Are you looking for the best WordPress hosting with free SSL included? Look no further—we’ve done the research for you.
In the past, you’d have to purchase an SSL certificate from your web host for $50–100 per domain, per year.
But that’s no longer necessary because with the right web host, you can get unlimited SSL certificates at no additional cost.
Don’t settle for a web host that wants to nickel-and-dime you for basic features.
$50+ per year just to secure my site? No thanks!
There are plenty of better options out there, and we’ll take a look at the best below.
Why SSL Is Essential
If you clicked on this article, you’re probably familiar with SSL.
For those who aren’t, SSL / HTTPS is an encryption protocol that secures the data transfer between your website visitors and your web server.
In today’s world, I would not recommend launching a site without SSL.
SSL / HTTPS is particularly important for the security of e-commerce stores and websites that collect sensitive user information—but even if that’s not you, there are benefits to using SSL on any site.
For example, Google uses SSL as a ranking signal, meaning HTTPS sites will typically rank higher in search results than non-HTTPS sites.
An SSL certificate can also help to make a positive impression and build trust with your visitors. That little green padlock goes a long way.
On the flip side, if you don’t use SSL, browsers like Google Chrome will tell users that your website is “not secure.”
The Best WordPress Hosting With Free SSL: SiteGround
In our experience, SiteGround comes out on top as the best web host offering free SSL.
SiteGround is a longtime supporter of the Let’s Encrypt initiative, and it now offers free SSL certificates for all accounts. You can enable SSL on any domain with a single click, making the transition to HTTPS easier (and cheaper) than ever before.
You can check out SiteGround’s WordPress hosting plans here, or learn more about their SSL certificates here.
How To Install A Free SSL Certificate With SiteGround
We use SiteGround here at GigaPress, and installing our SSL certificate was almost comically easy.
Log into your cPanel account, locate the Security section, and click the “Let’s Encrypt” icon:
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Simply select your domain, choose regular or wildcard SSL (wildcard SSL extends to your subdomains as well), and click “Install.”
That’s it—your certificate has been installed, and your site should now load over HTTPS.
Why We Use SiteGround
When you’re choosing a web host, it’s important to look at the big picture. Free SSL was just one of many considerations when we chose to use SiteGround.
For example, we wanted a web host that prioritizes site speed and performance. SiteGround uses cutting-edge speed technology (fast SSD drives, NGINX, WP SuperCacher, PHP 7+, HTTP/2) to keep our site running at peak performance. Specifically, we get 50ms Server Response Times and <1s page load times on SiteGround.
SiteGround is also known for its outstanding 24/7 support, which will help you with WordPress-specific issues that would normally be outside the scope of hosting support. They really seem to care about helping their customers succeed, which is refreshing.
On top of that, SiteGround’s reputation in the greater WordPress/hosting community is hard to ignore.
Not only is it endorsed by both WordPress.org and Yoast, but it’s consistently rated #1 in dozens of industry polls. For example:
Interested in learning more? Click here to read our full SiteGround review where we dive into every aspect of SiteGround hosting—the good and the bad.
If you’re looking for a well-respected hosting brand that also happens to offer free SSL, you can’t go wrong with SiteGround. You can take a look at their various plans here.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about WordPress hosting or SSL, please feel free to leave a comment below!
