FeaturesSSL certificates
The padlock, sorted out for you and kept that way.
An SSL certificate is what puts the padlock in the address bar and turns http into https. Browsers warn people away from sites that do not have one. WPShift gets a free certificate when your site is created, renews it before it runs out, and tells you loudly if a renewal ever fails.
- 01
Set up with the site
A new site arrives with https already working. There is no separate step and no box to forget to tick.
- 02
Renewed on its own
Well before it expires, and again if the first attempt does not work.
- 03
Failures are noisy
If a renewal cannot complete, you get an alert saying exactly what went wrong, with weeks left to fix it.
The problem is not renewing. It is not being told
Automatic renewal works until the day it does not: a DNS setting changed, a redirect got in the way, the domain moved registrar. On most hosting it then fails quietly, and you find out when a customer sends you a screenshot of a browser warning. Here a failed renewal raises an alert saying which step failed and what the server reported, while there is still plenty of time.
With and without the www
The certificate covers both, so it does not matter which one somebody types. Anyone arriving on the insecure address is sent to the secure one automatically, and that is on by default.
Bring one you already bought
Some clients turn up with a certificate they have paid for, or one their compliance people insist on. Install it instead, and everything else about the site works the same way.
Simpler if your DNS is here too
When we manage the domain, the settings the certificate check needs are already pointing at the right place. That removes the most common reason getting a certificate fails in the first place.
Common questions
Is SSL included or do I pay extra?
Included, on every plan, for every site. These certificates are free to obtain and we do not resell them.
What happens if a certificate fails to renew?
You get an alert naming the step that failed and showing what the server reported, and you get it with weeks of validity still left, because renewal is attempted well ahead of the expiry date. The usual causes are a missing DNS setting or a redirect getting in the way, and the alert normally says which.
Can I use a certificate I bought elsewhere?
Yes. Install your own certificate on the site's SSL page. Renewing a purchased certificate stays between you and whoever sold it, so that one will not renew itself.
What about subdomains like shop.example.com?
Each site gets a certificate for its own address and the www version of it. A subdomain that is its own site, such as a staging copy, gets its own certificate when you create it.
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