Dedicated SSL vs. Shared SSL

There are two types of SSL certificates:

• Shared SSL
• Dedicated SSL

Regardless of whether you are using the Shared SSL or a Dedicated SSL, any page you use the SSL on will need to use https to link to other pages and files as well. In other words, if you use absolute URLs for images, css files, javascript files, or links to other pages on your site; you will need to use https instead of http in those URLs.

Shared SSL

A Shared SSL Certificate is one that is shared by all users on the server. A big benefit of Shared SSL is that it is free, and it is just as secure as a Dedicated SSL Certificate. The drawback however is that the Shared SSL address will be similar to: https://secure##.webhostinghub.com/~userna5

This address not only shows your cPanel username, but it also shows "webhostinghub". While this SSL Certificate is just as secure as a Dedicated SSL Certificate, if the user notices your website url change from http://YOURdomain.com to https://secure##.webhostinghub.com/~userna5, it may scare them off.

Dedicated SSL

Dedicated SSL certificates are a great alternative to Share SSL Certificates. While they are not free, they do add much more peace of mind to your customers as the SSL Secured URL will look like https://YOURdomain.com and not change to https://secure##.webhostinghub.com/~userna5.

If you would like to purchase a Dedicated SSL Certificate through Web Hosting Hub, please see the following link for more information on how to get started:

• How do I obtain an SSL certificate?

Please keep in mind that even though you host through Web Hosting Hub, you are not required to purchase a Dedicated SSL certificate through us, you can purchase one from almost any Certificate Authority and request that we install it for you. For more information on obtaining a CSR (Certificate Signing Request) so that you can purchase or transfer a third party SSL, please see our article: How to Request a CSR when Purchasing an SSL Elsewhere.

Force Website to use SSL

From time to time we are asked how you can force your website visitors to view your website over https. For example, if a visitor access http://example.com, you can force them to https://example.com so that they are always using the SSL certificate. This is covered in our guide:

How do I Force my Website to use SSL?

Please note, if you use a CMS (such as WordPress, or Joomla) you should enable the SSL in the Dashboard. If you used the Premium Website Builder to create your site, please see our article on How to Force your Premium Website Builder site to use SSL.