SSL
A website’s SSL tab shows the certificate status and lets you issue, replace or remove the certificate.
Current status
Section titled “Current status”When the website already has HTTPS, the top of the tab shows:
- Source: Let’s Encrypt or a custom certificate.
- Issuer and Names (the domains the certificate covers).
- Expiry date and days remaining. Under 30 days, an “Expiring soon” badge appears.
- A warning if the certificate does not cover the primary domain, or if the certificate chain is not trusted by browsers.
Let’s Encrypt certificates renew automatically. Custom certificates do not, so paste a new one before the old one expires.
Get a Let’s Encrypt certificate
Section titled “Get a Let’s Encrypt certificate”- Point the domain’s A record to the server’s IP address (the tab shows the domain and IP to use).
- Click Issue Let’s Encrypt.
The panel checks DNS first. If the record is wrong, it reports the problem instead of sending a request that would be rejected (which avoids hitting Let’s Encrypt’s retry limits).
Paste your own certificate
Section titled “Paste your own certificate”Use this when you bought a certificate elsewhere. Fill in three fields:
- Certificate: starts with
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----. - Private key: starts with
-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----. Leave blank if the certificate was signed from a CSR generated by the panel. - Intermediate chain (optional).
The panel rejects the certificate if the key does not match or the chain is not trusted. For a Cloudflare origin certificate or a private CA, tick Install even if the chain is not trusted by browsers.
Generate a CSR to buy a certificate
Section titled “Generate a CSR to buy a certificate”Open No certificate yet? Generate a request (CSR) to buy one, choose the algorithm (ECDSA or RSA) and generate. The panel creates the private key and keeps it on the server, so the key never leaves it. Give the CSR to the certificate seller. Once you have the certificate, paste it into the Certificate field and leave Private key blank.
Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
Section titled “Redirect HTTP to HTTPS”Once a certificate is installed, the Redirect section can send http:// visitors to https://. Recommended. When off, the website still opens over http://.
Removing SSL
Section titled “Removing SSL”Remove SSL returns the website to HTTP and deletes the certificate and private key from the server. A pasted custom certificate has to be pasted again if you want to reuse it.