Installing an SSL certificate in WordPress can seem daunting, but it is actually fairly easy. There are quite a few versions of SSL certificates out there, and this guide will walk you through how to install your own.

Choosing an SSL certificate level depends on your WordPress website’s security needs.

For example, if you conduct financial transactions on your WordPress website, your payment processors may require you to have a certain level of security and an SSL certificate to match, in order to meet their security requirements for payment processing.

In this post we are going to go over the easiest way to get a free SSL certificate installed on your WordPress website, so you get that nice little padlock symbol at the beginning of your URL.

Most web hosting providers nowadays do include a free SSL certificate for your WordPress website in their plans.

However, they do not automatically install that SSL certificate on your website for you when your website goes live on the internet. You will have to install it yourself.

Don’t worry, installing a free SSL certificate so you get that nice little padlock symbol at the beginning of your URL can be done with a few clicks, but you do need to know where to look and what to click.

On a side note, just be aware that some of the cheapest web hosting providers will conveniently leave out a free SSL certificate and not provide it to their customers in order to make money from add-on services.

If your web hosting provider does offer free SSL certificates, this usually comes in the form of the most common SSL certificate, which is called, “Let’s Encrypt”.

The “Let’s Encrypt” SSL certificate can be installed on your WordPress website through a simple plugin called “Really Simple SSL”.

Before you start, it’s always good practice to make a backup of your site, just in case, before installing your SSL.

Installing your SSL should be one of the first things you do when setting up your WordPress website, especially before you publish a single piece of content.

Step One: Find out if your web hosting provider offers free SSL certificates

Most web hosting providers offer free SSL certificates as part of their basic hosting packages, but you should still check to be sure.

Once you have verified that they do, then you are ready to move to Step 2, and should already have one in your website’s files stored on their servers. If your current hosting provider does not provide SSL certificates, you will need to use a plugin to install and manage an SSL certificate, or move to a new web hosting provider like LeDetailWP that does!

Included with any hosting plan.

Step 2: Go to your WordPress Dashboard > Plugins and Click ‘Add New’.

Navigate to your WordPress Dashboard, then click Plugins (located in the left sidebar below Appearance). Click ‘Add New’ to bring up the plugin area and search bar.

Step 3: In the Search Bar Type in “Really Simple SSL”. Then Click “Install”.

Using the plugin search bar, search for the “Really Simple SSL” plugin. Once you’ve located the correct plugin, click Install.

Step 4: Once the Plugin is Installed, Click “Activate”.

Step 5: Optional, Go Into the Settings and Change Any Configurations to the Plugin.

In most cases you don’t need to adjust any of the configurations yourself. At this point, your SSL certificate is installed on your site!

It may take a little time though before you see the little “padlock” symbol before the URL.

If you don’t see the padlock symbol, try purging your WordPress website’s cache. Then hit the “Reload this page”.

Having an SSL certificate for your WordPress website is basically mandatory today with all of the security issues posed by cyber criminals and scammers on the web. Visitors to your website feel much more secure and confident while accessing your website.

Using the latest plugins, adding an SSL certificate for WordPress can not only be free, but easy to install, too. As with most things WordPress, you don’t need to write a single line of code to install an SSL certificate as well.