SSL certificates and HTTPS
An SSL certificate encrypts the connection between a visitor's browser and your website. CloudWeb automatically issues and renews free Let's Encrypt certificates for hosting – there is usually nothing to configure.
Where to find certificates
In the panel, open Hostings → a specific hosting → the Domains & SSL tab → the SSL sub-tab. You'll see a list of certificates with their domain, type, status and expiry date.
Certificate statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Issued | The certificate is valid and in use for HTTPS |
| Pending | The certificate request has been received; issuance has not started yet |
| Validating | Let's Encrypt is currently verifying that the domain points at this hosting |
| Failed | Issuance did not succeed – the reason is shown when you click the error icon on that row |
| Expired | The certificate's validity period has passed |
The SSL certificate summary tile on the hosting's overview tab labels an issued certificate Valid – this is the same state as "Issued" in the certificate list, just shown in a condensed summary.
Requesting a certificate
The Request Certificate button opens a dialog with two modes:
- Domains on this hosting – a list of the hosting's domains and subdomains, showing whether a certificate already covers each one and whether its DNS points at this server; tick the ones the certificate should cover, or add extra names by hand. One certificate is issued covering every name you selected.
- Wildcard (DNS-01) – issues a certificate for
*.domain. It requires the domain to use CloudWeb's nameservers (see DNS records: what they are and how they work and wildcard subdomains) – otherwise validation fails.
If the hosting's primary domain has no certificate yet, a card right above the list offers an Issue certificate now button that starts issuance without opening the form.
Renewing and reissuing
An issued certificate (other than an uploaded custom one) has a Renew button next to it. A certificate in the Failed, Pending or Validating status has a Reissue Certificate button instead.
CloudWeb also renews certificates automatically without any action from you – renewal kicks in once a certificate has less than 30 days left before it expires.
After a request is submitted, the system keeps checking for up to 2 hours whether the domain has started pointing at this server – until it does, Let's Encrypt cannot verify ownership of the domain. If it still does not after 2 hours, the attempt is marked failed.
If issuance keeps failing over a longer period (for example, the domain never points at the hosting), automatic retries stop after 24 hours of continuous failure – this only applies to a domain that does not yet have any valid certificate; a certificate that is simply approaching expiry keeps being renewed on its normal schedule. You can always trigger issuance again by hand with the Reissue Certificate button.
Custom certificate
The Upload Custom button lets you upload your own SSL certificate – you provide the domain, the certificate and the private key in PEM format, plus an optional certificate chain. A custom certificate is not renewed automatically.
If a certificate did not get issued
The most common cause is that the domain was not pointing at this hosting's server at the time of issuance. Check the domain's DNS record (see Editing DNS records in the panel) and try again with the Reissue Certificate or Issue certificate now button.
Was this article helpful?
Your feedback helps us improve our documentation