SSL certificates
Secure your website with an SSL certificate
With OVHcloud and an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate, you can inspire trust in your visitors, protect the sensitive data on your website, encrypt your e-commerce store transactions, and improve your SEO.
Exclusively with your OVHcloud Web Hosting plan.
Enabled via the OVHcloud Control Panel
Exclusively with your OVHcloud Web Hosting plan.
Enabled via the OVHcloud Control Panel
Exclusively with your OVHcloud Web Hosting plan.
Enabled via the OVHcloud Control Panel
The Let's Encrypt certificate, which is the first level of SSL protection, is included with our web hosting plans - so you can start securing your website without any hassle.
Free
The Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate is included free of charge with any web hosting plan subscription.
Automatic
We activate and renew the certificate on all OVHcloud web hosting plans by default. No technical skills are required to ensure that the certificates are properly configured and renewed every three months.
Secure
The connection is encrypted using a certificate and the TLS standard, reducing the risk of personal or bank data from being intercepted.
Explore our web hosting plans
Want to start building a dynamic, more elaborate website? Our web hosting solutions are designed to meet all your needs. See our comparison page to find out which hosting plan is best suited to your project.
1 free domain name*
1 GB disk space
2 email addresses
WordPress installed
1 free domain name*
100 GB disk space
10 email addresses
1-click CMS
Unlimited FTP access
1 free domain name*
250 GB disk space
100 email addresses
1-click CMS
Unlimited SSH access
1 free domain name*
500 GB disk space
Up to 1000 email addresses
1-click CMS
Unlimited SSH access
High-performance resources
Web Cloud databases 512 MB RAM
CDN Basic
Why use an SSL certificate, and which one is best?
Ensure your company’s website and its visitors are kept safe with OVHcloud.
Your brand image is closely linked to the level of security offered by your website. To gain credibility, your website should be accessible via a secure HTTPS connection. This connection is active when a green padlock appears in the browser’s address bar (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) next to the website’s URL. This informs users that the content of the pages they are viewing comes from a secure and non-pirated source, because their data is protected by encryption. Bear in mind that SSL certificates vary for each security level.
Without protection
Without an SSL certificate, your website address will not have HTTPS enabled. Your visitors could get alerts from their browser, highlighting the lack of security on your pages.
Verified domain name
This device also guarantees the confidentiality of data that passes between the browser and the website. To do this, a certificate authority must first validate the website’s SSL certificate. Google's algorithm now includes this parameter in its assessment criteria.
Verified website publisher
Each SSL certificate must come from a verified certificate authority. Only EV SSL certificates can guarantee that the website visited is administered by the company that owns it, and that the company exists legally. When you visit sites secured by an EV SSL certificate, the certificate displays the name of the corresponding company near a padlock icon. This allows you to check who is behind a website’s IP address.
Your free Let’s Encrypt DV SSL certificate is installed by default on all OVHcloud web hosting plans
Let's Encrypt is an open-source project supported by multiple companies, including OVHcloud. The certification is recognised by the most popular web browsers.
The advantage for you is that you don’t need any technical skills to configure the certification. The HTTPS protocol is systematically enabled when you create your website and subdomains. With a validity period of 90 days, the Let's Encrypt DV SSL certificate will be renewed automatically (and free of charge) without you needing to do anything. So you can easily ensure that your website is secure.
Boost your SEO
A website that can be accessed in HTTPS not only secures the exchange of information – it also boosts your SEO ranking on search engines such as Google.
Guaranteed security for your customers
Guaranteeing encrypted customer data and transactions is essential. It reassures your customers that your e-commerce platform is secure, and builds their trust. By showing them that the exchanges with the web server are secure, you are guaranteeing your authenticity to your visitors when they browse your site.
Key characteristics of DV and EV certificates
The type of certificate you need depends on your website's purpose and traffic.
Let's Encrypt DV SSL | Sectigo DV SSL | Sectigo* EV SSL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Green” address bar | No | No | Yes |
| Key length | 2,048 bits | 2,048 bits | 2,048 bits |
| Validation level | Domain verification only | Domain verification only | Domain and company verification |
| Recommended use | Personal website | Professional website | E-commerce |
| Eligibility | Open to everyone | Open to everyone | Reserved for businesses |
| Guarantee | - | $1,000 | $10,000** |
| Issuer | Let’s Encrypt | Sectigo certification authority | Sectigo certification authority |
| Additional information required | No | No | Yes |
| FQDN included | www.mydomain.uk + mydomain.uk | www.mydomain.uk + mydomain.uk | www.mydomain.uk + mydomain.uk |
| Browser Compatibility | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% |
| Issue time*** | Immediate | 1 hour | 15 days |
| Price | Included with your hosting | £42.09 ex. VAT/year or £50.51 incl. VAT/year | £84.09 ex. VAT/year or £100.91 incl. VAT/year |
*EV SSL certificates are the only certificates that assure web users that the website is operated by a verified and legitimate company.
**Find out more about the legal conditions on the Sectigo website.
***If the domain name is properly configured to a web hosting package.
Your questions answered
How to obtain a free SSL Certificate
With our web hosting plans, you get a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate included, which is activated by default. This means your website will immediately get HTTPS.
What is a certificate authority?
It is a trusted entity that authenticates correspondents. It issues certificates describing digital identities and provides the means to verify the validity of the SSL certificates it has provided. Sectigo is one example of a certificate authority.
Are all certificates the same?
Each certificate offers a different level of security. Domain Validation (DV) SSL certificates provide basic security by authenticating the identity of the domain name owner. Meanwhile, Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificates guarantee that the website visited is managed by the publishing company and that the company exists legally, by allowing its name to appear near the “green padlock” icon. You must ensure that this type of security certificate comes from a verified authority.
How do I install a new SSL certificate?
You can change the SSL certificate linked to your Web Hosting plan at any time from your OVHcloud Control Panel, so that you can import one you already own, for example. You can also have multiple digital certificates for one or more websites linked to one or more IP addresses. However, be careful when managing your SSL certificates: some are only recognised by certain browsers.
How does an SSL certificate work?
An SSL certificate is a data file. It encrypts information exchanged between websites via a web browser (e.g. Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox) and a server. To achieve this, SSL certificates work by using public key cryptography.
This encryption is based on a simple model: two keys, which are a series of randomly generated numbers. The first is the private key and the other is the public key. To get a better understanding of SSL and SSL encryption, let’s take the example of a customer making a transaction on your website. When this information is transmitted to the Domain Name System (DNS) server, it is encrypted by the server's public key. Therefore, if a hacker tries to intercept the transmission, the exchange is protected. Only the server can decrypt the message using its unique private key. Once the authentication is complete and the secure exchange is validated, the transmitted data is protected against any hacking.
*The following extensions are included for a period of one year with any purchase of an OVHcloud web hosting plan, then renewal is charged at the annual price for the extension selected from the following list: .co.uk, .com, .shop, .store, .tech, .me .live, .space, .xyz, .online, .site, .pro, .cloud, .blog, .name, .ovh, .net, .org, .info, .eu, .fr, .re, .be, .boutique .it, .de, .pl. Not valid for extensions that include free transfer.