What is an SSL certificate?
An SSL certificate (strictly, a TLS certificate) lets your website use https://. It does two things:
- Encrypts everything sent between your visitors and your site, such as passwords, card details and form messages, so no one in between can read it.
- Proves your site is genuine. The certificate is issued by a trusted certificate authority, which checks that you control the domain (and, for some certificates, that your business is real).
Visitors see a padlock in the address bar. Without SSL, browsers mark your site as “Not secure”.
Why every website needs SSL
Section titled “Why every website needs SSL”- Trust: “Not secure” warnings put visitors off, especially on forms and checkout pages.
- Search ranking: Google favours sites that use HTTPS.
- Security: it protects your visitors’ logins and personal information on public Wi‑Fi.
- Features: many modern browser features, payment gateways and apps only work over HTTPS.
SSL with Ruachost
Section titled “SSL with Ruachost”Every hosting plan includes free SSL from Let’s Encrypt, installed and renewed automatically. See Your free SSL certificate.
We also sell Sectigo (formerly Comodo) certificates for when you need more:
| Type | Validation | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| DV (Domain Validated) | Checks you control the domain. Issued in minutes. | Blogs, small business sites |
| OV (Organisation Validated) | Also checks your organisation is registered | Business and organisation sites |
| EV (Extended Validation) | The strictest checks on your organisation | E-commerce, banks, government |
| Wildcard | Covers a domain and all its subdomains (*.example.com) |
Sites with many subdomains |
See Buying and activating an SSL certificate and What is EV SSL?