10 Best Free SSL Hosting Providers: How Do They Compare?
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SSL security is an important part of any reputable website. And by choosing a hosting provider wisely, you won’t even have to factor SSL into your budget. To make this choice easier, we’ve researched and compared the best free SSL hosting providers on the market today.
Written and researched by
Our methodology
We’ve conducted 230+ hours of objective research and asked the opinions of over 1,200 readers to arrive at the final rankings you see here.
Compare the 10 Best Free SSL Hosting Providers
See how the top hosting platforms perform against each other in important areas. You can use the drop-down menus at the top of the chart to choose which hosts you’d like to see.
Overall Rating
What is this?
Our overall ratings are based on the average score of all ratings combined.
Why does this matter?
Our scores give you an at-a-glance overview of which service offers you the best features, value, and more.
Comparison
bluehost 4.8 / 5
hostgator 4.6 / 5
11491 4.5 / 5
a2-hosting 4.2 / 5
greengeeks 4.1 / 5
hostinger 4.1 / 5
siteground 4 / 5
ipage 3.7 / 5
dreamhost 3.5 / 5
wpengine 3.5 / 5
Disk Space
Comparison
bluehost 50GB – Unlimited
hostgator Unlimited
11491 Unlimited
a2-hosting Unlimited
greengeeks 60GB – 10TB
hostinger 20GB – 160GB
siteground 10GB – 960GB
ipage Unlimited
dreamhost 50GB – Unlimited
wpengine 10GB – 1TB
Uptime
Comparison
bluehost 99.98%
hostgator 99.99%
11491 99.97%
a2-hosting 99.95%
greengeeks 99.98%
hostinger 99.91%
siteground 99.98%
ipage 99.94%
dreamhost 99.95%
wpengine 99.95%
Money-back guarantee
Comparison
bluehost 30 days
hostgator 45 days
11491 90 days
a2-hosting Anytime
greengeeks 30 days
hostinger 30 days
siteground 30 days
ipage 30 days
dreamhost 97 days
wpengine 60 days
Starting Price
Comparison
bluehost $2.75
hostgator $2.75
11491 $2.49
a2-hosting $3.92
greengeeks $2.95
hostinger $0.99
siteground $6.99
ipage $1.99
dreamhost $2.59
wpengine $25
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encrypts information being passed through your website. It keeps your visitor’s private information, like their payment details, safe and secure. SSL certificates vary in security level and price, ranging anywhere from $19.99 to $269.99 per year.
But you don’t always have to pay for your SSL certificate. Because they’re so important, most hosting providers throw them into their plans free of charge!
Did you know? We surveyed 425 of our users to find out which hosting features they value the most – and 25% named security as their top priority, choosing it over other features like uptime and disk space.
Not all hosting providers were made equal, which is why we pulled our socks up, put our gloves on, and got our magnifying glasses out to find the best providers. After hours of research, we created this list of the ultimate free SSL hosting providers.
10 Best Free SSL Hosting Providers
- Bluehost – Best overall hosting provider.
- HostGator – Best for uptime.
- InMotion – Best for shared and VPS hosting.
- A2 Hosting – Best for cloud hosting.
- GreenGeeks – Best for green hosting.
- Hostinger – Best for discounted prices.
- SiteGround – Best for reliability.
- iPage – Best for cheap plans, but at the expense of speed.
- DreamHost – Best for storage space.
- WPEngine – Best for help and support.
This article will shine a light on each of these providers, give you details on their plans and prices, and of course, dish out some juicy tips on the SSL security they’ve got on offer. By the end of this article, you won’t have a shadow of doubt about which one is best for your hosting and security needs.
It’s a big wide world, and there’s danger at every turn. There’s no time to waste – let’s find the perfect free SSL hosting provider to keep your site secure!
#1. Bluehost
Best Overall Hosting Provider
Bluehost Pros and Cons
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Bluehost powers over 2 million websites worldwide, and provides the best all-around service. It particularly shines in its WordPress hosting. In fact, it’s the number one recommended hosting provider by WordPress itself!
But WordPress plan or not, Bluehost stands out for its excellent customer support, uptime, and value for money.
Bluehost’s Help and Support
Bluehost stood out from the crowd in our customer service research, exceeding our expectations by 9% – more than any other provider we tested.
Bluehost’s responsive live chat and informative knowledge base give it a serious edge over competitors, and make it a great choice for help and support.
Bluehost Security Features
One of the most important aspects of any hosting type is security, so it’s no surprise Bluehost steps up big time in this area, too. One of the ways it does this is by providing a free SSL certificate across all its hosting plans.
Your free SSL certificate is powered by Let’s Encrypt, an automated certificate authority. Let’s Encrypt should install and activate your certificate on your behalf, so you don’t need to sweat over any techy stuff. More on this later!
For WordPress sites, you simply log into your control panel and click “get started” under WordPress Free SSL, then click install to get going. You can find detailed instructions in Bluehost’s Help Center.
New customers can get shared hosting from just $2.95/month with Bluehost (normally $7.99)
So what do you get with the $2.95/month Basic plan?
- Free website domain & SSL certificate
- Unmetered bandwidth & 50GB of storage
- 24/7 support via phone & live chat
All of Bluehost’s hosting plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you’re not completely happy with the service you receive, you’ll get a full refund.
Bluehost Pricing
For small and growing businesses, we’d recommend the Plus or Choice Plus WordPress plans, both starting at just $5.45/month for new customers. These plans include unmetered storage, a free domain, and automatic WordPress updates alongside your free SSL security.
Bluehost Gallery
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In addition to the real-life support team, Bluehost’s knowledge base can provide you with answers on your own time.
Bluehost’s support time was both timely and informative when it came to answering our questions.
WordPress websites can feel confident knowing that Bluehost is an officially recommended provider.
Bluehost’s shared hosting plans offer great introductory prices.
Further Information
- Web Hosting Services: What is Web Hosting?
- Web Hosting Services Comparison Chart
- The Best Web Hosting Providers
More on Bluehost
- Read our full Bluehost Review for more information
- Find your perfect plan in our Bluehost Pricing Review
- Bluehost is officially recommended by WordPress – find out why it’s the Best WordPress Hosting Provider
#2. HostGator
Best for Uptime
HostGator Pros and Cons
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HostGator Security Features
HostGator is a popular and powerful hosting provider which scored top marks in our research for dedicated hosting. It also features the best uptime on the market at 99.99%!
It offers free SSL certificates on all its hosting plans, so no matter which type of hosting you choose, you’ll still benefit. The SSL certificate automatically renews, so your site should never be without security.
Whether you choose the cheapest shared hosting or the most advanced dedicated hosting, you’ll get the same level of SSL security included in your plan. This offers unlimited protection for domains and subdomains, and is recognized by all major browsers.
If you want extra features, or more powerful security, then you do have the option of purchasing a more advanced SSL certificate. You can upgrade to any of these:
- Positive SSL for $19.99 per year
- Multi-Domain SSL for $79.99 per year
- Extended Validation (EV) SSL for $269.99 per year
While these have more advanced features – such as the TrustLogo Site Seal or green address bar – for most sites, the free SSL certificate should be more than fine.
HostGator Pricing
HostGator is the best hosting provider for dedicated hosting – as well as the free SSL certificate, you get 8GB RAM, unmetered bandwidth, 1TB HDD storage, full root access, and more. What’s more, that’s just on the cheapest $119 per month Value Server plan. So while it might not be the cheapest plan around, you really do get what you pay for!
HostGator Gallery
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It’s no surprise why HostGator performed so well in our research for dedicated hosting.
HostGator’s value for money is also impressive on its dedicated plans, which offer great uptime and powerful server resources.
Have a specific question? You can always search HostGator’s impressive knowledge base by category.
HostGator’s shared plans offer great features at low introductory prices.
Further Information
- Read our full HostGator Review for more details on this top provider
- Read more about the Best Dedicated Hosting Providers
- Compare HostGator with its main competitor in our Bluehost vs HostGator comparison
#3. InMotion
Best for Shared and VPS Hosting
InMotion Pros and Cons
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InMotion outshone its competitors in our research when it came to shared hosting and VPS hosting – there isn’t a better provider on the market for these types of hosting!
InMotion Security Features
What really put the icing on InMotion’s cake was the fact it offers free SSL certificates on almost all of its hosting plans. The odd one out is unmanaged cloud VPS hosting, which is really aimed at IT teams and coders.
For all other plans, you simply have to go to your settings and turn on your SSL certificate. Hey presto – your site is encrypted!
There are slightly different rules for SSL security depending which plan you’re on – on the shared plan, for example, you simply get a private SSL included for free. On the managed VPS plan, you get something a bit fancier – you can install AutoSSL for free in your control panel.
AutoSSL makes it easy to manage your site’s security, by automatically renewing your free SSL certificate. It also scans all the websites on your server, and installs SSL certificates for any unprotected active domains.
That’s pretty handy!
InMotion Pricing
Along with this free SSL, InMotion’s VPS plans also include up to 260GB storage, free backups, and up to 6TB bandwidth. Prices range from $27.99 to $64.99 per month across its three VPS plans.
InMotion Gallery
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You can also chat directly with InMotion’s highly trained support staff.
InMotion has an in-house knowledge base, but we were also impressed by its user-led community forum.
InMotion’s shared plans aren’t the cheapest available, but they come with great features.
InMotion’s VPS plans offer a range of features, including unlimited websites and databases.
Further Information
- Read our full InMotion Hosting Review to find out more
- Discover the Best Shared Hosting Providers in our review
- Compare the Best VPS Hosting Providers
#4. A2 Hosting
Best for Cloud Hosting
A2 Hosting Pros and Cons
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A2 Hosting has also partnered with Let’s Encrypt to bring its users free, automated SSL certificates. This makes your life easier, as it means you don’t have to do the work of installing or configuring your certificate yourself.
And if you do get a bit stuck managing your SSL security, you’ll be in good hands – A2 Hosting scored impressively in our research for its customer service. So if you ever run into problems, you can count on a speedy and helpful response.
A2 Hosting Security Features
If you want to add extra features, you can buy one of the four solutions A2 Hosting offers in addition to its free Let’s Encrypt certificate. You can choose from:
- Single Site SSL from $49.95 per year – basic protection
- Premium SSL from $99.95 per year – features for business sites
- Wildcard SSL from $149.95 per year – single certificate protects unlimited subdomains
- Advanced SSL from $199 per year – features for ecommerce sites
You buy these through A2 Hosting to keep things simple and secure, but this is totally optional. You can stick with the free certificate included in your plan – your choice will depend on your specific needs.
A2 Hosting Pricing
A2 Hosting promises speed and reliability, even on its most basic shared hosting plan. From $3.92 per month, you get unlimited storage, free site transfer, an anytime money back guarantee, and more!
A2 Hosting Gallery
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A2 Hosting prices come with an any time money-back guarantee.
In addition to free SSL, A2 Hosting provides other features as part of its in-house security initiatives.
A2 Hosting’s knowledge base can be sorted by the type of hosting plan you have.
Further Information
- Read our full A2 Hosting Review for full details
#5. GreenGeeks
Best for Extra Features
GreenGeeks Pros and Cons
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GreenGreeks keeps both your website and the environment more secure, offering a generous 300% green web hosting matching guarantee on all its plans apart from its VPS plans.
Standout Feature: Green Energy Matching
Green energy matching means your website will run on renewable energy, and GreenGeeks will match 3x that usage. GreenGeeks is, without doubt, the host that Mother Earth loves most.
GreenGeeks Security Features
In terms of security, GreenGeeks offers a free SSL certificate on all its shared, VPS, and WordPress plans (which includes WooCommerce).
More than just a giant, green web hosting machine, GreenGeeks also boasts an impressive 99.98% server uptime, which helped it score 4.1/5 overall in our hosting research.
GreenGeeks Pricing
GreenGeeks’ cheapest shared plan is the Lite plan, starting at just $2.49/month and renewing at $10.95/month. For this price, you’ll get unmetered bandwidth, unlimited storage, and free nightly backups – not to mention that 300% green energy match.
GreenGeeks’ prices are competitive, especially for the amount of features offered. Plans also come with a 30-day money back guarantee.
GreenGeeks Gallery
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GreenGeeks’ commitment to quality and eco-friendliness haven’t gone unnoticed.
One drawback of GreenGeeks is that its data centers are only located on two continents, so website visitors coming from farther away may encounter slightly slower speeds.
GreenGeeks has been recognized by the US Environmental Protection Agency as a Green Power Partner since 2009.
You can take your pick of the different hosting types available with GreenGeeks, including shared and dedicated plans.
Further Information
- Learn more from our GreenGeeks Review
#6 Hostinger
Best for Discounted Prices
Hostinger Pros and Cons
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Hostinger offers affordable shared and VPS hosting prices, but it doesn’t offer dedicated hosting plans. Although Hostinger’s uptime and customer support aren’t as impressive as Bluehost’s or HostGator’s, you’ll still get a good amount of features at a big discount.
Hostinger Security Features
Hostinger offers a free SSL certificate on all its shared, cloud, and WordPress plans.
Hostinger offers a generous range of features, too. On its most basic WordPress hosting plan ($2.15/month), you get 100 email accounts, access to WooCommerce, a free domain name, unlimited bandwidth, and much more.
Hostinger Pricing
If you’re looking for a great deal on your hosting, then Hostinger shouldn’t be discounted. It offers shared hosting from $0.99/month (which becomes $2.15/month when you renew after one year), and VPS hosting from just $3.95/month.
Hostinger Gallery
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In addition to typical plans like shared and VPS hosting, Hostinger also has a few niche offerings like Minecraft hosting.
We’ll be honest, Hostinger’s introductory prices are hard to beat.
Hostinger’s customer support options are pretty limited, with a notable lack of phone support.
Further Information
- Our Hostinger Review can tell you more about this provider
#7. SiteGround
Best for Reliability
SiteGround Pros and Cons
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You can count on SiteGround – it came out as the most reliable hosting provider in our research. It’s not the cheapest host on this list, but it offers automated daily backups for free, and excellent knowledge base pages (in addition to phone and live chat support).
SiteGround Security Features
SiteGround provides Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates for free with all its plans, and also offers Premium Wildcard and Premium SSL certificates as optional paid extras. Your free certificate will be automatically applied to your domains and automatically renewed, saving you time.
The Premium Wildcard certificate is designed for medium sized websites, comes with free installation, and costs $90 per year through SiteGround. If you’re a large business site, you might want the Premium SSL, which comes with extended validation and costs $499 per year.
You can issue as many free Let’s Encrypt certificates as you need, no matter which plan you’re on – as long as you have a SiteGround account, you’re all set!
SiteGround Pricing
SiteGround is officially recommended by WordPress due to its one-click installation and managed updates available for WordPress users. It has three WordPress specific plans, ranging in price from $6.99 to $14.99 per month, and all come with free SSL, daily backups, and a free WordPress migrator.
SiteGround’s shared plans also cost $6.99 to $14.99 per month, and include WordPress-specific features, free professional email, and of course free SSL!
SiteGround Gallery
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Unlike GreenGeeks, SiteGround provides a pretty globalized network of data centers.
SiteGround offers a good range of hosting types.
SiteGround’s introductory prices aren’t as cheap as competitors’.
Further Information
- Read our full SiteGround Review to see if it’s right for you
- Torn between providers? Read our expert comparisons to find your best choice:
#8. iPage
Best for Cheap Prices, but at the Expense of Speed
iPage Pros and Cons
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iPage only offers one “one-size-fits-all” shared hosting plan, starting at $1.99/month. Hostinger can offer you similar discounts with stronger features, but if you like the convenience of iPage’s all-in-one shared plan – as opposed to different tiers of shared plans with increasing prices and features – then this provider is worth considering.
iPage Security Features
This shared hosting plan includes a free SSL certificate. This is fairly basic, and won’t protect multiple subdomains like other providers, but it will still do the job. You also have three premium SSL certificates to choose from if you want a higher level of security.
All iPage hosting plans include this basic free SSL certificate, so it’s up to you if you want to pay extra for those more advanced features – either way, you can sleep soundly knowing your site is secure.
iPage Pricing
iPage may only offer one shared plan, but the price depends on how long you’re willing to sign up for in advance. For example, the introductory price for three years paid in advance is $1.99/month, while one year paid in advance is $2.99/month.
iPage Gallery
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iPage’s knowledge base has helpful articles that you can sort by category, like the ones above.
iPage’s one-size-fits-all pricing plan is a little more unconventional than the other providers on this list.
You can use iPage’s free SSL certificate, or you can go the extra mile with premium options.
Further Information
- Read our iPage Review to find out more about this budget friendly provider
- Read our review of the Best Cheap Web Hosting Providers for more budget friendly providers
#9. DreamHost
Best for Storage Space
DreamHost Pros and Cons
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DreamHost is a feature packed provider that includes free SSL certificates in its hefty toolbox. It’s also officially recommended by WordPress, so has that extra interest for any WordPress users out there.
DreamHost Security Features
All of DreamHost’s hosting plans come with a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate, and there are two types of SSL you can add to your domain – the free Let’s Encrypt SSL, or the $15 per year Sectigo verified SSL.
The main difference between them is that the paid option displays a certificate seal of trust, making it as obvious as possible to visitors that your website is safe. Because of this, the paid SSL is mostly recommended for online stores.
DreamHost doesn’t support WildCard SSL like some other providers do, so you need to install separate SSL certificates for each of your domains and subdomains for them to be protected.
DreamHost Pricing
So what else does DreamHost offer? For starters, it provides all the main hosting types:
- Shared hosting
- VPS
- Dedicated
- Cloud
- Shared WordPress
- Managed WordPress
For anyone just starting out, its shared hosting plans are the cheapest, starting at $2.95 per month. This plan gives you a free SSL certificate, as well as unlimited traffic, a free domain, and WordPress pre-installed.
If you use WordPress, it’s worth looking at the $16.95 per month DreamPress plan – this not only gives you daily backups and 24/7 WordPress support, but also pre-installs your free SSL certificate for you!
DreamHost Gallery
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While DreamHost doesn’t offer the best value for money, you can still manage some savings through its introductory prices.
DreamHost’s support options are limited – there’s no 24/7 live chat, for example – but its community forum is a good place to start.
DreamHost prices aren’t the cheapest on this list.
Further Information
- Take a closer look with our full DreamHost Review
- Our DreamHost Pricing Review explores this provider’s value for money
#10. WPEngine
Best for Help and Support
WPEngine Pros and Cons
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WPEngine didn’t impress us as much as the other providers on this list, and you can only use it if you’re hosting a WordPress site. That said, you definitely won’t be left hanging with this provider – it offers a good range of help and support options, from live chat to 24/7 phone support.
WPEngine Security Features
WPEngine provides free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates on all its plans!
It really is as simple as that – each of its four price plans include automated SSL certificates, and you can easily add more if you need to cover multiple domains.
WPEngine Pricing
WPEngine’s hosting plans are designed for WordPress users, and start with the $25 per month Startup plan. The Growth plan is the next level up, starting at $95.83 per month. The Scale plan is the highest price plan, starting at $241.67 per month.
These three plans give you between 10GB and 50GB storage, and 50GB to 500GB bandwidth per month. There is also a Custom price plan designed for supersized websites.
WPEngine gives you a great range of help and support options, so if you do ever get stuck with your SSL, you’re in good hands.
WPEngine Gallery
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WPEngine is built for larger business websites, so its starting prices are a lot more expensive than competitors’.
WPEngine works a little differently than most of the providers on this list, but you can always ask the customer support team for help.
Larger businesses using WordPress will be able to find the resources they need with WPEngine.
Further Information
- Read our WPEngine Review and see if it’s right for you!
What About Let’s Encrypt?
We’ve mentioned Let’s Encrypt a number of times throughout this review, so let’s take a quick dive into what makes this initiative tick.
What Is Let’s Encrypt?
Let’s Encrypt is a free, automated certificate authority with the aim of making the web a more secure place. That’s why it gives people free SSL certificates to encrypt their sites with, in a user-friendly way.
You can get your SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt yourself, so you don’t have to rely on your hosting provider.
There are several types of SSL, but the three main ones are:
- Domain Validation (DV) – standard level of security
- Organization Validation (OV) – intermediate level of security
- Extended Validation (EV) – advanced level of security
Let’s Encrypt only provides you with DV certificates. These are solid, secure, and basic – but not in a bad way! They will protect your site, and encrypt any data being processed.
However, if you need more advanced security, then Let’s Encrypt is not the best option for you.
Is Let’s Encrypt Right for Me?
If you’re running an online store or are processing very sensitive information, then you will need a private SSL, which Let’s Encrypt cannot provide you with.
As you’ve seen, you can usually buy these advanced SSL certificates straight from your hosting provider, making life much simpler!
Let’s Encrypt gives you the standard level of security your site needs. Many hosting providers provide a free Let’s Encrypt SSL as part of their hosting plans, so you don’t need to worry about sourcing it yourself.
Further Information
- Find out Why Your Site Needs HTTPS in our helpful article
Best Free SSL Hosting Providers: Summary
This article has taken you through the very best providers offering free SSL certificates, and shone a light into the dark corners of web security.
10 Best Free SSL Hosting Providers
- Bluehost – Best overall hosting provider.
- HostGator – Best for uptime.
- InMotion – Best for shared and VPS hosting.
- A2 Hosting – Best for cloud hosting.
- GreenGeeks – Best for green hosting.
- Hostinger – Best for discounted prices.
- SiteGround – Best for reliability.
- iPage – Best for cheap plans, but at the expense of speed.
- DreamHost – Best for storage space.
- WPEngine – Best for help and support.
If you can’t decide on a single provider – if you value both support and uptime equally, for example – then Bluehost is the most well-rounded host available. We recommend Bluehost as the best free SSL host for most websites.
Don’t leave your website out in the cold, unprotected and alone – choose one of these hosting providers, and give your site the warm glow of a fresh SSL certificate today!
Best Free SSL Hosting Providers: FAQs
There are unreliable and unofficial SSL certificate providers out there, which you shouldn’t trust to give you a secure SSL. However, as long as you choose an established and reliable provider – like Let’s Encrypt, Cloudflare, or any of the hosting providers from our list – then a free SSL can be trusted to keep your site safe.
A Domain Validation (DV) certificate is the most basic type of SSL, and it’s what you get for free. This is fine for most websites, but is not recommended for business or ecommerce sites. For those you’ll need an Organization Validation (OV), or for even more advanced security, an Extended Validation (EV) certificate.
This will depend on the provider you choose. Most SSL certificates are charged yearly, but others like SiteGround renew every three months. Automatic renewal is a great option to make sure your site always stays protected, so you don’t have to worry about doing it manually.
Most hosting providers will install your free SSL certificate for you. For example, Bluehost will install and activate your SSL certificate via Let’s Encrypt, with no work necessary on your part, while every HostGator site has SSL enabled by default. If you upgrade to a more advanced SSL certificate, installation is often included in the price.
You’ll be lacking an important trust signal for your visitors, which means you’ll lose visitors (and sales, if you’re an ecommerce store). You’ll be untrustworthy in Google’s eyes, too, which means a decline in rankings and traffic. Worse still, your visitors will be at a higher risk of having their data stolen if your site has no SSL.
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