Setup free SSL: CloudFlare Free SSL in WordPress the Quickest Way
Learn How to setup CloudFlare free SSL certificate for free on your WordPress blog without paying any cost.
There is very few Free SSL certificate provider among them Cloudflare has the easiest way to set up on WordPress powered blogs.
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cloudflare free SSL[/caption]If you’re hearing CloudFlare for the first time, they’re one of biggest Content Delivery Network providers offering free CDN service that powers millions of WordPress blogs around the world.
Why SSL?
Google recommends webmasters to move their site from HTTP:// to https:// that will give visitors a secure experience blocking unauthorized access to user data.
You might be aware of Google Chrome showing “Not Secure” on websites that don’t have SSL installed.
So if you have SSL added, Google shows “Secure” on its address bar which gives a user a good first impression.
Can I get SSL for Free?
Yes. The Cheapest SSL from NameCheap costs $8.88 while other domains & hosting providers offer for a higher cost.
But don’t worry. Cloudflare offers free CDN plan with flexible SSL option that is enough for a website to enable https:// on the site.
How to Set up CloudFlare SSL on WordPress?
1.Sign up for a new account on Cloudflare here ( login if you already have one )
2. Enter your Domain name, click “Add Site”, on next page ” Choose “Free Plan” & click NEXT, your DNS records will be shown up & CDN will be enabled for your domain on the next page, don’t change anything just click ” Continue ”
3. Click Next, where you’ll be given two DNS Nameservers, Copy both,
4. Now login to your domain registrar, go to settings/domain management option where you can change Nameservers, I host my site at big rock & namecheap-> now Change Name Servers to Cloudflare’s.
5. Once done, goto Crypto section on MENU on Cloudflare, enable Flexible SSL.
- Now login to your WordPress dashboard, Install CloudFlare Flexible SSL plugin.
Make sure you have changed HTTP:// to https:// on WordPress General Settings for WordPress URL and Site URL fields.
That's how you enable SSL on your WordPress blog for Free on Cloudflare.
After enabling Flexible SSL on Cloudflare wait for few minutes and check SSL Checker tool to know whether the certificate is issued & activated.
I use SSL Labs site to find out the status,
Sometime CloudFlare SSL would result in infinite redirect loop issue if you haven’t installed Flexible SSL plugin.
So don’t forget to install the plugin.
Apart from these two popular web hosting companies, I’m not sure who else offers free SSL with shared hosting services.
I enabled SSL on my Blog, Will my Ranking Improve?
You need to understand, having https won’t boost the ranking of your site on SERP, but Google considers it as a minor ranking factor among others.
It’s your perfect On-Page, Site Loading Speed, Mobile Responsive, https protocol or SSL combined with relevant backlinks that helps improve your keywords ranking on search engines.
Hope this tutorial helps you install SSL certificate on your WordPress blog for free using Cloudflare.
If you have any questions or comments on setting this up? Please post your comments. Glad to help you.