How to Use TLS 1.3 with OCSP Stapling for Faster and Secure Website Connections

Have you ever come across websites in which one seem to load really quickly and other load slowly? As part of that speed—and security—fetch from TLS 1.3 and OCSP Stapling. Whether you maintain a website or just like secure browsing, this combination can be extremely beneficial. Allow me to explain what makes them beneficial and how they do speed up browsing.

What is TLS 1.3?​

TLS 1.3 is the latest iteration of a system that secures the exchange between your browser and a web site.

• It provides for a faster connection because there are fewer steps required to complete the handshake to establish a secure connection.
• It keeps your data much more private from eavesdropping by hackers.

I transitioned by web server to TLS 1.3, and I can say that the time to load web pages is noticeably faster.

In short, TLS 1.3 is a big part of why secure webpages feel snappy.

Why is OCSP Stapling useful?​

In most cases, the browser will check to see whether a website's secure certificate is still valid by contacting the certificate authority (CA) that issued the certificate. And this requires time.

OCSP Stapling alleviates several issues:

• The server associated with the site provides a statement from the certificate authority (CA) simply stating that the certificate is still valid.
• Browsers do not need to generate a verification request of their own each time the TLS session is resumed.
• These fixes make HTTPS connections faster and more seamless.

I enabled OCSP Stapling on my websites, and the connection speed increased by a significant amount. It’s like being able to skip a long line.

Why using both is better​

Utilizing TLS 1.3 in tandem with OCSP Stapling provides:

• Faster, more reliable secure connections – websites will load faster.
• Better privacy – TLS 1.3 hides more information while OCSP Stapling prevents unnecessary verification prompts.
• Fewer failures – eliminates sources of failures associated with failing certificate checks.

In short, it provides your website with a performance boost and an added layer of safety all at once.

How to get started​

Here is my usual approach:

• Confirm the web server (Nginx, Apache, or LiteSpeed) supports TLS version 1.3 (if it is a modern version, it will).
• Turn on OCSP stapling via your webserver settings.
• Use SSL Labs or curl (or equivalent) to test whether OCSP Stapling is functional.

It is less complicated than you may think and it usually takes less than an hour.

Conclusion​

If you want your website fast, secure and reliable, implement TLS 1.3 with OCSP stapling. I have used it, and it flows. Next time there is a complaint about HTTPS, you can help fix it.