How To Install An SSL Certificate on cPanel
Like many website owners, you may understand the concept of protecting your website visitors with an SSL Certificate, but the actual application of one may still be a little fuzzy. In this blog post, we cover exactly what an SSL Certificate is and how to add it to your cPanel dashboard.
What is an SSL Certificate?
An SSL Certificate is a way of encrypting data as it passes from your website to the server and back again. The encryption prevents anyone from intercepting the information and stealing important personal data such as credit card information or email addresses.
When visiting a website, you will know that the site is securely protected by an SSL Certificate by the following indications located on the left-hand side of the address bar:
- A green padlock
- The word “secure”
- And a URL beginning with http://
These three indications demonstrate that https protocol is actively encrypting the data entered on the website.
SSL Certificates have become increasingly important as search engines often warn or prevent users when attempting to enter a website that is not protected by SSL encryption. This can be detrimental to website traffic and search engine optimization. The good news is that SSL Certificates are easy to obtain and install, in fact, UK2.NET offers free SSL Certificates in both our Business Hosting and Business Cloud packages.
How to install an SSL Certificate to your cPanel dashboard
To install your SSL Certificate on your cPanel dashboard, simply follow the steps outlined below:
#1. Download your SSL Certificate and the corresponding CA Certificate.
#2. Log into your cPanel account with your username and password.
#3. Under the Security section, click on the icon entitled SSL/TLS.
#4. Click the Manage SSL Sites link located beneath the heading Install and Manage SSL for your site (HTTPS). Note that this may also read as Set Up an SSL certificate to work with your site.
#5. Beneath the section called Certificate (CRT), copy your SSL Certificate, including the header and footer (BEGIN CERTIFICATE and END CERTIFICATE). Paste the certificate file into the field provided.
#6. Click Autofill to pull the necessary Private Key information to be stored on the server. The private key used to generate the CSR must be created on the server you are installing the SSL Certificate on. It is important to note that you cannot generate a third party private key. You must also note that if you cannot autofill this information, you may copy and paste it into the fields provided.
#7. Be sure that under the heading Certificate Authority (CABUNDLE), the autofill option included the CA certificate information into the field provided. While this field is noted with an Optional tag, it is recommended that you include the necessary information.
#8. Click Install Certificate.
Your new SSL Certificate is now installed to your cPanel dashboard. You will now be able to protect your website visitors by encrypting their data as it passes between their screen and your server.
Should you run into any issues while installing your SSL Certificate, please contact our expert Technical Support. They are happy to answer any questions or concerns that you may have.