Get a free SSL certificate and secure your site now

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security) is a security protocol that encrypts communication between a website and a web browser. It prevents unauthorized parties from accessing or seeing data exchanged between a site and its visitors.

SSL certificates are issued by a certificate authority (CA) to a website to authenticate its identity, letting browsers know that the website is secure.

SSL benefits include better security, enhanced brand trust, and higher positions in search engines. That's because SSL certificates signal good website security measures that users and search engines expect.

To see if a website has an SSL certificate, check if the browser displays a padlock icon next to the URL and if there’s https:// before the domain name.

There are three types of SSL/TLS certificates according to their domain validation level.

For domain-validated certificates (DV), the certificate authority (CA) will only ask you to verify the domain ownership via email, phone, or DNS record before issuing the certificate.

Organization-validated certificates (OV) have a medium level of validation. Besides domain validation, the CA usually checks documentation that verifies the organization’s name, contact information, and legal status.

Finally, the extended validation certificates (EV) offer the highest level of verification, with the CA conducting extensive background checks to verify the registrant’s location, legal status, and order details.

We can also differentiate SSL certificates based on the number of websites they can protect. Single-domain certificates protect one domain and its subdirectories, wildcard certificates cover a domain and its multiple subdomains, and multi-domain certificates support multiple domains unrelated to each other.

All types of SSL/TLS protection provide the same encryption level. However, some sites may need certificates with higher levels of verification to offer better proof of legitimacy, showcasing they’re a valid business, or to secure multiple domains at once.

Get SSL for free when you purchase any of Hostinger’s hosting plans. It’s a great option for website owners looking to sign up with a new web hosting provider while sorting out their SSL/TLS certification without additional costs.

Generally, a new SSL certificate will become active in just a few minutes – you just need to install it on the website.

At Hostinger, we offer web hosting with free SSL certificates, so they will be installed automatically on any website you create. If you have further questions about how to get SSL for free, please contact our 24/7 Customer Success team.

To renew an SSL/TLS certificate manually, you have to generate a new SSL certificate signing request (CSR), fill out the form, and install the latest version.

At Hostinger, you don’t need to do it manually, as we offer an automatic renewal feature for our free SSL certificates.

Yes, it does. Website security is an important ranking factor for Google.

Your website has a much higher chance of appearing at the top of the search results if it has enabled SSL.

Yes, you can. Install it through our web hosting control panel if you choose a different SSL provider.

Simply follow the easy steps in this custom SSL certificate installation guide and get the certificate running in no time.