How to Easily Enable SSL on Godaddy WordPress Hosting

When it comes to choosing a web host, there are a few key considerations. One of the most important factors is whether or not you will be able to effortlessly enable SSL (secure socket layer) on your web host. Let’s take a look at how you can easily enable SSL on your GoDaddy WordPress hosting account.

All You Need To Know About SSL

To put it briefly, SSL (secure socket layer) is a security protocol for transmitting sensitive information, like credit card numbers and passwords, over unsecured networks, like the Internet. If an unauthorized person or program gets a hold of these details, they can and most likely will use them to access or steal from you or your business. For example, if your website is compromised and the criminals were able to retrieve your encryption key, they would be able to decrypt all of your traffic. In other words, SSL protects your business information from being stolen by keeping it out of the hands of others.

Why Does SSL Matter?

Let’s use the example of a restaurant website that accepts credit cards as payment. If you have an unsecure (non-https) connection with your website, any kind of traffic to the site, whether it’s a purchase or a visit, is accessible to anyone. So, while your website is loading, someone nearby can be eavesdropping on your network traffic and potentially stealing your customers. When you make a purchase via a credit card, the transaction will appear to be legitimate because there is no record of it being fraudulent. However, if the restaurant owner doesn’t have an SSL, then they are essentially opening themselves up to potential theft. Additionally, if you use online payment processors like Stripe or PayPal, then they will check the security of your payment gateway and alert you if there is any hint of a security issue. In the case of a stolen credit card, it’s imperative that you contact your bank as soon as possible to put a stop to it. Otherwise, you could find yourself on the receiving end of a fraudulent transaction that you didn’t authorize.

How To Enable SSL For Free

If you’re reading this article, I assume that you already have a GoDaddy account and that you’re looking for a way to easily enable SSL on your WordPress website. If that’s the case, you’ve come to the right place. Today, I will teach you a step-by-step process for enabling SSL on your GoDaddy WordPress hosting account for free. Before we begin, you should know that this method only works for new accounts. If you already have an SSL-enabled account, then you’ll have to find a different way to secure your site.

Step One: Visit The SSL Settings Page

To begin, log in to your GoDaddy account and click on the gear icon in the top right corner of the page. From there, click on “Settings” at the top of the page and select “SSL” from the list that appears. Now, you’ll need to find a way to purchase a “Certificate” from an authorized certificate authority (CA). CAs are basically internet service providers (ISPs) or web hosting providers that ensure that all the certificates they issue are legitimate. The most common CAs are Thawte, Symantec, and DigiCert. If you scroll down the list, you’ll see several different CAs that you can choose from. If you have a Paypal account, you can use it to “purchase” a certificate from any of these CAs. Otherwise, you can click on “I’ll Transfer You A New Certificate” and fill out the necessary information to have a new certificate issued to you. Now, you’ll need to make sure that your website’s URL is correct in the “Certificate Common Name” field. Typically, the domain name will match the certificate’s common name. For example, if your website is at https://wwwexample.com, then your certificate’s common name will be www.example.com. If you made a mistake and entered the email address for your account instead of the domain name, you can change it by following the procedures in the next step.

Step Two: Get Your Marketing And Navigation Materials Ready

Once you have a legitimate SSL certificate and you’re sure that you entered the correct common name for your certificate, click on the “Confirm” button to make sure that everything is correct. Next, you’ll need to prepare your marketing and navigation materials (such as a logo and a bunch of web pages with your content). The best thing about this step is that you can prepare everything in advance so that when you activate the certificate, you’ll be able to immediately go live with the updated materials. The disadvantage is that you’ll need to do it manually which can be tedious if you have a lot of content to update. Still, most organizations will find this sort of thing to be a worthwhile tradeoff. Once you’ve completed the steps above, click on “Save Changes” at the top right corner of the page.

Step Three: Activate The Certificate

Now that your account is prepared, you can proceed to the final step which is to activate the certificate. To do this, click on the “Activate Certificate” button at the top right of the settings page. You’ll be asked to enter a valid email address and a password. Make sure that you use a strong password and protect it with two-step verification, if available. Once you’ve entered the information and clicked on the “Activate” button, you’ll see a message indicating that the certificate has been activated successfully. You can now go back and take a look at your website’s SSL status in the “Your SSL Information” section by clicking on the “View Certificate” button.

What Do I Need To Know About Adding Another Domain To My Account?

If you already have a domain name and you want to add another one without paying for the second one, you can do so by following the steps above. The only difference is that instead of clicking on “Save Changes” at the end of the third step, you’ll need to click on “Add Another Domain”.

To summarize, if you want to easily enable SSL on your GoDaddy WordPress hosting account, you can do so for free. The downside is that it only works for new accounts and there is a lot of manual updating that needs to be done to make sure that everything is functioning properly. Still, it’s an easy and highly recommended option for people who are looking for a way to get started quickly with a secure website.