Securing a Website with SSL
SSL/TLS certificates enable visitors to connect to your site with HTTPS, a secure protocol for exchanging information on the Internet. SSL certificates add a layer of secure encryption to your website, so any information transferred by your website is encrypted. In this article we will explain how to obtain SSL certificates for your website on the WP Engine platform.
Prefer to watch a video?
Was this video helpful?
About HTTPS, TLS and SSL
HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is the protocol for secure communication on the World Wide Web, and it prevents eavesdroppers from seeing information that visitors send or receive over the Internet. HTTPS secures its connections by using SSL/TLS, protocols that authenticate web servers and that encrypt messages sent between browsers and web servers.
TLS (Transport Layer Security) is a cryptographic protocol that provides secure communication over the Internet. HTTPS uses TLS to secure communication for website visitors. TLS provides the following security benefits:
- Identity authentication — The browser determines whether a web server is the right server, and not an imposter.
- Privacy — Information between the browser and web server is kept private by using encryption.
- Data integrity — Messages between the browser and the web server cannot be altered by others (e.g., during a man-in-the-middle attack).
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the predecessor of TLS. After SSL 3.0, the next upgrade was named TLS 1.0 (instead of SSL 4.0) because the version upgrade was not interoperable with SSL 3.0. Many people refer to TLS as SSL (old habits die hard) or as SSL/TLS, even though all versions of SSL are technically now deprecated.
Review our guide for more information on which TLS versions are currently supported.
Check SSL Status
To view the status of SSLs installed for a domain, check the SSL column on the Domains page for an environment.
- From the Sites page, click the environment name containing the domain that you want to check
- Click Domains in secondary lefthand menu
- To ensure an SSL is installed look for green check in the SSL column next to the domain