With the ever-increasing threat of cybercrime, online security is becoming more and more important. You might have noticed how some websites are getting marked red and labeled “not secure.” This is happening because they don’t have SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) activated on their website.
You can call SSL the current standard in internet security protocol. If it is installed on your website, it tells users, as well as the search engines and browsers, that your website data is well encrypted and the users on your website are safe. With SSL active on your website, you will notice a green lock mark. Also, the HTTP before your site URL changes to HTTPS.
So installing SSL is extremely important. However, installing it isn’t very easy, especially for non-tech-savvy users. But with that being said, if you are using a WordPress website, you can use a simple WordPress SSL plugin to install and activate SSL on your website. So now when people come to visit your website, they are taken to a secure HTTPS website.
This is why, for the purpose of this read, we have put together a list of the best WordPress SSL plugins. So without further ado, let’s get started.
Top 6 free WordPress SSL plugins
1. Really Simple SSL
Starting off, we have Really Simple SSL. With over 3 million active installations, this is by far the most popular WordPress SSL Plugin. Once installed, the plugin will automatically detect your site’s settings and configure your website over to HTTPS.
To get the plugin to work, all you have to do is get your SSL certificate, insert require information into the plugin, and then activate SSL with a single click. There is also a pro version for the plugin that packs in many more advanced features to help you out.
Key features worth mentioning:
- Automatically changes HTTP to HTTPS. However, you need to provide the SSL certificate.
- Mixed content scanner – shows you what you need to do to get the green lock sign.
- Checks if your SSL certificate is soon to expire, and sends you a reminder email promptly. (premium)
- Advanced security header for better security. (premium)
And much more.
2. Easy HTTPS Redirection (SSL)
Easy HTTPS Redirection WordPress SSL plugin can help you force search engines to index the HTTPS version of your webpage(s). This is useful when you have set up your SSL certificate but search engines are slow to recognize your efforts.
However, do remember to set up your SSL certificate and make sure that the HTTPS URL for your website is working properly before using the plugin.
Key features worth mentioning:
- The plugin will automatically redirect users and search engines to the HTTPS version of your webpages.
- Can even help you do an auto-redirect for your whole domain.
- Option to force load static files using the HTTPS URL.
And much more.
3. Cloudflare Flexible SSL
Cloudflare Flexible SSL plugin just plays a part in activating Flexible SSL on your WordPress website. Once successfully implemented, it will help you out when you are using the Cloudflare CDN and want to serve HTTPS versions of your website to all CDN traffic.
Without an active flexible SSL system, the CDN sometimes end up in an infinite redirect loop while serving your WordPress site.
Key features worth mentioning:
- The plugin helps you to install Flexible SSL on your WordPress website.
- Works only with Cloudflare CDN.
4. WP Force SSL
Much like Easy HTTPS Redirection, this WordPress SSL Plugin also helps you to redirect HTTP traffic coming to your website to its more secured HTTPS versions. All you need to do is get your SSL Certificate, activate the plugin, and it will start sending all your traffic to the HTTPS version of your website.
The plugin also comes with a dedicated testing tool that can tell if your certificate is valid and whether everything is installed properly.
Key features worth mentioning:
- Automatically transfers HTTP traffic to the HTTPS versions of your webpages.
- Option to activate HTTP Strict Transport Security or HSTS.
5. One Click SSL
One Click SSL is another simple and easy-to-use security plugin that can redirect all your non-SSL pages to SSL pages. This ensures that all the resources of your SSL pages are actually loaded over to SSL.
The plugin comes with a user-friendly setup wizard that will handle everything for you. It will check whether your server supports SSL even before it allows the SSL to be enabled on your website. Also, if SSL is not supported by the webpage, it helps the webpage from becoming inaccessible.
Key features worth mentioning:
- Automatically checks if SSL is supported by your hosting provider or the server you are hosted on.
- Can enable SSL with a single click.
- Redirects all your non-SSL traffic to your HTTPS pages.
- Converts non-SSL resources to HTTPS.
- If SSL is not enabled, it redirects users back to non-SSL pages.
6. Free SSL Certificate for WordPress – SSL Zen
And now for the final entry on our list, we have SSL Zen. This WordPress SSL plugin can help you generate SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt, verify the certificate, and then install it on your website. It will also help you to renew the certificate year after year, automatically.
The plugin gives you step by step detailed instructions to help you attain your free SSL certificate and install it on your WordPress website. Once done, it also offers a one-click option to transfer all your HTTP pages to HTTPS.
Key features worth mentioning:
- Helps you get a free domain validated SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt.
- Easy-to-follow SSL setup wizard to help you install SSL on your website.
- One-click HTTP to HTTPS conversion for all your webpages.
In Conclusion
So these were our picks for the best WordPress SSL plugins. We hope you found this read to be useful and it helped you to make your website more secure.
As you can see, we have included a diverse collection of plugins that can help you with getting an SSL certificate and even activating it on your website.
You may also want to see our list of best WordPress category plugins.
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