This session was lead by Carel Bekker of ClickHOST and Mickey Mellen of GreenMellen Media. Learn about SSL certificates and why they're so important for your website. We'll dig into why you need an SSL, how it can protect you, and how it can help you rank better. Then we'll dig into a hands-on checklist to walk through doing it on your own site.

1. The how, what and why of SSLs
#ATWP

3. AllThingsWordPress.com
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4. Join us on Slack
AllThingsWordPress.com/slack
to request to join

6. Thursday, February 23
Between two WordCamps
All Things WordPress

7. Thursday, March 2
Grow Your Business, Pick Up Work
All Things WordPress

8. Tuesday, March 14
TBD
All Things WordPress

9. March 18-19
2017.atlanta.wordcamp.org
WordCamp Atlanta 2017

11. Thank You to Our Sponsor

12. ClickHOST now offers Managed WordPress hosting on AWS:
- Super fast and reliable, Backups & Monitoring
- Built on Amazon Web Services
- Unlimited data transfer, 10GB SSD disk space
- Starting at $49/month

13. 20% off monthly or annual plans with code:
CH-ATWP20
www.clickhost.com

14. facebook.com/TomAndCheeKennesaw

15. 1200 Barrett Parkway

16. The how, what and
why of SSLs

17. WHY DO I NEED
SSL AND HTTPS
FOR MY WEBSITE?
Carel Bekker: President/Owner

18. Copyright & trademark ClickHOST.com 1

19. What is SSL & HTTPS?
•SSL: Secure Sockets Layer
•HTTPS: HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) Secure
•Secure way to communicate between your computer and a
website.
•For example: https://amazon.com — all communication between
your PC and Amazon is encrypted. Happy Shopping!

20. Copyright & trademark ClickHOST.com
Why SSL?
• Security, Peace of mind, Trust
• Giving your customers confidence in your website
• Especially for e-commerce sites
• SEO
• Google is now highlighting it!

21. Is SSL active?
• How do I know SSL is active for a website?
• Check in the browser search bar.
• Green padlock, “Secure” in Chrome
• Green Padlock in Firefox
• Grey Padlock in Safari
• Click on the Padlock to view the SSL

22. How does it work?
• SSL Certificates from ClickHOST, Comodo, Digicert.com, etc.
• Verify your identify at the CA (Cert Authority), w DV, OV & EV.
• DV - Domain Validation, OV - Organization Validation, EV -
Extended Validation
• Install the SSL
• This encrypts the traffic & authenticates the website

23. Validation
● Domain Validation (DV):
○ Typically using a text file, or email sent to admin.
○ Inexpensive & Easy installation
● Organization Validation (OV):
○ Validation using DUNS, Government DB.
○ More secure & expensive
● Extended Validation:
○ Same as OV, but includes green organization name bar.

24. What is the deal with FREE SSLs?
• Let’s Encrypt, Cloudflare, Comodo
• Provided by Hosting Provider, e.g., ClickHOST
• SSL is free and encrypts traffic, however
• Website owner is not verified — “securely downloading
malware”

25. Miscellaneous
• Wildcard SSL
• www. and/or non-www.
• Mixed content: https://www.whynopadlock.com/
• Test SSL: digicert.com/help, OR ssllabs.com/ssltest

26. ClickHOST Services
• Free SSL via Let’s Encrypt & Cloudflare
• Paid SSLs includes Authentication & Installation
• Standard SSL: $119/year
• Wildcard SSL: $199/year (*.example.com)
• Fix Mixed content service: $85
2

27. Adding SSL to your
WordPress site

28. http://yoursite.com
https://yoursite.com
Should both work (to some degree).
Get it activated through your host

29. [Settings] → [General]
Change your WordPress Settings URL

30. siteurl in phpMyAdmin

31. wordpress.org/plugins/really-simple-ssl
Install the “Really Simple SSL” plugin

32. Update your Google Analytics URL

33. Update your Google Search Console URL

34. If necessary...
Update URLs in functions.php and style.css

35. Update Genesis Simple Hooks (or similar)

36. Run the “Velvet Blues Update URLs” plugin

37. Update ManageWP (or similar) URLs

38. Update other embedded scripts, such as Wufoo

39. Questions?

40. Thank You to Our Sponsor