Adding a Free SSL/TLS Certificate to Your Website

Cloudflare offers a fantastic way to secure your site with HTTPS (the padlock!), even if your hosting provider doesn't offer a free SSL certificate. This guide will walk you through the process using Cloudflare's free "Origin Certificate." This will allow you to use the most secure "Full (Strict)" encryption mode.

A Critical Warning Before You Start

This is the most common mistake beginners make, and it can take your website offline. Read this carefully.

• NEVER set your SSL/TLS mode in Cloudflare to Full or Full (Strict) unless you have confirmed that a valid SSL certificate is active on your hosting server.
• If you are even slightly unsure, start with the Flexible mode. This encrypts traffic between the user and Cloudflare and will give your site the padlock icon while you get everything else configured. Proceeding without a server-side certificate on Full (Strict) mode will result in an error and make your site inaccessible.

How to Install a Free Cloudflare Origin Certificate

This process creates a free, long-lasting SSL certificate signed by Cloudflare that you install on your hosting server.

Step 1: Create the Certificate in Cloudflare

1. Log in to your Cloudflare dashboard and click on your domain from the main list of websites.
2. In the left-hand menu for your site, navigate to SSL/TLS > Origin Server.
3. Click the "Create Certificate" button.

1. Leave the default settings as they are ("Let Cloudflare generate a private key and a CSR"). The default Certificate Validity of 15 years is fine.
2. Click "Create".

Step 2: Copy Your Certificate and Key

Cloudflare will now display two large blocks of text. This is your certificate.

1. Origin Certificate
2. Private Key

Do not close this browser window or navigate away. You must copy and paste both of these into your hosting control panel in the next step.

Step 3: Install the Certificate on Your Hosting Server (cPanel Example)

These instructions are for a standard cPanel hosting environment, which is very common. The steps may have slightly different names on other control panels like Plesk or DirectAdmin, but the principle is the same.

1. Log in to your hosting account's cPanel.
2. Find the "Security" section and click on "SSL/TLS".
3. Click on "Manage SSL sites" (this is usually under the "Install and Manage SSL for your site (HTTPS)" heading).
4. In the "Install an SSL Website" section, select your domain from the dropdown menu.
5. Now, you will carefully paste the information from the Cloudflare window:
   • Copy the entire Origin Certificate text block from Cloudflare, including the ----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- and ----END CERTIFICATE----- lines. Paste it into the "Certificate: (CRT)" box in cPanel.
   • Go back to the Cloudflare window. Copy the entire Private Key text block, including the ----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY----- and ----END PRIVATE KEY----- lines. Paste it into the "Private Key (KEY)" box in cPanel.
6. The "Certificate Authority Bundle (CABUNDLE)" box can be left blank.
7. Click the "Install Certificate" button at the bottom of the page.

You should receive a success message confirming the certificate is installed.

Step 4: Switch to "Full (Strict)" Mode in Cloudflare

This is the final and most important step to activate the full end-to-end encryption.

1. Go back to your Cloudflare dashboard for your domain.
2. Navigate to SSL/TLS > Overview.
3. Click Configure and choose Custom SSL.
4. Change your SSL/TLS encryption mode to Full (Strict).

Your website is now fully encrypted from your visitor's browser all the way to your hosting server, providing the highest level of security and trust.

For detailed guide on creating / installing this TLS certificate on both cloudflare and your hosting server follow this official guide.

A Special Note for SiteGround Users

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