SSL certificates increase security for your Droplet and your users by enabling encrypted connections to your server. You can purchase certificates through a commercial SSL certificate authority (CA) or use a free, open source CA like Let’s Encrypt.

Installing Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificates

Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates are free, remain valid for three months, and support automatic renewal.

To install Let’s Encrypt certificates, you need to create A records pointing your domain to your Droplet’s IP address. Then you can use certbot to automatically configure SSL on your web server.

Installing Commerical SSL Certificates

Commercial SSL certificates usually cost money and remain valid for one year or longer. After you obtain a commerical SSL certificate, you can install it on your web server by modifying its configuration file.