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            Configuring and Installing an SSL for cPanel

            An SSL certificate encrypts traffic between your website and its visitors and is one of the easiest ways to protect a site and improve trust. This article walks you through the full SSL workflow for a cPanel-hosted site: choosing the right certificate, generating a CSR, configuring the certificate, completing domain validation, and installing it in cPanel.

            About SSL certificates

            SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the encryption-based protocol behind every HTTPS website. Exact Hosting offers both single-domain and multi-domain SSL certificates. For SSLs managed automatically from the client area, see Purchasing and Managing a cPanel Addon SSL. The workflow below covers SSLs that you configure and install yourself in cPanel.

            Types of SSL certificates

            The certificate type controls how many domains and subdomains a single SSL can cover.

            Certificate type

            What it covers

            Single-domain

            One specific domain only (for example, example.com).

            Wildcard

            One domain and all of its subdomains (for example, example.com, www.example.com, blog.example.com, developers.example.com).

            Multi-domain

            Several unrelated domains under one certificate.

            Before you begin

            • An active Exact Hosting cPanel hosting plan. CSR generation and SSL installation happen inside cPanel.
            • A domain pointed to your cPanel hosting IP. Domain validation requires that the certificate authority can reach the domain.
            • Access to an approver email for the domain. The certificate authority sends domain control validation (DCV) instructions to an administrative address (such as admin@ or webmaster@) or to the public WHOIS contact.

            Step 1: Generate a certificate signing request (CSR)

            The CSR is a block of encoded data that contains your domain and organization information. You give it to the certificate authority so they can issue a certificate that matches your server.

            1. Log in to your Exact Hosting account.
            2. Select Services.
            3. Click Active next to your hosting service.
            4. Click Login to cPanel.
            5. In cPanel, click SSL/TLS.
            6. Click Generate, view, or delete SSL certificate signing requests.
            7. Fill in the required fields (domain, city, state, country, organization, email, and so on), then click Generate.
            8. On the next page, copy or save the CSR text block (the section between -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST----- and -----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----).

            Step 2: Configure the certificate

            Submit the CSR to the SSL provider through the Exact Hosting client area so they can issue your certificate.

            1. Log in to your Exact Hosting account.
            2. Select Services.
            3. Click Active next to your SSL service.
            4. Click Configure now.
            5. Choose the web server type that matches your hosting platform. If you're using Exact Hosting's cPanel, choose cPanel.
            6. Paste your CSR into the field.
            7. Click Click to continue to send the CSR to the SSL provider.
            8. Select an approver email address. If none of the listed addresses exists yet, create one before continuing.

            Step 3: Complete domain control validation (DCV)

            The certificate authority must confirm that you control the domain before they issue the certificate.

            1. Check the inbox of the approver email you selected for a DCV message from the SSL provider.
            2. Click Approve in the DCV email to confirm the request is legitimate.
            3. Wait for the SSL provider's validation confirmation email.
            4. Once issued, the provider sends a zip file with your certificate bundle. Unpack it to get the certificate (.crt) and CA bundle files.

            Step 4: Install the SSL certificate in cPanel

            With the certificate files in hand, install them in cPanel to activate HTTPS for your site.

            1. Log in to your Exact Hosting account and open cPanel as in Step 1.
            2. Click SSL/TLS.
            3. Click Manage SSL sites.
            4. Select your domain from the drop-down.
            5. Open each certificate file in a plain-text editor (such as Notepad or TextEdit) and copy the contents into the matching fields:\n
              • Certificate (CRT). The main certificate.
              • Private Key (KEY). Usually auto-filled from your CSR.
              • Certificate Authority Bundle (CABUNDLE). The CA bundle from the provider.
            6. Click Install Certificate.
            7. When you see the success prompt, click OK.

            Tip: After installation, visit your site at https://yourdomain.com to confirm the padlock appears. You can also run an external check with the SSL Shopper SSL Checker.

            Next steps

            • Force visitors to use HTTPS. See What Is the .htaccess File? for an example HTTPS redirect.
            • Let Exact Hosting manage your SSL automatically. See Purchasing and Managing a cPanel Addon SSL.
            • Back up your site before changing SSL configuration. See Creating a Full Backup Using Backup Wizard.

            Questions? Contact Exact Hosting Support.

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