How to create a certificate signing request & install a SSL certificate on my domain?

To install an SSL certificate for your website, please submit a request to have one installed for your web hosting account. The SSL Certificate Generation process is a four-step process.

Part 1: Generate a private key for your domain.
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The first step in configuring an SSL certificate for your domain is to generate a private "key" for your domain in cPanel. The process is simple but it must be done in order for you to continue.

Step 1: Log into cPanel. To log into cPanel, go to http://yourdomain.com/cpanel/
(where yourdomain.com is replaced by your account domain name).

Step 2: Locate and click on the SSL/TLS menu link.

Step 3: On the right-menu, Click on the "Generate, view, upload, or delete your private keys." link.
(This link is normally the first option available on the screen.)

Step 4: Generate new Private Key for your domain. 
(This is an extremely simple procedure. Scroll down to the middle of the page and locate the section entitled Generate a New Private Key.)

You now have a Private Key for your domain. Save this in a text file on your computer with the name key.txt and can proceed to Part 2.


Part 2: Generate a CSR
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Follow the steps below to generate the CSR:

Step 1: Log into cPanel. To log into cPanel, go to http://yourdomain.com/cpanel/
(where yourdomain.com is replaced by your account domain name).

Step 2: Locate and click on the SSL Manager link. This link is normally found towards the bottom of the screen.

Step 3: On the right menu, click on the "Generate, view, or delete SSL certificate signing requests." link. 
(This is normally the middle link in a set of three available options.)

Step 4: Fill up the form "Generate a New Certificate Signing Request (CSR)" using the guide below:

  • Country: In this field, enter the two-character abbreviation of the country of your company. For example, the Canada would be abbreviated as "CA".
  • State: In this field, put the unabbreviated form of the State of your company/organization. For example, Ontario could not be entered here is "ON".
  • City: In this field, enter your City.
  • Company: In this field, put the name of your company/organization. If you are a single person, you can enter your name or brand-name.
  • Company Division: In this field, you may put a division related to the activities that this SSL-enabled website will be handling. 
  • Email: In this field, put the email address of the administrator of the website.
  • Pass Phrase: This is a special field that you should complete with a password for future management of the certificate. Please remember this password and type it carefully.

Step 5: Press the Generate button to generate the CSR.
After you've verified the details in the form and have clicked the Generate button, a CSR will be generated and displayed as well as sent to you by email.
You will see a page with the following heading:

Certificate Signing Request Generated! This will be followed by a text similar to the following:

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
MIICFzCCAYACAQAwgZ8xCzAJBgNVBAYTAlVTMQ4wDAYDVQQIEwVUZXhhczETMBEG
A1UEBxMKU3VnYXIgTGFuZDEXMBUGA1UEChMOYnVuZ2VlQ29kZSBsbGMxEDAOBgNV
BAsTB1N1cHBvcnQxGjAYBgNVBAMTEW15ZmFzdHN1cHBvcnQuY29tMSQwIgYJKoZI
hvcNAQkBFhVuaXlvZ2lAYnVuZ2VlY29kZS5jb20wgZ8wDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEBBQAD
gY0AMIGJAoGBANGAOSml+BjE2pXjQEZkq342W6+DkMLW/hp00SOF12oaUUHyvcH6
7B8glY2VfdgXrXMp4zm3DZw
lEYNIUwklAHngLl3BKun4y5Mmhd+/xE8c3+X0uNaP
0n7M0Npd+LjbfU45Rx1oNqGNOZTzmrOcqlbdKWm5X6q+AzPae85+jrglAgMBAAGg
NzAWBgkqhkiG9w0BCQcxCRMHamF5YW50aTAdBgkqhkiG9w0BCQIxEBMOYnVuZ2Vl
Q29kZSBsbGMwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEEBQADgYEAFM4LyeWoY3qGMzpwR0APVnIsUI4o
nF3kGiem7Yw/oRXOrBi7lXs7oR6UVJQN5J/JuCzq6jHq6kE96aJ/vljWpE1CmQ4n
0I+NTPYLb+6jgtNDicos8vWxXb7kTGbipYllm0hGTSxwIGpxSzJgR/zu8hQJatpv
kd1aNWvM7/m1fck=
-----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----

Save this in a text file on your computer with the name csr.txt as you will need it in Part 3, when you request an SSL certificate with the CSR.


Part 3: Request the SSL Certificate
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Now that you have the CSR, you can request an SSL Certificate from your preferred SSL certificate issuer. For validation/verification purposes, SSL issuers may ask for proof of personal or corporate identity (verify email address) before issuing the certificate. If you have ordered the SSL certificate with IndicHosts, you can check the 'SSL Certificate Configuration' email to go to the next step of the process or you can just raise a ticket and we will do the remaining steps for you.


Part 4: Install the SSL Certificate
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The certificate file is usually in the format of yourdomain.com.crt. To install it on your domain follow the steps below:


Step 1: Log into cPanel. To log into cPanel, go to http://yourdomain.com/cpanel/
(where yourdomain.com is replaced by your account domain name).

Step 2: Locate and click on the SSL/TLS menu link.

Step 3: On the right-menu, Click on the 'Manage SSL Sites' link

Step 4: Goto 'Install an SSL Site' and complete the form and submit to install the SSL Certificate.
You're done! If you navigate to https://yourdomain.com/, your website will show up and also be secure!


Note: At any step, if you let lost of face an issue, make a ticket with the csr.txt, key.txt and the SSL certificate issued to you. We will install the certificate for you. Remember, if you order the SSL Certificate from us, we will do all the steps outlined in this article for you (just raise a ticket).

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