If you want to secure your WordPress site from harmful parties and keep your users’ data safe, you must obtain an SSL certificate and enable HTTPS on your site.
What is an SSL Plugin?
An SSL plugin for WordPress is a tool that helps you easily configure your site to enable HTTPS and use an SSL certificate (Secure Sockets Layer). For this reason, you may also see it referred to as HTTPS plugins for WordPress – the letter “S” stands for “secure”.
Some SSL plugins can also help install a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt on your WordPress site. This can be useful if your host does not already provide free SSL certificates.
However, if your host offers such a feature, I recommend just installing the SSL certificate through your hosting control panel, as it simplifies things in the future. Even in this case, an SSL plugin can help you easily configure your site to use that SSL certificate.
Best SSL Plugins for WordPress
In this article, I have gathered six of the best SSL plugins for WordPress based on my experience of over 10 years using WordPress. For each plugin, I will share what I like about it and how it can help you implement SSL/HTTPS on your site.
1. Really Simple SSL
Activated on more than five million sites (top rating on WordPress.org), Really Simple SSL is by far the most popular SSL plugin for WordPress.
It was one of the first SSL plugins to appear and has grown over time to add a number of features to help you enhance your site’s security.
When the plugin is activated, it offers a one-click option to activate SSL, along with a summary of some other potential security issues on your site.
Once SSL is activated on your site, you can use the settings area to adjust its behavior. In addition to SSL features, the plugin also offers a number of other security enhancement features.
I believe these features can be good for many sites. However, if you are already using a different security plugin (like Wordfence or Sucuri), these additional features may make the plugin seem a bit heavy. In such a situation, I recommend not enabling them to avoid conflict with your security plugin.
Overall, I recommend starting with this plugin, as it has all the features that most sites need and has a long track record of reliability. The free version should be sufficient for most sites.
What I like: You can activate SSL/HTTPS on your site with one click. If you haven’t already installed an SSL certificate through your hosting control panel, the plugin can help you install a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt (as long as your host’s configurations allow it). It can also assist in renewing the certificate. The free version of the plugin is all that most sites need. The plugin also includes other security enhancement features in addition to SSL/HTTPS (however, I think this can also be a slight downside if you are already using a separate security plugin that has overlapping features).
Pricing: Really Simple SSL has a free version available on WordPress.org that should be sufficient for most sites. If you want access to advanced features like a mixed content scanner, the premium version starts at $49.
2. WP Force SSL
WP Force SSL is another popular free SSL plugin available on WordPress.org. However, unlike the Really Simple SSL plugin above, WP Force SSL does not include the ability to install the actual SSL certificate.
And with
you have already installed an SSL certificate through your host (such as a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt), this plugin can help you properly upgrade your site to use HTTPS and take advantage of the SSL certificate.
The plugin focuses exclusively on SSL/HTTPS functionality, which I believe makes it feel more cohesive than the above Really Simple SSL plugin (which tries to add other security enhancement features).
The plugin starts working as soon as it is activated. You can see a quick overview of your site’s SSL implementation status from the plugin’s dashboard:
If you would like to modify how the plugin operates, you can use the settings tab to enable or disable various features. While many features require the premium version, I don’t think most sites will need these features.
What I like: The plugin starts working immediately. Your site will begin using HTTPS as soon as it is activated. The plugin includes a “status” page that allows you to discover potential issues with your site’s SSL implementation. I think the plugin interface is very user-friendly. You can easily enable various features using simple switches. The premium version includes a mixed content scanner tool to help you identify mixed content issues that prevent your site from getting a green lock in users’ web browsers. If you need the premium version, the developer provides lifetime support and updates. No need to renew your license every year.
Pricing: WP Force SSL has a free version on WordPress.org that should work well for most sites. If you want access to advanced features like a mixed content scanner and SSL monitoring, the premium version starts at $59 for lifetime support and updates.
3. SSL Insecure Content Fixer
SSL Insecure Content Fixer is another popular plugin to help you properly use SSL on your site and enable traffic over HTTPS. Like the previous WP Force SSL plugin, this plugin does not help install the actual SSL certificate—you will need to do that through your hosting control panel.
However, once the SSL certificate is installed, this plugin helps ensure that all of your site’s content is being loaded over HTTPS.
The plugin begins working as soon as it is activated and the default settings should work well for most sites. If you want more control over things, the plugin also includes a settings area that allows you to modify its behavior.
What I like: Once the plugin is activated, it automatically implements all the core fixes. If you want more control over your site, the plugin includes advanced settings to adjust how it handles insecure content issues. The plugin is fully compatible with multisite WordPress, including features that allow you to set default values for the network and adjust settings for individual sites. It’s 100% free, which is great if you are on a tight budget.
Pricing: The SSL Insecure Content Fixer plugin is 100% free and available on WordPress.org.
4. WP Encryption
WP Encryption is a comprehensive SSL plugin for WordPress that can help you install an SSL certificate and configure your WordPress site to correctly use HTTPS.
To get started, it helps you set up a free SSL certificate through Let’s Encrypt. With the free version, you can then manually install the certificate in cPanel, while the premium version supports automatic installation.
However, I think it’s important to note that the free version of the plugin does not support automatically renewing the SSL certificate. You will need to manually renew the SSL certificate after 90 days (which is the default period for renewing free certificates from Let’s Encrypt).
If
If you don’t want to worry about renewals, I recommend upgrading to the premium version, which supports automatic SSL renewals 30 days before expiration.
Once the SSL certificate is installed, the plugin also includes features to configure your site to use HTTPS and force all traffic to the HTTPS versions of your pages. It also includes a tool to fix mixed content to find potential issues that might prevent you from achieving the green lock.
You can also check the health of SSL usage for your site from the dedicated status page.
What I love: WP Encryption can handle every aspect of SSL on your site, from setting up the SSL certificate to configuring your site to load everything using HTTPS. Since the plugin can help you install an SSL certificate, it can save you money if your host does not provide free SSL certificates. WP Encryption supports alternative SSL certificates, which means you can automatically enable SSL usage on any subdomains you use. This is great for multisite WordPress networks. The plugin includes special integrations to help you configure your site to work with SSL features in reverse proxies like Cloudflare, Stackpath, and others. You can see important details about SSL usage for your site from the dedicated SSL health page. The premium version is very affordable, with a cheap lifetime option.
Pricing: WP Encryption has a free version available on WordPress.org. However, you will need the premium version to access automatic SSL certificate installation and renewal functionalities. WP Encryption Pro starts at $29 for one year of support and updates. Alternatively, you can get lifetime support and updates for $49.
5. SSL Zen
Like Really Simple SSL and WP Encryption, SSL Zen is another comprehensive SSL plugin for WordPress that can help you install a free SSL certificate for your site and configure it to use HTTPS properly.
When activated, it will launch a simple setup wizard to guide you through the process of creating and installing a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt. With the free version, you can verify your site by uploading a file to your server or adding a TXT record to your domain’s DNS records.
One thing I think is worth mentioning, however, is that you will need the premium version of the plugin to access automatic SSL installation and renewal. With the free version, you’ll need to do this manually by adding a file to your server. While I think most people will be able to handle this, it’s something you have to do every 90 days.
Additionally, you will also need the premium version to redirect all traffic to the HTTPS version of your site. I think this is a bit of a downside because most other SSL plugins offer this feature for free.
Finally, SSL Zen does not support alternative SSL certificates, so it will not be a good option if you are building a multisite WordPress network. However, the upside is that it has a very well-designed user interface, which I think can be a great option for non-technical users who want to pay some money for convenience and simplicity.
What I love: SSL Zen handles everything related to SSL and HTTPS, from installing an SSL certificate to configuring your site to use HTTPS properly. If you are willing to pay for the premium version, the plugin can automatically install and renew an SSL certificate for you. The SSL Zen interface is very well designed and includes a lot of documentation to help you understand everything. The premium version also includes some additional security enhancement features to protect your site. However, I think this can also be seen as a drawback if you are already using a security plugin that interferes with these features.
Pricing:
SSL Zen has a free version available on WordPress.org, but I recommend choosing a different plugin if you’re looking for a free SSL plugin for WordPress.
However, the premium version is cheaper than many alternatives, so I think the premium version can offer good value. It costs $29 or $49 per year, depending on whether your host provides cPanel or not.
6. Flexible SSL for CloudFlare
As the name of the plugin suggests, Flexible SSL for CloudFlare is a bit different from the previous WordPress SSL plugins on the list.
While the other plugins are versatile SSL tools, this plugin is specifically designed to help you use the Flexible SSL feature provided by Cloudflare. Specifically, this plugin prevents a common issue faced by WordPress sites using the Flexible SSL feature in Cloudflare – endless redirect loops.
The plugin has no settings to configure – you just install it and start using it in WordPress. However, I discovered that the developer recommends adding a Cloudflare page rule to force all traffic to use the HTTPS version of your site.
Again, you should only consider this plugin if your site meets three conditions: you’ve connected your site to Cloudflare, you’ve enabled the Flexible SSL feature in your Cloudflare settings, and you are experiencing issues with the feature, such as endless redirect loops on your site.
If you are not using Cloudflare on your site, you should skip this plugin. However, if you’re using Cloudflare and experiencing problems with SSL functionality in Cloudflare, I think this is a great option to easily fix those issues.
What I like: the plugin fixes a common issue that WordPress sites might face when using the Flexible SSL feature in Cloudflare – endless redirect loops. There are no WordPress settings to configure – all you have to do is install and activate it. The plugin is 100% free.
Pricing: The Flexible SSL for CloudFlare plugin is 100% free and available on WordPress.org.
Do You Need an SSL Plugin for WordPress?
As I mentioned in the introduction, you don’t need an SSL plugin for WordPress to use an SSL certificate and enable HTTPS on your site.
The main benefit of these plugins is that they simplify the process of enabling HTTPS on your site.
However, for experienced users who are comfortable manually handling some technical tasks, I actually recommend not using an SSL plugin and manually enabling HTTPS.
By doing this, you can eliminate the need to install another plugin on your site. This simplifies the technology stack of your site and reduces the chances of compatibility issues with your site. However, if you feel overwhelmed by these tasks, it’s perfectly fine to use an SSL plugin instead.
How to Manually Enable HTTPS
Here’s a quick summary of how to manually enable HTTPS on your WordPress site:
- Install an SSL certificate through your hosting provider if you haven’t done so already. Most hosts offer free SSL certificates via Let’s Encrypt, and you can usually set it up with a few clicks. If your host doesn’t provide free SSL certificates, I recommend checking out one of the plugins mentioned above.
- Set your WordPress site URL to use HTTPS (Settings → General). Once you save the settings, you’ll be redirected to log in to your site again. Don’t worry – this is perfectly normal.
- Perform a search/replace in your site’s database to replace all HTTP links with HTTPS links (including ensuring that your site serves its images over HTTPS). You can do this using a plugin like Better Search Replace – I highly recommend backing up your site before doing anything and testing it on a staging site if possible.
- Do
- Fix any mixed content warnings caused by external scripts that your site may be loading (such as embeds from an external service). You can look for potential issues using the free site-wide mixed content warning testing tool from JitBit (and you can also find similar tools by searching Google).
Set up a redirect to force all HTTP traffic to use the HTTPS version of your site. I recommend doing this via .htaccess at the server level if your host supports it, but you can also set up a PHP redirect if you can’t use an .htaccess file in WordPress.
For more details, you can read our full guide on how to force HTTPS usage on WordPress. This guide includes instructions for setting it up manually as well as using the Really Simple SSL plugin from the list above.
Try these SSL plugins for WordPress today. If you want to keep your WordPress site secure, it’s essential to install an SSL certificate and enable HTTPS on your site. Using the plugins mentioned in this list, you can manually install an SSL certificate (if your host doesn’t already offer a free feature) and/or properly configure your site to use HTTPS without the need to set up a manual redirect.
If you’re unsure where to start, I recommend the Really Simple SSL plugin as it has generous free functionality and a long track record of reliability. However, all plugins in this list are high-quality options, so try a different plugin if you think it might work better for your unique needs.
Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/website/wordpress-ssl-plugin
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