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SSL certificates and HTTPS

Every hosting site comes with a free SSL certificate (Let’s Encrypt), issued and renewed automatically. There is nothing to set up.

When is the certificate issued?

A name gets its certificate once:

  1. you have verified that the domain is yours (Adding and verifying a domain),
  2. the domain points to us, meaning its A record is set to the address shown in the portal,
  3. and the site is active.

Until then the Domains tab says that the certificate will be issued automatically once the name is verified. The same tab shows each name's certificate status, and you can ask for a recheck there.

HTTPS everywhere

Every site is served over HTTPS only; http:// requests are redirected automatically. Certificates are renewed by us before they expire.

If the certificate is not issued

  • The domain does not point to us yet. Check the A record. If you changed it recently, wait for the old TTL to run out.
  • The domain is not verified. Complete the TXT record verification first.
  • A CAA record forbids issuance. If your domain has a CAA record, it must allow Let’s Encrypt: 0 issue "letsencrypt.org".
  • Too many attempts. The certificate authority limits how often it can be asked. If the portal says a name was checked recently, wait for the time it gives; the regular check keeps running on its own in the meantime.

Mixed content

If the site loads over HTTPS but the browser still warns, it is probably loading an image or a script from an http:// address. That has to be fixed in the application: in WordPress, for example, set the site address to start with https://.