Adding a free SSL certificate to your website

Adding a free SSL certificate to your website

What you'll learn: how to add HTTPS to your website so visitors see the lock icon and your site is more trusted.

Why HTTPS matters

  • Browsers warn visitors when a site doesn't use HTTPS — that scary "Not Secure" label scares people away.
  • Logins, contact forms, and any data your visitors submit travel safely instead of in plain text.
  • Google ranks HTTPS sites higher.

The good news: HTTPS is free, and the panel can set it up for you with a few clicks.

Before you start

  • The domain must be added to your account.
  • Your domain's DNS must already point to the server (otherwise the certificate request will fail). If you just added the domain, give it 10 minutes.

Step 1 — Open the domain

Sidebar → Sites → Domains. Click the domain.

Step 2 — Issue an SSL certificate

Click SSL / TLS (or Issue certificate).

You'll see options like:

  • Let's Encrypt (free) — recommended. Works for almost everyone.
  • Upload your own certificate — for cases where you've bought one from a different provider.

Pick Let's Encrypt, make sure both yourdomain.com and www.yourdomain.com are checked, then click Issue.

Step 3 — Wait about 30 seconds

The panel asks Let's Encrypt for a certificate, proves your domain is yours (automatically), and installs it. When it's done, you'll see a green confirmation.

Step 4 — Force HTTPS

After the certificate is in place, look for a Force HTTPS toggle and turn it on. This means anyone who types http://yourdomain.com is automatically sent to https://.

Renewals

Let's Encrypt certificates expire every 90 days, but the panel automatically renews them for you. You don't need to do anything — it just keeps working.

Tips

  • Always include www. and the bare domain. Most people will visit one or the other; both should be covered.
  • Issue early. Even if your site isn't done, having SSL ready means no last-minute scramble.
  • Check the lock icon. Click it in your browser to see when your certificate expires and what name it covers.

If something goes wrong

  • "Failed to verify domain" — your DNS isn't pointing at the server yet, or it hasn't fully spread. Wait 10 minutes and try again.
  • "Too many certificates issued" — Let's Encrypt limits how many requests you can make per week per domain. If you've been retrying, wait an hour and try again.
  • Lock icon shows a warning — your site might be loading some images or scripts over plain http://. Update those to https:// (or relative URLs) and the warning will go away.

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