NEWS & BLOG

Introduction

This page describes the steps necessary for us to procure and install an SSL certificate on a website on your behalf.

Note that the certificate is issued by a Certificate Authority who, amongst other things, will want to verify that the domain owner approves the certificate being issued. They will typically do this by sending an email to a selected address at the domain in question.

Process

1. You must determine which domain names you need the certificate for. One certificate will cover the name with and without the “www”, so the same certificate can be used for www.example.com and example.com. However, if your website also responds to other names, such as example.net, be sure to make that clear when you request the certificate.
2. If you need a certificate for multiple domain names as outlined above, choose one domain to be the “primary” domain and all others to be “secondary”.
3. Ensure that you can receive mail to at least one of the following addresses at the primary domain (example.com is used as an example here). If you need help with this, contact us:
   • admin@example.com
   • administrator@example.com
   • hostmaster@example.com
   • postmaster@example.com
   • webmaster@example.com
4. Create a support ticket with us and ensure you include the following information:
   • the name of the primary domain
   • whether any secondary domains are required
   • the period of validity of the certificate in years
   • which of the above email addresses the verification mail should be sent to. Note: this must be one of the addresses above at the primary domain.
5. We will send a test mail to the selected address.
6. Once you have responded to the test mail, we’ll place the order.
7. You will then receive a mail from the Certificate Authority which you must respond to (typically by clicking on a link in the email).
8. Once we receive the certificate, we’ll install it on your server.

Timing

From the receipt of a reply to the test mail in step 5 above, it typically takes 1-2 working days to procure and install the certificate.

In our experience, the biggest delay in the process is step 7 above, which is why we send a test email first.

Cost

The cost depends on a number of factors. If you’d like a quote first, simply ensure that your support ticket makes it clear that you’d like a quote.