SSL is a necessary part of a website. It makes a website trustworthy and secure. It helps your site to rank on search engines. A reliable website attracts traffic. So your website can grow in a good way. You can buy an SSL certificate easily from any authorised provider. But if you are on a tight budget, you can always get a free SSL certificate. Some providers give them free of cost. Before proceeding to the free SSL provider details, let’s take a quick look at how SSL works.
Secure Sockets Layer or SSL is an internet security protocol that creates an encrypted link between a server and a client – typically a browser and a web server (website) or a mail client and a mail server. Generally, the data transmission between browsers and web servers is conducted in plain text format. It leaves you vulnerable to eavesdropping. If an attacker can intercept all data, they can see and use that information.
SSL certificates have a pair of keys — one is the public key, and another one is the private key. Both the keys work together to create an encrypted connection. SSL encrypts sensitive information such as credit card numbers or login credentials to keep your data safe. SSL ensures that anyone who intercepts the data can only see a scrambled bunch of characters. SSL had some loopholes. For that reason, SSL is the predecessor to the modern Transport Layer Security or TLS encryption used today. But before that, you need to have a website where you can install an SSL certificate. If you want to create your website, you read it here.
Top 10 Free SSL certificate providers:
1. Let’s Encrypt:
Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate provides 90-day certificates to be issued using the ACME protocol. You need to change the key every 90 days. It is designed to make HTTPS encryption available to any website owner. Many popular hosting providers do not allow their root access to the customer end. But They can manage their website through a control panel with a graphic user interface, such as cPanel or Plesk.
2. Zero SSL:
Zero SSL facilitates the setup and installation of free 90-day SSL certificates issued by third-party vendors. It becomes a trusted certificate authority itself by issuing authentic SSL certificates.
After 90 days, one can renew or re-register their site to get an SSL certificate.
3. Cloudflare:
Cloudflare provides free SSL certificates for both the edge servers and an origin certificate. You can install it on your web server, which is required to create the connection protected. The origin certificate only operates if you proxy via Cloudflare and utilise their certificate on the edge. You also get considerable numbers of their additional performance and security advantages with Cloudflare’s certificates.
You can set up Cloudflare for your website by following our step-by-step guide.
4. SSL For Free:
SSL for free lets you create both free SSL certificates and Wildcard SSL certificates in a minute. It supports both Wildcard and ACME and it’s free for a lifetime. If you don’t want the “www” to be added to your name, you can change it to go away with that part too. They provide 90 days of SSL certificate validity. You can renew it thereafter.
5. Buypass SSL:
Buypass delivers both free SSL certificates – known as Buypass Go SSL – and paid choices for people who need them. They provide SSL certificates for 180 days, compared to the 90 days for SSL from Let’s Encrypt. Buypass Go SSL is a great free option. It provides more or less the same features like Let’s Encrypt but with an SSL certificate that lasts twice as long.
6. Free SSL:
FreeSSL.org offers a lifetime free SSL certificate using Let’s encrypt and Buypass. Let’s encrypt provides 90 days of validity, whereas buypass provides 180 days of validity. All certificates can be automatically renewed and they provide certificate expiration reminder service too. They provide an automated solution by using ACME integrations and a fully-fledged REST API.
7. SSL.Com:
SSL.com provides free SSL certificates for 90 days, that have the exact encryption power and browser approval rates as the higher security validation. However, these certificates perform outstandingly for smaller, non-eCommerce sites such as blogs.
8. Go Get SSL:
GoGetSSL certificates provide complete support for both RSA and ECC algorithms. The free version of their SSL comes with a green lock for the address bar. The 90-day free SSL certificate is the same as other traditional certificates. It is compatible with all browsers and mobile devices on different web server software.
9. Comodo:
Comodo’s SSL certificates good amount of safety and security. Comodo issues 256-bit SSL certificates, which provide the highest encryption power for your website, whereas the minimum industry standard of SSL certification is only 128-bit encryption. They also provide a free SSL certificate for 90 days. You can renew it after its validity expires.
10. Sectigo SSL:
Sectigo SSL certificates deliver powerful 256-bit encryption to your website, These certificates are prominent for expanding businesses. They also offer 30 days trial period for free.
Conclusion:
With an SSL certificate from a reputed organisation, your website can safely and securely manage data transfers between your visitors and your website. Eventually, this makes a more enjoyable user experience and enhances your website’s ranking in search results. The most appropriate option for free SSL security comes from using a combination of these options. By enabling Cloudflare and one of the standard SSL options, you can get all the advantages of their free services, leaving no openings in protection.