How to install a free SSL with SiteGround

Want to know how to install a SSL with Siteground? Keep reading for my step by step guide.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through one of these links I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products that I use or want to use in future.

Why choose SiteGround to host your WordPress website?

SiteGround is one of only 3 hosting providers recommended by WordPress at the time of writing. So if you’ve already set up an account with them, rest assured you’ve made a great choice.

They’re renowned for their 24-hour support and the latest technologies to make the websites that it hosts load faster. I’ve had lots of chats with them in the past when I was a SiteGround customer.

I’m not hosted with them anymore just because annual payments weren’t working for me. If they’d offered a monthly option a couple of years ago I’d still be hosted with them.

They also offer free SSL certificates as part of their hosting packages and they are one of 2 hosting companies I recommend to my clients depending on their needs. The other hosting provider I recommend, Lyrical Host, are just as good a hosting provider. I recommend them as a great WordPress hosting option for beginners.

What is an SSL Certificate?

Most people only really realise when a SSL certificate isn’t there on a website. An SSL certificate is what puts the little padlock in the address bar on a browser and adds the s to the https of a website URL.?

It makes sure that visitors to your site have an encrypted connection so that any personal info submitted to the site can’t be intercepted.?

If it’s not there browsers make a big song and dance about the site you’re viewing potentially not being secure.?

Never enter payment details or personal information on a site that doesn’t have one.?

Search engines like Google and Bing favour websites with SSL certificates in their search rankings. It will be virtually impossible to make the first page of results for any keyword search without an SSL certificate.?

SiteGround SSL Certificates

By default, SiteGround will try to issue a free SSL certificated for every site set up on their platform. It can take up to 72 hours after your domain has been registered with them or has been pointed at their servers.

Learn about domains and domain name servers.

So you may not even need to install a SSL with SiteGround manually.

To check if you have one already installed:

• Log in to your SiteGround account
• Click the Websites tab
• Click ‘Site Tools’ for the website you want to add the certificate to
• Click Security in the left hand panel
• Click SSL manager in the sub menu that appears
• Under Manage SSL look to see if there is a certificate that has an active status.
• If you have one, then great – job done. Nothing more for you to do here.

How to Install a SSL with SiteGround

• Log in to your SiteGround account
• Click the Websites tab
• Click ‘Site Tools’ for the website you want to add the certificate to
• Click Security in the left hand panel
• Click SSL manager in the sub menu that appears
• Under ‘Install New SSL’ select your domain from the ‘Select Domain’ drop down.
• Then select Let’s Encrypt Wildcard from the ‘Select SSL’ dropdown. (The Wildcard option is there to allow users to install one single SSL certificate against a domain and all of it’s subdomains (if it has any)). I like to use this option to cover all my bases
• Click GET

So those are the steps to install your SSL on SiteGround. But you will need to take additional steps to make sure that every visitor who visits your site get the green padlock.

How to enforce HTTPS on your SiteGround website

SiteGround recommend that you use their SiteGround Optimizer plugin. It’s a plugin, as the name suggests, that helps you to optimise your website to work with SiteGround’s set up.

The plugin will have been installed automatically if you set up your site on SiteGround, if you have transferred your site from elsewhere you’ll need to install the plugin yourself. It’s freely available from the WordPress plugin library.

To install the SG Optimizer plugin:

• Click Plugins
• Click Add New
• Search ‘SG Optimizer’
• Click Install
• Click Activate

To enforce HTTPS:

• Login to your WordPress dashboard and select SG Optimizer from the left hand panel
• Click Environment
• Under Environment Settings click the switch next to HTTPS enforce to switch it on
• After you set this setting you may be asked to log in again but using https this time

How long does it take for my SiteGround SSL to kick in?

The SSL kicks in pretty much immediately once you’ve installed but I’d wait 30 minutes before getting in touch with the support team.

How to install a SSL with Siteground: Summary

• SSL certificates are important to protect any info visitors to your site may submit while they’re there
• SiteGround try to install SSL certificates on every website hosted on their platform by default
• Click here to check if your site has a SSL already
• Click here for instructions to install a SSL with SiteGround manually
• Click here for instructions on how to force visitors to automatically use the secure version
• It takes only a few minutes for the SSL certificate to take effect. Allow up to 30 minutes before contacting SiteGround support.

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