For just about any site, you probably need an SSL Certificate. Secure Socket Layer (SSL) provides safe communication via the internet. SSL Certificates protect sensitive information with encryption techniques when transmitting information between a web server and a web browser. Millions of websites use SSL Certificates on their site to keep their customers' and their visitors' information safe. Your visitors will notice that your site is protected by an SSL Certificate because your website URL will begin with HTTPS as opposed to HTTP. Additional signals of a site being secured by HTTPs is the padlock in the browser bar and a green extended validation bar found in more advanced SSL Certificate options. Some SSL Certificates also offer you a secure site seal for you to publish to signify to your visitors that your website is safe and their information is safe from potential attackers.

An SSL Certificate is installed on a web server to authenticate your website's identity. This means that the website is what it claims to be. In other words, it proves your identity to your visitors so they can be sure they are seeing your site, and not a fake or bogus website.

The other key function of an SSL Certificate is that it encrypts the data that is transmitted between the server containing the site and your visitors. This prevents data being sent between your website and your visitors from being read by anyone else.

Absolutely! In Google Chrome, if your site is not protected by an SSL Certificate, your visitors will get a warning message that your site is "Not Secure".

SSL certificates are strongly recommended if you have a website that receives or transmit any sensitive information like credit card numbers, license numbers, social security numbers etc. They are also strongly recommended for any pages where a password is submitted. While SSL Certificates especially important in these instances, it has become more evident recently that all sites should actually be SSL protected. That's because many browsers have started to flag sites that are not using the SSL/HTTPS protocol for being unsafe. Protecting your site with an SSL Certificate can prevent you from having this distinction. 

Additionally, buying an SSL Certificate for your site is one the easiest and fastest ways you can boost your SEO rankings. That's because part of Google's algorithm is whether your website can be considered trustworthy or not. In short, having an SSL Certificate for your site is the new standard as they provide a secure connection from your site's server to your visitors' browsers.

When your website's audience visits your site, their browser checks for and views your SSL Certificate. Your visitors' computer confirms your site's identity through your SSL's Certificate Authority, the organization that issed the digital certificate.

If everything checks out OK, your visitors' computer and the server your website is hosted on perform a digital "handshake". This is when the computer and your server determine what sort of encryption will be used to create a secure connection. This is known as the Secure Socket Layer, or SSL. The flow of data between the computers is encrypted, meaning it is jumbled up into a code to prevent unauthorized viewing. Your visitors' browser will display some sort of identifer, usually a padlock, indicating to your visitor that a secure connection with your website has been made.

SSL Certificates are granted from a Certificate Authority (CA). The Certificate Authority's job is to verify that the website owner is in fact who they say they are. A business verification may also occur if the site is owned by a business, most likely an eCommerce store. A copy of the SSL Certificate is received once the CA verifies the site owner. The web site owner is then free to install their SSL Certificate on their server for their website.

Once the web server that is hosting your site is accessed by your visitor's browser, an "SSL handshake" takes place. This means the browser and the server have established a key informing each other that it's safe to communicate and the SSL Certificate is in fact valid. Most importantly, your visitors will also know that any information they are transmitting to you, whether it be a password, credit card or social security number, is secure due to your use of the SSL Certificate.

Follow our SSL Certificate guide to learn more!

An SSL Certificate allows your site to move from HTTP to the safer Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). The use of HTTPS helps protect your visitors' connections made to your site and avoid what is known as "man-in the-middle" attacks. This type of attack, where sensitive communication/information is intercepted and de-crypted, can be protected against with the use of an SSL Certificate. 

You should have one SSL certificate to protect each of your websites. With that being said, if your site has multiple subdomains (i.e domain1.a2hosting.com, domain2.a2hosting.com etc.), you should consider a Wildcard SSL. That's because a single Wildcard SSL Certificate can protect unlimited subdomains.

A2 Hosting also offers multi-domain SSL certificates. This SSL solutions protect multiple domains with a single certificate.

Single Site SSL Certificate

While our free SSL Certificates work great and are just as secure as other SSL Certificate options, there are a number of advantages in choosing one of our Single Site SSL Certificate options. These advantages include:

• Warranties - Our SSL Single Site Certificate options offer a warranty, as opposed to a free SSL Certiricate which does not.
• Domain Verification - Your visitors may appreciate knowing that your domain has been verified and you could ultimately see a bump in your conversion rate because of it.
• Site Seals - Offers a site seal for you to display on your site signifying that your site is secured via SSL.
• Easy Setup - Yes, our free SSL is a zero-configuration option. However, we also offer Single Site SSL Certificate options that offer an easy setup.
• Get Single Site SSL

Wildcard SSL Certificates

Looking to secure a number of subdomains but concerned about having to buy an SSL Certificate for each one? Our Wildcard SSL Certificates offer the perfect solution! Protect an unlimited number of subdomains with this subdomain option. Get Wildcard SSL

Advanced SSL Certificates

Our Advanced SSL Certificates offer the most secure options for eCommerce sites:

• Organization Authentication - Gives your visitors the ability to read more information about your organization simply by clicking the SSL bar in their browser.
• Extended Validation - Provides the highest level of trust by turning the browser address bar green when visiting your site. Get Advanced SSL

It may sound too good to be true, but A2 Hosting offers you a free SSL Certificates for your domain. When you choose A2 Hosting, your free SSL Certificate is added to your domain automatically. Best of all, our free SSLs are just as secure as paid SSL alternatives. Get a Free SSL Certificate

You're most likely looking for our free SSL Certificate if you're looking for free SSL Hosting. However we do also offer a free Shared SSL Certificate on our Web Hosting plans. Our Shared SSL certificates provide you with a way to encrypt a connection that is not seen by the public. Best of all, you don't worry about the SSL Certificate cost. Our Shared SSL Certificates will list a domain owned by A2 Hosting in place of a domain that you own. The URL format when using one of these SSLs will look similar to yourusername.wwwsr1.supercp.com.

Are you an A2 Hosting Shared Hosting customer that would like to use a free SSL Certificate? Just submit a support ticket on the My A2 Hosting Customer Portal to request access.