What is SSL?

You can Install Free SSL Certificate on your website cPanel Using Let’s Encrypt.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is an encryption-based internet security protocol for establishing authenticated, encrypted links between networked computers to provide privacy and integrity to internet communications. It has been everywhere used to get the trust from the parties; for example, when you search on google, various websites have been open, each content lock sign at the left corner, this lock sign indicates that the particular site is secure to use. Many online businesses used this SSL concept to get the users’ trust.

Why SSL?

SSL/TLS provides features for data encryption, authentication, and the integrity of data.

When data is encrypted with SSL, that means:

• Nobody reads the sent data/message.
• Nobody modifies the message/data.
• The message/data is sent to the intended recipient.

To make sure that the message has reached the recipient and no one has modified it, SSL encrypts this and signs it.

SSL is one of the most important components of the modern web, there are several paid SSL certificate providers:

• Comodo SSL.
• DigiCert.
• Entrust Datacard.
• GeoTrust.
• GlobalSign.
• GoDaddy.
• Network Solutions.
• RapidSSL and more…

But Let’s Encrypt is a free, automated, and open certificate authority (CA), run for the public’s benefit. It is a service provided by the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG). It provides digital certificates in order to enable HTTPS (SSL/TLS) for websites, for free, in the most user-friendly way we can. We do this because we want to create a more secure and privacy-respecting Web.

Now how to install the Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate in your cPanel hosting?

Install Free SSL Certificate

Step one: 

Go to https://zerossl.com/ and add your domain and click the Next Step button

Step 2:
Select a 90-Day Certificate as 1 year is not included in the free plan. Click on the Next Step button.

Step 3:
Use Auto-Generate CSR (Certificate Signing Request) and click the Next Step button.

Step 4:
The next step will provide various paid plans including the free plan, but we will go with the Free Plan. Click on the Next Step button.

Select HTTP File Upload as a verification method. And Download the txt file.

Now verify your domain.

Login to your cPanel Certificate search for File Manager and go to the public_html folder

Now create a directory called /.well-known/pki-validation/ in the root folder and upload the txt file.

Nest and final method is to verify the HTTP File Upload by clicking Verify Domain Button

Once you click It will redirect to your txt file which you just upload on your /.well-known/pki-validation/

Once verification is done download your certificate from the ZeroSSL panel

In the downloaded zip file, you will find three files ca_bunlde.crt, certificate.crt, and private.key

Now install your SSL Certificate using the cPanel dashboard

Go to your cPanel and search for SSL

Now click on the CERTIFICATES (CRT)

Now Select your domain from the dropdown. Open your certificate files on any text editor and paste them accordingly as shown below.

That’s it now access your website with HTTPS (https://techmesh.in), and your SSL is installed successfully. Please keep in mind that our SSL is only for 90 days, which means we need to regenerate the SSL and install once again using the same process.