicated customer support via live chat and email.

I suggest SSL For Free if you want a simple way to get Let‘s Encrypt certificates without dealing with command line tools or APIs. Their site is very user friendly.

Obtaining Your Free SSL Certificate in 3 Steps

I‘ll walk through the full process of getting a free SSL cert using ZeroSSL as an example. The overall steps are similar for other providers:

Step 1: Verify You Own the Domain

First, create a free ZeroSSL account and add your domain name. You can validate domain ownership through:

• Email – ZeroSSL sends a verification email to the address associated with your domain. Just click the confirm link inside to validate.

• TXT Record – ZeroSSL provides a unique TXT record value. You add this TXT record in your domain DNS settings to confirm control.

I prefer using the TXT record method as it doesn‘t require access to the domain email. The validation is also fully automated.

Once validated, ZeroSSL instantly issues a signed certificate for your domain.

Step 2: Download the Certificate Files

After logging into your ZeroSSL dashboard, download the following certificate files:

• Certificate (.crt) – Contains your domain details and the public key for encryption.

• Private key (.key) – This decrypts the data sent to your server. Keep this confidential!

• CA bundle (.cabundle) – Has ZeroSSL’s root and intermediate certificates that chains to a trusted root CA.

You‘ll need all 3 files to install the SSL certificate properly on your web server.

Step 3: Install the SSL Certificate on Your Server

The exact steps to install the certificate depends on your server environment. In general, you‘ll need to:

1. Upload or paste the certificate files into your control panel‘s SSL or HTTPS section.

2. For some servers, concatentate the .crt, .key, and .cabundle into a single .crt file.

3. Force redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS using the .htaccess file.

Refer to your hosting provider‘s documentation for specifics. On many modern hosts, its a simple 1-click install.

Once installed, test that HTTPS works and shows the trust indicators. Use an SSL testing tool to validate its properly configured.

And that‘s all it takes – you now have a free SSL certificate installed and encrypting traffic on your website!

Should You Pay for Premium SSL Certificates?

Free certificates are great for basic encryption and HTTPS. But paid certificates have benefits that businesses and ecommerce sites may value:

My recommendation? Start with a free SSL certificate to test enabling HTTPS on your site. But for businesses handling sensitive data or online transactions, invest in a commercial SSL certificate for peace of mind.

Migrating Your Site to HTTPS with Free SSL Certificates

Once you‘ve obtained your free SSL certificate, updating your site to use HTTPS involves:

• Installing the certificate on your server (covered above)
• Switching all references on your site to HTTPS instead of HTTP
• Redirecting all HTTP traffic to HTTPS in your .htaccess file
• Updating sitemaps and XML feeds to use HTTPS URLs
• Checking forms and links work properly over HTTPS
• Verifying HTTPS works on all site pages and posts

Also update your social media and other listings to promote the new HTTPS URLs.

Google and other search engines should automatically migrate their indexes to your HTTPS version over time. You can submit new sitemaps to speed this up.

With a free certificate installed, you‘ll start seeing search ranking improvements within a few months as Google continues to favor HTTPS sites.

Top Free SSL Certificate Options Recapped

To recap, here are my picks for the top free SSL certificate providers:

• ZeroSSL – Quick and easy certificates from trusted DigiCert.
• Let‘s Encrypt – Non-profit CA with fully automated and open-source system.
• SSL For Free – User friendly way to get Let‘s Encrypt certificates.
• Cloudflare – CDN provider offering basic 1-year certificates.

I hope this guide has shown you that migrating your website to HTTPS is easy and affordable! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Stay secure out there!