SSL/TLS certificate

An SSL/TLS certificate is the certificate that turns http into https, encrypting the traffic between a visitor and a website so nobody can read or alter it in transit. Every modern site should have one: browsers mark https pages as secure, and the certificate is usually free and auto-renewing.

Reviewed October 6, 2026. Prices are quoted per project; nothing on this page is a published price list.

What it does

It authenticates the site and encrypts the connection: the padlock, the https, and protection against anyone reading or modifying what travels between the visitor and the server — form submissions, logins, payment details.

What it does not do

It does not make a site secure. It protects the pipe, not the server: a hacked site with https still serves malware, and a static site with no forms still needs good hosting and clean code. Encryption is one control among several.

How you get one

Usually free and automatic: Let's Encrypt certificates are issued and renewed by most hosts, including every static-host we use. Paid certificates exist for extended validation and warranties; a small business site rarely needs them.

How to check

Open the page and look for https and the padlock. If a browser shows "Not secure", the certificate is missing or expired — a fix measured in minutes, and one of the first things our security reviews check.

Questions

Does https make my site secure?

No — it secures the connection, not the site. A site can be fully encrypted and still compromised. Security is the whole picture: hosting, updates, forms, logins, third-party scripts — which is why we describe sites as more or less hardened, never "unhackable".

Do static sites need SSL?

Yes. Even with no logins or payments, the connection should be encrypted (browsers flag plain http, and https is a ranking signal), and any enquiry form on the page benefits immediately. It is free and auto-renewing on the hosts we use.

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