SSL (Secure Socket Layer) is a trust seal on the connection between the web servers and web clients. The protocols in a website URL tell the user whether the website has a secured connection or not. Generally speaking:
HTTPS – secure
HTTP – Insecure
What does an SSL Certificate Secure?
Anything from credit card purchases on eCommerce websites, bank websites, web or an email server, password protected sites, file transfer from a computer to a server.
Types of SSL Certificates available
Domain Validated SSLs: These are the basic level of low-cost SSL certificates that require minimal verification of the website domain. Most of the websites have a DV SSL.
Extended Validation SSL: These are high-end certificates that require company papers and a physical address for verification. This is the highest security level you get for your website.
Multi-Domain SSL: This follows the DV SSL footprints, but available for multiple domains and sub-domains.
Organizational Validation SSL: Organizational Validation is a combination of multiple SSL certificates. These are designed to support the organizations that have multiple websites and work on a large scale. The cost of additional domains is extra. The company details are examined before issuing the certificate.
Previously, it was not mandatory for the websites to have a secured Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). But, with the rise of the eCommerce industry, online banking and Fintech, you see thousands of financial transactions in a day. Realizing the need for security, the secured protocol became a strict advisory.
Google, in July 2018 made it mandatory to formally mark the websites with an insecure protocol. Google went a step ahead and made it a crucial ranking factor. Websites with secure protocol are given preference over the websites without the secure protocol. And, this applies to websites across all business domains. Marketers who miss this tiny sign take a huge hit on search rankings.
When it was a novel concept, the prices of SSL certifies went up to $500/year. One could get a shared SSL certificate at $100/year. Most marketers didn’t bother to install on their websites because if the cost.
Fast forward to 2020, you get the SSL certificate for free along with the hosting. And, if your hosting provider doesn’t offer free, the approximate cost is $10/year.
It’s great if you got a free SSL certificate with your hosting plan.
How to know if the SSL certificate is installed on your website?
Look for the lock sign, in the website address on your website. That means the SSL certificate is installed. If not the lock sign, then you will see ‘https’ written in green in some browsers.
Websites without the SSL certificate have address bar like this
This signals the website visitors that the website is safe for financial transactions or creating an account/profile on it because the website is capable of handling sensitive information.
Top hosting providers that offer free SSL certificate along with their hosting services
Here’s the infographic followed by the complete list
1. Site Ground
All the hosting plans offer free SSL certificate. Here’s what the besic Site Ground Hosting plan offers.
- 1 website
- Unmetered traffic
- Free CDN
- 10 GB web space
- Unlimited Database
Detailed Site Ground Hosting Plans
2. GoDaddy
GoDaddy offers Free SSL in its ultimate plan only. The two plans cheaper than the ultimate plan don’t have Free SSL. The features of ultimate plan include
- Unlimited websites
- Free Professional Email
- Free domain with annual plan
- Unmetered storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
See the all the GoDaddy Hosting Plans
3. Cloudways
Cloudways has four plans listed on the website and all of them offer free SSL certificate. The features in the basic plans include
- 1 Core Processor
- 1 GB RAM
- 25 GB Storage
- 1 TB Bandwidth
- 24/7/365 Support
- CDN Add-on
Detailed Cloudways Hosting Plans
4. WP Engine
All the plans starting from the basic and custom un WP Engine have automatic Free SSL certificate. The basic plan from WP Engine has the following features
- 10 GB local storage
- 50 GB bandwidth per month
- Global CDN
- SSH Gateway
See the detailed WP Engine Hosting Plans
5. HostGator
Hosgator offers Free SSL certificate starting from their ‘Business’ plan only. The three plans that cost less than the Business plan don’t have Free SSL feature. Features in Business plan include
- Unlimited domains
- Unmetered Disk Space
- Unmetered Transfer
- Unlimited email Accounts
- Free Dedicated IP
See the detailed Hostgator Hosting Plans
6. Liquid Web
Liquid Web automatically sets SSL with all its Managed WordPress plans. There are 6 Managed WordPress plans and the cheapest plan has the following features
- 1 site
- 15 GB storage
- 2 TB bandwidth
- Unlimited email accounts
- 30 Day Backups
See the complete list of Liquid Web Hosting Plans
7. BlueHost
From basic to Pro, BlueHost offers Free SSL certificates in all the plans. The other features of the basic plan include
- 50 GB SSD Storage
- 1 Website
- 25 sub domains
- 5 parked domains
- 1 included Domain
- Unmetered bandwidth
See BlueHost Hosting Plans in Detail
8. Hostinger
Hostinger offers free SSL certificate in all of its plans. The most basic plan is its single web hosting plan which has the following feature.
- 1 Website
- Limited Bandwidth (100 GB)
- 1 Email
- 1X Allocated Resources
- 10 GB Disk Space
- MySQL Databases
See all Hostinger plans in details
9. FastComet
FastComet has three plans ‘FastCloud’, ‘FastCloud Plus’, ‘FastCloud Extra’. All the plans offer Free SSL certificate. Along with that, it offers the following features in the basic plan.
- Unlimited FTP Accounts
- 15 GB SSD Space
- Single website hosting plan
- 2 core CPU
- 2 GB RAM Availability
- FREE DNS Management
- Unlimited Park Domains and Sub-domains
Detailed FastComet Hosting Plans
10. A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting offers three hosting plans Light, Swift, and Turbo namely. The Lite plan is the cheapest one and has Free SSL certificate. All the other plans above this one offer Free SSL certificate. The features in the Lite plan include
- 1 website
- Unlimited SSD Storage and Transfer
- Anytime Money Back Guarantee
- Free Site Migration
- 25 Email Accounts
Detailed A2 Hosting Plans
11. Inmotion Hosting
You get free SSL with all the Inmotion hosting plans. The basic plans as the following features
- Free Domain
- Unlimited Disk Space
- 2 Websites
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- Marketing Tools and Security Suite
- Unlimited Email
See the detailed Inmotion Hosting Plans
