Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encrypts all of the communication between the web site and its visitors. This makes it so that when the buyer sends their credit card information over the internet it's kept completely private and secure.
Do You Need An SSL Certificate?
The answer to this depends upon which payment gateway you choose to use. There is a general rule: if your site processes credit cards, you must have a valid SSL certificate. If, however, your site does not process credit cards and all customers are sent off-site for payment processing, an SSL certificate may not be required.
Requires an SSL certificate:
- Stripe
- PayPal Pro
- 2Checkout
- Authorize.net
SSL certificate is optional, though recommended:
- PayPal Standard
- PayPal Express
Getting A Certificate
If you need to obtain an SSL certificate, we recommend you purchase one through namecheap.com. You can also check out Cloudflare for a free SSL certificate If your host doesn't provide one.
Important: SSL certificates only work on the exact domain name they were purchased for. www.example.com and example.com are different as far as SSL certificates go.
Helpful Plugins
The plugins below can be helpful in getting an SSL certificate working properly.