Title: TLS
Author: WordPress VIP Documentation
Published: September 8, 2020
Last modified: June 12, 2025

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#  TLS

An installed TLS certificate is required [for a site to be launched](https://docs.wpvip.com/launched/)
on the VIP Platform. Because every site uses a custom domain for both the front-
end and back-end admin area, TLS is a requirement to ensure that each site has a
secure admin area and login process.

 * TLS certificates can be procured and installed as a self-service feature of the
   [VIP Dashboard](https://dashboard.wpvip.com/).
 * Environments configured to use a [reverse proxy](https://docs.wpvip.com/restricting-site-access/reverse-proxies/)
   may need to [forward the ACME challenge](https://docs.wpvip.com/reverse-proxy-domains-and-tls/)
   to obtain a TLS certificate.
 * VIP’s TLS implementation is [SNI based](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Server_Name_Indication),
   which means that some legacy browsers will not be fully supported in their access
   to pages served over TLS.
 * Whole-site HTTPS is enabled for all environments by default on the VIP Platform.
   Whole-site HTTPS forces requests to a site’s back end and front end—including
   requests made over an insecure HTTP protocol—to be redirected to HTTPS.

**Note**

SSL and TLS are both cryptographic protocols, and TLS is an evolution of SSL. However,
TLS is sometimes referred to colloquially as “SSL” (e.g. “SSL certificate”) even
though all versions of the SSL protocol are disabled at VIP.

 * 
   ### 󠀁[Install a Let’s Encrypt TLS certificate](https://docs.wpvip.com/tls/lets-encrypt/)󠁿
   
 * A Let’s Encrypt TLS certificate is available by default for any domain that has
   been added to an environment’s VIP Dashboard.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Install a custom TLS certificate](https://docs.wpvip.com/tls/custom-cert/)󠁿
   
 * Customers have the option and ability to provision custom TLS certificates from
   a certificate authority of their choosing.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[HTTP Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS)](https://docs.wpvip.com/tls/enable-hsts/)󠁿
   
 * The VIP Platform supports and strongly encourages the use of the HTTP Strict-
   Transport-Security response header (HSTS).

Last updated: June 12, 2025