{"id":11554,"date":"2025-03-21T12:00:50","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T10:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/?p=11554"},"modified":"2025-03-21T12:00:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T10:00:50","slug":"how-to-install-a-free-ssl-certificate-on-cpanel-lets-encrypt-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/how-to-install-a-free-ssl-certificate-on-cpanel-lets-encrypt-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Install a Free SSL Certificate on cPanel (Let’s Encrypt Guide)"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

How to Install a Free SSL Certificate on cPanel Using Let’s Encrypt<\/h3>\n

Installing a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt on a cPanel-managed hosting can significantly enhance your website’s security by encrypting data transferred between your server and your visitors. Here\u2019s a step-by-step guide on how to set this up:<\/p>\n

1. Check for AutoSSL<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Before manually installing Let’s Encrypt, check if your hosting provider offers AutoSSL (cPanel’s built-in SSL management feature) which automatically installs and renews Let\u2019s Encrypt SSL certificates for all domains configured in your account.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Log into cPanel<\/strong>: Access your hosting dashboard.<\/li>\n
  • Find the ‘SSL\/TLS Status’<\/strong>: This tool is often found under the \u2018Security\u2019 section.<\/li>\n
  • Check AutoSSL<\/strong>: If enabled, your domains should be covered automatically. If not, or if you prefer to use Let’s Encrypt directly, proceed with the following steps.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    2. Enable Let\u2019s Encrypt with AutoSSL<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    If your host supports AutoSSL but hasn\u2019t enabled Let\u2019s Encrypt:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Access WHM (Web Host Manager)<\/strong>: You\u2019ll need root access to WHM to change this setting.<\/li>\n
    • Navigate to \u2018Manage AutoSSL\u2019<\/strong>: Usually found under the \u2018SSL\/TLS\u2019 section.<\/li>\n
    • Select Provider<\/strong>: Choose ‘Let\u2019s Encrypt’ as the provider and agree to the terms of service.<\/li>\n
    • Enable AutoSSL<\/strong>: Apply AutoSSL to your domains. WHM will automatically install and periodically renew the SSL certificates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      3. Manual Installation of Let\u2019s Encrypt<\/strong><\/h4>\n

      If AutoSSL isn\u2019t available or you prefer a more manual approach:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Access SSH<\/strong>: Connect to your server via SSH.<\/li>\n
      • Install Certbot<\/strong>: Certbot is a Let\u2019s Encrypt client that simplifies the process of obtaining and installing SSL certificates. Install Certbot by running:\n
        sudo yum install certbot python2-certbot-apache  # For CentOS\/RHEL\r\nsudo apt-get install certbot python-certbot-apache  # For Debian\/Ubuntu\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
      • Generate Certificate<\/strong>: Execute Certbot to generate the SSL certificate:\n
        sudo certbot --apache -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
        Replace yourdomain.com<\/code> with your actual domain name.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        4. Manual Configuration in cPanel<\/strong><\/h4>\n
        If you installed the SSL certificate via Certbot without cPanel\/WHM integration:<\/p>\n
          \n
        • Log into cPanel<\/strong>: Go to the SSL\/TLS manager.<\/li>\n
        • Install and Manage SSL<\/strong>: Find the section to manage SSL sites.<\/li>\n
        • Install SSL Certificate<\/strong>: Copy and paste the certificate (CRT), private key (KEY), and CA bundle (CABUNDLE) into the appropriate fields for your domain. These files are typically located in \/etc\/letsencrypt\/live\/yourdomain.com\/<\/code>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          5. Verify Installation<\/strong><\/h4>\n
            \n
          • SSL Check<\/strong>: Use an online tool like SSL Labs’ SSL Test to check if the SSL certificate is installed correctly and functioning as expected.<\/li>\n
          • Browser Padlock<\/strong>: Visit your website and ensure that browsers show a secure padlock icon, indicating that SSL is working properly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
            6. Setup Automatic Renewal<\/strong><\/h4>\n
            Let\u2019s Encrypt certificates are valid for 90 days, so setting up automatic renewal is crucial:<\/p>\n
              \n
            • Cron Job for Renewal<\/strong>: Add a cron job to run the renewal command periodically:\n
              0 2 * * * \/usr\/bin\/certbot renew --quiet\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
              This command attempts to renew any expiring certificates at 2:00 AM daily.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
              By following these steps, you can successfully install a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt on your cPanel server, enhancing your website\u2019s security and trustworthiness without incurring additional costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
              How to Install a Free SSL Certificate on cPanel Using Let’s Encrypt Installing a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt on a cPanel-managed hosting can significantly enhance your website’s security by encrypting data transferred between your server and your visitors. Here\u2019s a step-by-step guide on how to set this up: 1. Check for AutoSSL Before […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11555,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11554","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tips"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11554"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11556,"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11554\/revisions\/11556"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tremhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}