Hello everyone! My name is Alex, and I recently ventured into the world of hosting my own website. After a lot of research, I decided to go with a shared hosting plan. Since I run a blog that occasionally touches on controversial topics, I opted for a reliable hosting provider to ensure my content remains accessible without undue hassle. Today, I want to share my experience installing an SSL certificate on my shared hosting account, which is crucial for securing your site and ensuring your visitors’ trust.

Why SSL is Important

First things first: you must know why an SSL certificate is required before you can install one. Protecting sensitive information like login passwords, personal data, and payment details from malicious actors is possible using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption, which encrypts data transmitted between your website and its visitors. In addition, search engines like Google give more weight to trustworthy websites with SSL certificates, so having one installed might help your site rank higher.

Choosing the Right SSL Certificate

There are several types of SSL certificates available, each serving different needs:

1. Domain Validation (DV) Certificates: These are the most basic and are ideal for small websites or blogs.
2. Organization Validation (OV) Certificates: These provide a higher level of security and are suitable for business websites.
3. Extended Validation (EV) Certificates: These offer the highest level of security and trust, often used by e-commerce sites and financial institutions.

For my blog, a Domain Validation certificate was sufficient. I chose a reputable SSL certificate provider and purchased a certificate that suited my needs.

Preparing for Installation

Once you’ve purchased your SSL certificate, you’ll receive an email from the provider with several files and instructions. Here’s what you typically get:

• Certificate file (.crt or .cer)
• Intermediate certificates
• Private key file (generated during the CSR process)

Before proceeding, ensure you have access to your hosting control panel (cPanel) and the files mentioned above.

Generating a Certificate Signing Request (CSR)

The first step in the installation process is generating a CSR. Here’s how you can do it in cPanel:

1. Log into cPanel: Access your hosting account and log into the cPanel dashboard.
2. Navigate to SSL/TLS: Under the “Security” section, click on “SSL/TLS”.
3. Generate a New CSR: Select “Generate, view, or delete SSL certificate signing requests” and fill out the form. Ensure the information matches what you provided to the SSL certificate provider.

Once you generate the CSR, you’ll need to copy the CSR text and submit it to your SSL provider. They will use this information to issue your SSL certificate.

Installing the SSL Certificate

After receiving the SSL certificate files, you can proceed with the installation. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Log into cPanel: Access your cPanel dashboard.
2. Navigate to SSL/TLS: Under the “Security” section, click on “SSL/TLS”.
3. Manage SSL Sites: Click on “Manage SSL sites” under the “Install and Manage SSL for your site (HTTPS)” section.
4. Install an SSL Website: Select the domain you want to secure from the dropdown menu.

Upload the Certificate

1. Certificate (CRT): Copy the contents of your certificate file (.crt) and paste it into the “Certificate (CRT)” box.
2. Private Key (KEY): The private key should be auto-filled if you generated the CSR in cPanel. If not, copy and paste the private key you saved during the CSR process.
3. Certificate Authority Bundle (CABUNDLE): Copy the contents of the intermediate certificate file provided by your SSL provider and paste it into the “Certificate Authority Bundle (CABUNDLE)” box.

Click “Install Certificate” and wait for the confirmation message. Your SSL certificate is now installed!

Testing Your SSL Installation

After installation, it’s crucial to verify that your SSL certificate is working correctly. Here’s how you can test it:

1. Browser Check: Visit your website using https:// and look for the padlock icon in the address bar.
2. Online Tools: Use online tools such as SSL Labs’ SSL Test to analyze your SSL configuration and ensure there are no issues.

Enforcing HTTPS

To ensure all traffic to your site is secured, you need to enforce HTTPS. This can be done by editing your .htaccess file:

1. Access File Manager: In cPanel, go to “File Manager” under the “Files” section.

Edit .htaccess: Locate and edit your .htaccess file in the root directory of your website. Add the following code to redirect all traffic to HTTPS:
apache
Копіювати код
RewriteEngine On

RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} 80

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.yourdomain.com/$1 [R,L]

Installing an SSL certificate on shared hosting may appear to be an intimidating task; but, if you follow the appropriate procedures, it is actually rather doable. In addition to ensuring the safety of your website, it also helps to establish trust with your site visitors and has the potential to increase your position in search engines.