Installing Let’s Encrypt SSL in WordPress for Free

In this article, we will discuss the importance of having an HTTPS site and how to implement a free SSL certificate within WordPress. With the advances in technology, having an HTTPS site is not just a recommendation, it’s a viable option for new WordPress installations. While many hosting companies are beginning to offer built-in support for free SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt, not all hosts have jumped on board.

There are several ways to generate a Let’s Encrypt certificate. One way is through ZeroSSL Online, which is an online tool that generates the certificate and provides the file contents to load onto your hosting provider of choice. Another way is through Certbot on your own VPS/Server, which involves installing Certbot and managing the files and adding them to your virtualhosts file. The simplest way of adding a certificate is through the WordPress Let’s Encrypt Plugin, which is fully automatic and uses a plugin called WP Let’s Encrypt.

After generating the certificate, the next step is to load it onto your panel. For cPanel, you need to access the Install and Manage SSL for your site (HTTPS) menu and load the certificate there by copying and pasting the code from each file into the corresponding boxes. For VestaCP, you need to load the contents of the respective files into the SSL Certificate, SSL Key, and SSL Certificate Authority/Intermediate boxes.

Once the certificate is active, you need to instruct WordPress to use SSL for the connection. This can be done by going to Settings > General and changing the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) to use HTTPS.

In conclusion, having an HTTPS site is important for security and SEO purposes. Let’s Encrypt provides a free and easy way to implement SSL certificates within WordPress. Using the WordPress Plugin combined with cPanel or VestaCP is the quickest method and gives you the freedom to forget about the reissue since it will be handled by the plugin itself.

Stay in Touch

spot_img

Related Articles