Host With A Dedicated Ip Address
In order to provide the best security, SSL certificates require your website to have its own dedicated IP address. Lots of smaller web hosting plans put you on a shared IP where multiple other websites are using the same location. With a dedicated IP, you ensure that the traffic going to that IP address is only going to your website and no one elses.
An affordable host I recommend for a dedicated IP is StableHost. At this time its under $6/month, but you can get it cheaper if you order for a full year. Theyre my host and Ive been blown away with their support and performance. Oh, and heres a coupon for 40% off: expert40
If you dont have a plan with a dedicated IP you can ask your current web host to upgrade your account to have a dedicated IP address. There will probably be a charge for it it could be one-time or monthly fees.
Customer Service You Can Count On
As we said before, our low SSL certificate price does not lessen quality our world-class customer service is a testament to that. If you encounter any issues when you get an SSL certificate from Namecheap, our dedicated support team is available 24/7 to provide you with the help you need. Whether you get in touch via our live chat or ticketing system, in just a few clicks, your question will be seen by a friendly expert whos more than happy to assist.
Get An Ssl Certificate From A Certificate Authority
You can obtain an SSL certificate for your domain directly from a Certificate Authority . You’ll then have to configure the certificate on your web host or on your own servers if you host it yourself.
You can get a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt, a popular CA that provides certificates in the interest of creating a safer Internet:
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Why Do I Need An Ssl Certificate
An increase in cyber security threats led to emphasis on user security. A study by pewresearch.org shows that 68% of internet users believe that current laws are insufficient to protect their rights.
Therefore, in 2014, the search engine giant Google announced HTTPS as a ranking signal. Today, if you want your website to look legitimate and trustworthy. Want to boost sales, revenue, customer loyalty, and rank higher in SERPs? You must have an SSL certificate installed on your website.
If you are selling something online or allowing the users/customers to create an account on your website, an SSL certificate helps protect customers information.
Here are the following reasons why every web owner should serve each website over HTTPS on the internet.
Note: PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.
Select Your Plan Terms And Finalize Your Payment Details
Ill recommend signing up for the 36-month plan to get the best deal. This may seem like a huge commitment initially, but trust me, its well worth it. Plus, why shouldnt you take the best possible deal when its available?
Still, if 36 months sounds too big a commitment, you can always opt for the 24-month or 12-month plans.
Youll see under Package Information, the Lets Encrypt SSL is automatically added to your package without having to select or check off any boxes.
There are several other upsells that Bluehost will show you, like SEO tools and SiteLock Security. While you can skip the SEO bit, I recommend SiteLock for better security because it covers malware detection, automatic malware removal, weekly scan reports, and file-level scanning.
Youll need it later, so it makes sense to include it in your plan now.
Finally, all thats left to do is make the payment.
Enter your credit card details or pay directly via PayPalthe choice is yours. Your plan will renew automatically, but you wont get the low introductory rates after your first term.
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What Does Ssl Stands For
SSL means Secure Sockets Layer. Its a security protocol that creates an encrypted link or buffer between a web server such as GoDaddy or SiteGround Or Namescheap and a web browser on your computer.
To secure your online transactions done on the web, companies and organizations must add SSL certificates to their websites to secure online transactions. By securing their websites the businesses can keep customer information private and secure.
The main purpose of an SSL certificate to keeping the connections secure which then prevents criminals from reading or modifying information that gets transferred between two systems on the web. When you see a padlock icon next to the URL in the address bar, that means SSL protects the website you are visiting. An unlock padlock means the website isnt secure
SSL certification has been around for the last 25 years or more. However, all of which at some point ran into security troubles. A revamped and renamed version followed TLS , which is still in use today. However, the initials SSL stuck, so the new version of the protocol is still usually called by the old name.
How To Order An Ssl Certificate
Ordering an SSL certificate can be very simple with the right preparation. You’ll generally need to create a CSR and prepare your WHOIS record and company validation documents before submitting your order. The process of ordering a certificate goes something like this:
- Prepare by getting your server set up and getting your WHOIS record updated , etc.
- Generate the CSR on the server
- Submit the CSR and other info to the Certificate Authority
- Have your domain and company validated
- Receive and install the issued certificate
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What Is An Ssl Handshake
This process is sometimes referred to as an SSL handshake. This may appear as a very long process but happens in milliseconds.
Have you noticed website with HTTPS as part of the URL? Website with an SSL certificates security have the HTTPS before the domain name.
The acronym HTTPS stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure. A website without an SSL certificate will only have the letters HTTP. The S is missing. The S stands for secure. A padlock icon will also display in the URL address bar showing the website can be trusted and is secure to people visiting the website.
Can A Single Ssl Server Certificate Cover Multiple Ports Per Domain Name
Yes, a single SSL server certificate can cover multiple ports for the same domain name.
A multi-domain wildcard SSL certificate is the perfect solution for situations where you need to secure multi-level subdomains. It allows encrypting multiple levels of subdomains with one certificate. Like the wildcard certificate, it can work whether the sites are on the same or separate servers.
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How To Get Https: Setting Up Ssl On Your Website
If you are collecting ANY sensitive information on your website , then you need to be secure. One of the best ways to do that is to enable HTTPS, also known as SSL , so that any information going to and from your server is automatically encrypted. The prevents hackers from sniffing out your visitors sensitive information as it passes through the internet.
Your visitors will feel safer on your site when they see the lock while access your website knowing its protected by a security certificate.
Commercial Vs Free Ssl Certificates
Its important to understand the difference between commercial and free certificates.
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Commercial SSL certificates
These are a decent option for many website owners. Paying a certificate authority will often give you the benefits of technical support. The encryption level is the same as with free SSL certificates. The key differentiator will come in the level of support you get with your certificate.
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Free SSL certificates
These are being spearheaded by the initiative an open collaboration between a number of global organizations focused on making SSL certificates accessible to all website owners.
Note
Many hosts offer specific instructions on how to deploy free SSL certificates. Check with your hosts support channels and articles for more information before following this guide.
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How Many Separate Domains Can I Protect With Https
Depending on how your website is configured, you might want to use something other than a single-domain SSL certificate.
- Wildcard SSL certificates cover all of a domain names subdomains. For example, you can secure *.coolexample.com, which would cover shop.coolexample.com, www.coolexample.com and any other subdomains.
- UCC SSL certificates can cover multiple subdomains, unique domain names and websites. For example, you can secure www.coolexample.com, mail.coolexample.com and www.awesomeexample.com.
Where Do I Get A Free Ssl Certificate
You obtain an SSL certificate from a certificate authority. Some reliable free sources are:
- Lets Encrypt: certificates valid for 90 days, recommended renewal at 60 days
- Cloudflare: free for personal websites and blogs
- FreeSSL: free for nonprofits and startups at the moment cannot be a Symantec, Thawte, GeoTrust or RapidSSL customer
- StartSSL: certificates valid for 1 to 3 years
- GoDaddy: certificates free for open-source projects, valid for 1 year
Type of certificate and length of validity vary by authority. Most authorities offer standard SSL certificates free and charge for EV SSL certificates, if they provide those. Cloudflare offers free and paid plans and various add-on options.
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Check For Mixed Content Warnings
While your site is now available on HTTPS, you might still have resources linked to your website that load over HTTP. This includes things like images, videos, and external resources.
Browsers will block this content as unsafe, which can also cause broken functionality of your site and security warnings in browsers.
Examples of Unsafe Warnings:
You can use the same SSH access that you used to generate the certificate to run a command and find any files that reference http:// directly.
To find resources loading over HTTP, run the following command:
grep -r "http://"
This will list all files to investigate in your server or CMS. Simply change all resource URLs from http:// to https:// or to a relative path.
You should also query your database or manually look through posts and pages for HTTP content. There are plugins and extensions available that can automate the process of rewriting URLS using HTTP to HTTPS .
If the HTTP resource is stored on your own website, we recommend using the relative directory and filename as follows.
Absolute Path:
- Audio embeds
Caution
What Is An Ssl
SSL is an acronym for Secure Sockets Layer. It’s a standard security technology that establishes a secure connection between a web server and a browser.
SSL connection ensures that data transferred remain private. The SSL is also called TLS .
SSL certificate is what enables the website to move from HTTP to HTTPS. An SSL is the data file hosted on the website origin server that makes SSL/TLS encryption possible. It has a key pair: a public and private key. These keys work together to create an encrypted connection. The certificate also contains “subject,” which is the identity of the certificate/website owner.
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How To View The Ssl Certificate Details
To view an SSL certificates details, you can click on the padlock symbol located within the browser bar. Details typically included within 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 Authoritys digital signature
- Any Associated subdomains
- The certificates issue date
- The certificate expiry date
How Do I Install An Ssl Certificate
Your web host may install the certificate free of charge or for a fee. Some hosts actually have a Lets Encrypt installation option in their cPanel dashboard, making it easy to do yourself. Ask your current host or find one that offers direct support for Lets Encrypt. If your host doesnt provide this service, your website maintenance company or developer could install the certificate for you.
You should expect to have to renew the certificate every so often. Check the timeframe with the certificate authority.
For the easiest implementation, just partner with a fully managed hosting provider and they will take care of everything for you. One quick support ticket and its done!
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What’s So Special About Wildcard
A Wildcard SSL Certificate secures all your subdomains. If you need to secure multiple hosts on your domain, purchasing a separate SSL certificate for each one can add up to huge numbers quickly! For example, if you need a certificate for www.domain.com, store.domain.com and mail.domain.com you’d need to buy an individual certificate for each of those. Wildcard SSL Certification makes buying individuals certificates unnecessary.
Why Getting An Ssl Certificate Is Worth It
Secure Sockets Layer is a protocol that ensures whatever information is transmitted between the visitors browser and your websites server is converted into codes that no third party can decipher.
Lets say Location A wants to send sensitive data to Location B . With an SSL certificate, Location A encrypts the data with a public key to ensure only the intended receiver can read it. Once Location B receives the data, it can decrypt it using a corresponding private key.
Any data encrypted with a public key can only be decrypted by a private key and vice versa. This ensures every data transferred between the visitors web browser and your website will always remain confidential.
Maybe you think you dont need one because you only have a simple website that doesnt accept payments. If you think you can get away without an SSL certificate, Google has a warning: Get the certificate or scare your visitors away with a Not Secure notification to users. Having an SSL is now also a ranking signal, so Google gives you a slight ranking boost as an additional incentive for switching.
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Why Are Subdomains Popular
Subdomains are very useful in organizing websites. Different subdomains may be for different categories, types of content, or even different software, i.e., images.mywebsite.com, products.mywebsite.com, and offers.mywebsite.com. Often, subdomains are used to host different, but related websites: for example, companies may put niche websites for specific campaigns or user groups on subdomains.