SiteHost

SSL Certificates

We provide free, automated SSL certificates for Cloud Containers that should cover most situations. However, if you require custom certificates, or simply yearn to manage them yourself then read on.

Overview

The SSL Certificates module provides a simple means for managing custom certificates. It allows you to: order a certificate through us directly, generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR), import an existing certificate you have already had issued by a third party.

Purchase an SSL Certificate via SiteHost

You can provide us with the details for your certificate and we'll handle ordering and installing it for you. To do this simply select the Order Certificate option and follow the prompts. One of our team will be in touch with you to confirm the details and get things set up for you.

Purchase an SSL Certificate via a Third Party

Before you can purchase a certificate, you'll need a Certificate Signing Request. A CSR is effectively a body of text that is sent to the certificate supplier as part of the certificate purchase. Your CSR will contain encoded information specific to your company and domain name. To generate your CSR follow these steps:

  • Click Generate CSR at the top right action menu.
  • Fill out all the required fields, which are explained in more detail below.
    • The Common Name is the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) for which you are requesting the SSL Certificate. So if you intend to secure the URL https://www.example.com, then your CSR's common name must be www.example.com not example.com. Even though these are using the same base domain they are considered different Common Name's.
    • If you are generating a CSR for a Wildcard Certificate your Common Name must start with *. (for example: *.example.com).
  • Double check the information you've provided is correct, then hit the button to generate.

Once your CSR is generated, you can download it and send it to a certificate authority like RapidSSL or GeoTrust to purchase an SSL certificate. The CSR has been stored so you can leave this screen and come back later.

Importing an Existing SSL Certificate

Once you have purchased an SSL Certificate you can import it into the Control Panel. To do this you will need the following from your certificate provider, along with the domain name you had the certificate issued for:

  • A private key, this is generally provided as a .key file.
  • The certificate itself, this is generally provided as a .crt file.