How to Renew SSL Certificate: A Beginner-Friendly Approach

If you are a website owner, then you must already be aware of the importance of keeping your online presence secure using SSL certificates. They play an important role in securing the connection between your website and its visitors and instantly boost your site’s credibility.

However, like most certificates, SSL certificates come with expiration dates, and when they expire, your site’s security can be compromised. Renewing your SSL certificate before it expires is essential to maintain trust and security for your website visitors. In this beginner-friendly guide, we will explain the consequences of having an expired SSL certificate, take you through the renewal of your SSL certificate, and finally give you the best practices for SSL certificate management.

How to Recognize SSL Certificate Expiration?

Before diving into the renewal process, it’s important to know when your SSL certificate is about to expire. The maximum validity period of SSL certificates is 13 months depending on the provider or the plan type you choose. But, when the expiration date nears, you will want to be prepared to renew the certificate before the expiration date to avoid any hindrance to your website’s security.

How to Identify Expiration Dates

There are several ways to check the expiration date of your SSL certificate:

Method 1: Browser Information

You can check that you have a secure connection from the browsers by clicking the tune icon symbol in the address bar of your website.

After you click on the tune icon, click “Connection is secure”. 

Now click on “Certificate is valid” to view the SSL certificate details.

This will display the details of your SSL certificate including its expiry date.

Note: This method is based on Chrome browser, there are variations for the other browser.

Method 2: From Your SSL Certificate Provider

Almost all SSL certificate providers and hosting platforms make it easy to see your certificate’s expiration date directly on their dashboards.

Method 3: Online Tools

Many online SSL checker tools exist that will scan your website and give you information about your SSL certificate, such as when it expires.

What Are the Consequences of Expired SSL Certificates?

If your SSL certificate expires and isn’t renewed on time, several issues can arise:

1. Loss of User Trust: Users will be presented with a security warning that your website is not secure. This can cause them to hesitate to keep browsing your site, resulting in lower traffic and trust.

   

   For instance, if your certificate expires and a visitor tries to access your payment page, they’ll likely see a ‘Your connection is not private’ warning, which may cause them to abandon their purchase.

2. Loss of Data Encryption: SSL certificates encrypt sensitive data such as login credentials, payment information, and personal details. Without a valid SSL certificate, malicious actors could intercept this data, leading to potential data breaches.
3. SEO Ranking Impact: Secure websites are the priority for search engines like Google. Lack of an SSL certificate will also harm your search engine ranking and ultimately result in less visibility.
4. Compliance Issues:  Most businesses with significant PII data (Personally Identifiable Information) in their database must keep an active SSL certificate to comply with regulatory and compliance standards like PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).
5. Higher Risk of Cyberattacks: Expired SSL certificates often make your site vulnerable to cyberattacks, such as man-in-the-middle attacks, phishing, or malware injection. Malicious actors can leverage this opportunity to gain unauthorized access to critical data or compromise your website’s security.

What are the Steps to Renew an SSL Certificate?

If you are a beginner the thought of renewing your SSL certificate may sound technically tedious, but it’s a very simple process. Let’s see how you can keep your website safe and secure.

1. Generate a New Certificate Signing Request (CSR)

   You have to generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) and provide a block of encoded text to SSL Certificate provider so that they can generate a new SSL certificate for your domain. This contains the fully qualified domain name, locality, organization details, and website public key.

   If you are using cPanel and want to generate a CSR for cPanel, login and navigate to SSL/TLS manager. Select “Generate, view, or delete SSL certificate signing request.” Fill out the required fields: domain, company info, and email. Make sure the key type is RSA (2048-bit). Submit to generate the CSR and the encoded text file is ready.

2. Purchase or Request SSL Renewal

   If you are a new customer and want to renew the certificate with CheapSSLShop, you can select the product as per your requirement and proceed with the purchase.

   We offer a wide range of cheap SSL certificates from trusted brands, including:

   Brands	Type	Warranty	Starts at
   ClickSSL	DV	USD $10,000	$3.99/yr
   Essential SSL	DV	USD $10,000	$5.99/yr
   PositiveSSL	DV	USD $10,000	$7.99/yr
   RapidSSL	DV	USD $10,000	$10.00/yr
   Sectigo	DV	USD $500,000	$25.00/yr
   Comodo	DV	USD $250,000	$25.00/yr
   Thawte	DV	USD $500,000	$32.00/yr
   GeoTrust	DV	USD $250,000	$36.00/yr
   GlobalSign	DV	USD $10,000	$88.00/yr
   DigiCert	OV	USD $1,750,000	$320.00/yr

   If you have already purchased SSL for multiple years, you should only request SSL renewal. Log in to your SSL provider account and follow these steps:

   • Navigate to your SSL certificate management page: This will usually be under “Certificates” or “SSL/TLS” settings.
   • Choose the option to renew your SSL certificate: This may appear as “Renew SSL” or something similar.
   • Enter your CSR: Use the CSR you generated in a previous step and paste it into the appropriate field.
   • Confirm your domain ownership: Certificate authorities require you to prove your domain ownership before issuing the new certificate.

3. Complete Domain Validation

   Your certificate authority (CA) may use different ways to perform domain validation based on the type of SSL certificate that you renew. The most common validation methods are:

   • Email Validation: The administrative contact of the domain receives an email from the CA. To renew, you will have to click a link in the email.
   • DNS Validation: You may be asked to add a specific DNS record to your domain’s DNS settings to prove that you are the owner.
   • File Validation: Some providers require you to upload a file to your website’s root directory for validation. However, it’s important to note that wildcard SSL certificates do not support file validation. In such cases, you may need to use alternative validation methods, such as DNS or email-based validation, to complete the process.

4. Download and Install the Renewed Certificate

   After the renewal is completed, you can download your new SSL certificate from your SSL provider’s dashboard. Follow these steps to install it:

   • Log in to your hosting account: Go to the control panel of the hosting provider or the SSL/TLS management page.
   • Upload the certificate: Your hosting provider will provide instructions on how to upload and install the new SSL certificate to your web server.
   • Restart the web server: After you have uploaded the new certificate, restart your web server to ensure the changes take effect.

5. Test the Installation

   Once you’ve installed your renewed SSL certificate, you need to test it to confirm that it is working properly. To verify that your SSL is installed properly, and valid, you can use online SSL testing tools such as SSL Lab’s SSL Server Test or any other SSL Checker.

6. Update Expiry Information

   Make sure and update your internal records with the expiration date of the new SSL certificate. It will help you stay organized when you renew your certificate next time.

7. Revoke the Old Certificate

   Once your new SSL is installed correctly and working, you should revoke the old certificate so that there is no confusion in the future and it is not used anymore. This is an optional but recommended step, particularly if you have sensitive information in your old certificate. Revoking the old certificate eliminates the risk of being compromised or misused, further enhancing your website’s security.

Best Practices for SSL Certificate Management

Renewing your SSL certificate is just one part of effective certificate management. Following the best practices will help you stay on top of SSL management and avoid issues.

1. Monitoring SSL Expiry Dates
   Calendar reminders or certificate management tools can be set up with SSL expiration dates as reminders. Many SSL providers will send you auto-renewal reminders notifying you of your SSL certificate’s upcoming expiration date, allowing you to renew it in time and maintain continuous SSL encryption for your website.
2. Automating SSL Renewals
   Automating the renewal process helps you from forgetting to renew your SSL certificate. Certificate authorities also have automated SSL renewals, and API access to automate the process within your organization. Many web hosting companies also have tools to automatically renew and install SSLs for you. This is best for those with large sites or sites with many subdomains.

Conclusion

Renewing your SSL certificate is vital to keep your website secure, protect user data, and maintain your online credibility. Using the simple steps outlined in this guide will help you with your SSL certificate renewal process going smoothly. Implementing best practices like monitoring SSL certificate expiry dates and automating renewal also makes SSL certificate management much easier in the long term. A valid SSL certificate isn’t just about the security of the connection between your website and the user, but rather it’s about building trust with your users and keeping your online presence credible.

FAQs

How often do SSL certificates need to be renewed?

SSL certificates typically need to be renewed every year (398 days). It’s important to monitor the expiration date and renew the certificate before it expires to enjoy uninterrupted security.

Why do SSL Certificates Expire?

SSL certificates expire to improve security so that the encrypted communications remain accurate and up-to-date. Regular expiration cycles force organizations to update and renew certificates, making sure they use the latest cryptographic standards and practices. It reduces the risk of security vulnerabilities, such as outdated encryption algorithms or key compromises.

Do I need a new CSR when renewing SSL?

Yes, a new Certificate Signing Request (CSR) is recommended when renewing an SSL certificate. Generating a new CSR helps assure that the renewal uses the latest encryption algorithms and key pairs for improved security.

Do I need to keep the same certificate when renewing SSL?

No, it is not necessary to keep the same certificate when renewing. While you can renew the existing certificate type, you also have the flexibility to upgrade or switch to a different type of SSL certificate during the renewal process. For example, if you are using a single domain SSL certificate and want to upgrade your cert with any low-cost wildcard SSL or Multi-domain SSL, you can do it.

Can I change the Certificate Authorities when I renew?

Yes, you can! If you want to switch with any other CA, you have to select the desired certificate authority at renewal time. CheapSSLShop support team will guide you in this.