How to Manually Install an SSL Certificate
- Ben Bush
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption is what is used primarily when securing your website content, firewalls, servers, or any device and service to keep connections protected and safe from becoming compromised. SSL is becoming so necessary today on the web, that protocols are slowing moving towards all sites on the web will require having an SSL certificate associated with them to be recognized in a browser. While that is not the case now, it is still no laughing matter to make sure your site is protected. Not only for you, but for those visiting your site. While we do offer services in which we will install and setup a SSL certificate to the server for you, there is a tool inside your cPanel where you can generate much of the information needed yourself!
NOTE: If you wish to purchase a certificate directly though us, please contact us at sales@voonami.com to receive a quote on our certificate pricing.
Login to your cPanel account.
From the cPanel, scroll down until you find the 'Security' section, then select the SSL/TLS Manager button.
From the SSL/TLS Manager, you will see a window containing several options. We will use each of these options in order to have everything needed to install a SSL certificate. First, select the 'Private Keys' link below.
From the Private Key window, we will be generating a new Private Key. Select the Key Size you wish to have. You will get to choose between 2048 bit or 4096 bit. Either would be fine to use. In the Description, add anything to help you know what the Private Key is intended for, then select the Generate button to create the key.
You will then be taken to a screen showing your newly generated Private Key. You can then copy the private key and save it to a text editor if you wish, or you can view other options by selecting the 'Return to Private Keys' window. For now, as the key has been generated, we want to select the Return to SSL Manager button and setup our CSR.
From the SSL Manager window now, we want to select the link below the 'Certificate Signing Requests' section.
Once selected, you will need to fill out the form listed below to generate the CSR. There are other options you can choose to complete as well, but the ones displayed in the screen shot below are required to enter:
A) - Select the key size of the CSR between 2048 bit and 4096 bit.
B) - Select the Domain(s) you wish to include in the CSR. This will typically be just one domain, but some certificate types will allow for multiple domains to be included.
C) - List the City your organization is located in.
D) - List the State or Province your organization is located in.
E) - List the Country your organization is located in.
F) - Enter the name of the company the CSR is being created for.
Note: The CSR key should be the same size as the Private Key you created.
Once that is complete, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select 'Generate' to create the CSR. Once that is done you will see the following information:
Here you can copy the generated CSR to a text editor, view other options from the 'Return to Certificate Signing Request' menu, or you can proceed by selecting the option to 'Return to SSL Manager.'
After Returning to the SSL Manager, you will need to download your CSR and then provide that to your SSL provider, which they will then use to issue your SSL Certificate.
Do NOT provide your SSL provider with your private key. Your CSR contains all information from the private key needed to issue the certificate.
Once you receive your SSL Certificate, you will need to come back to the SSL Manager and select the link below 'Certificates (CRT).'
From here you will have the option to paste or upload your certificate to the account. If you choose to upload the certificate, be sure to select the .crt file given to you by your certificate provider. Once you have uploaded the certificate successfully, send an email to support@voonami.com and our admins will be able to install the certificate to the server for you.