How to Renew SSL Certificate for a Domain?

The connection that exists between your web server and the people visiting your website is encrypted by SSL and its successor, TLS. In this manner, any data exchanged between the two computers cannot be viewed or altered by a malicious party who manages to intercept your connection.

Nowadays, all websites are required to have SSL/TLS protection; in fact, a lot of best web hosting service providers give away a free SSL certificate when a plan is purchased. Additionally, you may easily obtain a free SSL certificate or buy and install one yourself.

But maintaining cybersecurity requires ongoing work to fortify your website and safeguard your visitors. Free SSL certificates are therefore temporary. You'll need to install a fresh one after a while in order to keep the same level of security. We'll demonstrate how to accomplish it yourself in this post.

What is an SSL certificate?

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates are only little digital files that include some fundamental information. A public key, which is one half of a cryptographic key pair that is used for encrypting data, a digital signature that was created by a certificate authority that issues the certificate to verify its authenticity, information about the domain or organization that the certificate is issued to, information about the cryptographic algorithms that were used, and finally a mention of the validity period of the certificate are the most important things that they contain.

As can be seen, an SSL does not contain any particularly sophisticated components; nonetheless, in some way, this is all that is required to ensure that the communication that takes place between your website and its users is protected. Given that SSL certificates are, in fact, nothing more than straightforward text files, the only thing that any web browser can do with them is read what is contained within them and determine whether or not the contents are still valid.

There are a few valid reasons why SSL certificates become invalid:

In order to avoid harm and in order to ensure the safety of your website, newly created SSL certificates make use of the most recent security techniques. To put it simply, this is the same as changing your passwords on a regular basis.

To make advantage of the new keys: Each time an SSL is renewed, it creates fresh cryptographic keys, which reduces the danger of compromise that could occur as a result of using the same keys for an extended period of time.

To verify that you are still the owner of the website: The purpose of this is to ensure that the individual who is renewing the certificate continues to be the owner or control of the website.

In order to reduce the number of problems, in the event that someone impersonates you and steals your certificate, it will only be valid for a limited time until it passes away.

At the end of the day, free SSL certificates that are approaching their expiration date are a simple issue that every website owner must deal with at some point in time.

What happens when your SSL certificate expires?

The most significant issue that arises when certificates become invalid is that search engines like Google and all of the most popular web browsers will strongly recommend that users avoid visiting websites that have expired certificates. Your site visitors being exposed to a warning generates a multitude of supplementary issues that have the potential to swiftly become out of proportion:

• In the event that the visitors are not familiar with your website, there is a low probability that they will disregard the warning to visit you.

• Even those individuals who have previously placed their faith in you will begin to question your honesty and wonder if your website has been compromised or if it is experiencing any other potential security issues.

• Because people will choose to leave your website as soon as they see the notification, you will automatically begin to receive a decrease in the amount of traffic that you receive.

• Your website will not encrypt any data that is transmitted between your readers and the website itself, which means that the connection will no longer be considered safe. This is the solely technical consequence of all of this.

• Obviously, you do not want to be in this situation because it is a heaven for hackers.

• The importance of maintaining the validity of your SSL certificate or renewing it when the allotted period has passed cannot be overstated.

How to renew SSL certificate?

Detailed Instructions on How to Renew SSL Certificate is as given in the following steps:

Renew SSL certificate is similar to obtaining a new certificate, the process of renewing an SSL certificate is not a lengthy one. In order to renew an SSL certificate, a customer must follow the same procedure that is done when purchasing a new SSL certificate.

1. First step: Create a CSR

Create a CSR, which stands for a certificate signing request. The first thing that has to be done is to make a Certificate Signing Request, often known as a CSR. On the server where you intend to install the SSL certificate, generate the certificate signing request (CSR). Keep in mind that the private key should be stored in a secure location on your server or workstation. The implementation of this step guarantees the authenticity and safety of your SSL certificate.

2. Second step: Choose an SSL Certificate

Determine which SSL certificate best meets the security needs of your website while still being within your financial means. The following is a list of the various options that are available to you during this process.

3. Third step: Purchase an SSL Certificate

After you have made your choice, you should then proceed to get the SSL certificate that is the most suitable for your requirements. After the completion of the ordering process, you will be sent an email containing information regarding the SSL configuration method.

4. Fourth step: Complete the SSL Configuration

Make sure that the configuration procedure is finished by clicking on the link that was sent to you via email. To complete the SSL setting, make sure to follow the steps that have been provided.

5. Fifth step: Validate the ownership of the domain

In order to demonstrate ownership of the domain, you must finish the domain validation process. In this context, the following strategies may be utilized:

• The Verification of Email

• Method of CNAME records for the File

• In accordance with your preferences and the circumstances, you are free to choose any technique.

6. Sixth step: Verify the business

Documents pertaining to a web hosting service providers operations will be requested by the certificate authority in order to validate the legitimacy of a best web hosting service providers through the organization validation and extended validation certificate renewal processes. It is necessary for you to resubmit the documents in the event that any of the details are altered prior to the renewal.

7. Seventh step: Receive the Certificate That Was Issued

Immediately following the completion of the document verification process, the certificate authority will finish the validation process. At this point, the SSL certificate is delivered to the recipient. You are able to download it from either your ClickSSL dashboard or the email address you used to register.

8. Eighth step: Installing the SSL Certificate

After everything is said and done, install the SSL certificate on your server by carefully following the instructions. Consequently, this not only guarantees the safety of your website but also ensures that your visitors have a secure browsing experience.

It is important to remember that you are free to renew your SSL with any SSL provider; it is not required that you remain with the SSL provider that you are currently using. On the renewal of SSL certificates, many SSL providers offer discounts to their customers.

What are the steps to verify the validity of an SSL certificate?

By opening your SSL certificate in the browser and clicking on a padlock that is secured, you will be able to simply check the authenticity of your SSL certificate. After that, select the 'Certificate' option, following which you will be able to view the duration of time that the SSL certificate is valid.

Conclusion-

In today's world, it is absolutely necessary for modern websites to possess and provide free SSL certificate. It is possible that your search engine optimization may suffer if you do not employ the protocol, and more crucially, it will put the data of your consumers at risk. As a result of the fact that acquiring and installing an SSL certificate is not only quite easy in addition relatively inexpensive, there is no need to hesitate in doing so.

We have covered everything you need to know about monitoring the validity of your SSL certificate; thus, you should make it a priority to renew your SSL certificate before it runs out of time. This straightforward procedure, if carried out in a timely manner, has the potential to maintain a consistent flow of traffic and save you from some significant difficulties.