How to Get a FREE SSL Certificate for Your Website
Google is encouraging everyone to make the internet a more secure place. Enabling HTTPS on your website creates a secure user experience for your viewers. This is accomplished by installing a secure certificate on your website. Although Google is not penalizing websites for failing add SSL, it does is a minor ranking signal and therefore a good idea to add SSL.
Secure certificates cost anywhere from $30 per year to several hundred dollars. What many website owners don’t realize is that you can obtain a quality certificate for free. Although a free certificate is not for ecommerce websites, it is good for information websites.
Get a FREE SSL Certificate
Let’s Encrypt is a free, automated, and open certificate from non-profit Internet Security Research Group (ISRG).
Users with shell access can use the Certbot ACME client (or other ACME client) to install the certificate. Those without shell access can still use LetsEncrpyt, but need to work with their hosting providers to install it. The SSL certificate is free forever. The organization does accept donations to help defray costs.
FreeSSL by Symantec – Sign up for the wait list to get this free SSL option from Symantec. If your organization is a nonprofit, then its available immediately. Symantec also offers a 30-day trial of their SSL/TLS products including GeoTrust, Symantec, and RapdiSSL. A Thawte certificate is available free for 21-days.