An SSL certificate encrypts the connection to your site and shows the padlock in browsers. Every hosting plan includes free certificates through cPanel AutoSSL. This guide covers the free certificates, installing one you bought, and fixing common problems.

In this guide

Free certificates with AutoSSL

cPanel AutoSSL issues and renews free certificates for your domain and names such as www and mail. It only works once your domain points to our server. See How to point your domain to GHost Cloud.

To check, open SSL/TLS Status in cPanel. Each name shows whether it has a valid certificate. After you change your DNS, select Run AutoSSL to try again.

Install a certificate you bought

If you buy a certificate from our store for a site hosted with us on cPanel, we install it for you. To install one from somewhere else:

  1. In cPanel, open SSL/TLS and generate a certificate signing request (CSR), or use the one your provider gave you.
  2. Complete the issuer's checks.
  3. In SSL/TLS, open Manage SSL sites, choose your domain, and paste in the certificate, the private key and the CA bundle.
  4. Select Install Certificate.

Check your certificate

Visit your site with https:// and select the padlock to see who issued the certificate and when it expires. The free SSL Labs test at ssllabs.com gives a full report.

Mixed content warnings

If the padlock is missing or shows a warning, the page is loading some images, scripts or styles over http://. Change those links to https://. On WordPress, update the site addresses under Settings > General and replace old links in your content. See How to force HTTPS on your website.

If AutoSSL fails

  • The domain doesn't point to us yet. AutoSSL can't check a domain that points elsewhere. Wait for your DNS change to finish, then run AutoSSL again.
  • One name fails. If a name such as mail.yourdomain.co.za doesn't exist in your DNS, it fails on its own. The other names still get certificates.
  • A proxy is in the way. If you use Cloudflare's proxy, set SSL to Full and check that requests reach our server.
  • Still stuck? Open a ticket and tell us the domain.

Related guides

Need more than a free certificate? Our SSL certificates include organisation-validated and wildcard options.

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