Requirements For Free SSL Certificates
There are two main requirements for a domain or subdomain to obtain a free and automatic SSL certificate:
- DNS Must Resolve - Check your website using any DNS checking tool to ensure that there are no red flags. For the module to function, the domain must resolve to our name servers or your Reseller's name servers. If you just updated your name servers, you should let 24 hours for the change to disseminate across the Internet.
- .htaccess File Must Be Writeable - Let's Encrypt must be allowed to write to the.htaccess file in your /public html/ directory in order to verify your website. If you have modified one, you may need to rename it temporarily to.htaccess1 until the certificate has been created.
If these two requirements are satisfied, the free and automated SSL certificate will be generated within 24 hours, and usually within an hour or two.
How To Verify Your Free SSL Certificate
There are two way to check and see if your website has a free SSL certificate:
1. Check inside of cPanel:
One of the easiest ways is to login to the website's cPanel click on SSL/TLS -> Generate, view, upload, or delete SSL certificates.
If the Issuer does not include Let's Encrypt, the website is not utilising an auto-generated SSL certificate. If it reads self-signed, click the Delete link so that the auto-installer will replace it.
Let's Encrypt should create if the two requirements listed above are satisfied.
2. Check inside of Web Host Manager:
If you have a Reseller Hosting or VPS Hosting package with us, you can easily check the certificates in Web Host Manager -> Manage SSL Hosts.
As with the option in cPanel, you must ensure that Let's Encrypt is listed as the Issuer. If it reads "Self Signed" or has expired, click the Delete option to get it replaced.
How To Force Run The Auto Installer
Since certain users need an SSL certificate before the auto-installer can operate, cPanel has added the ability to manually install one:
As stated in the video, you simply login to cPanel -> SSL/TLS Status -> Select domain (s) -> Click Run Auto SSL
This may take a few moments to produce, but you can always use a different browser window and repeat the steps above to verify that it has been generated.
Hostingli is delighted to contribute to the creation of a safer Internet for everyone and is ecstatic to provide these services to all of our clients, including Resellers. If you have any queries or problems, please do not hesitate to contact us!
