How to Get HTTPS for My Website in Nigeria
HTTPS is an acronym for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It’s a combination of Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS). SSL works by using a public key to encrypt data transferred over its network, while TLS is an authentication and security protocol widely implemented in browsers and web servers. Although most web browsers support SSL, TLS is the current standard as it contains more features with a more advanced algorithm.
To get HTTPS for your website means you are looking to get an SSL or TLS certificate installed on your website. Now there are different ways through which you can obtain these certificates:
- Certificate Authorities (CAs) – Purchase from Commercial CAs, Free SSL/TLS Certificates
- Hosting Providers
- SSL Resellers
- Wildcard Certificates
- Multi-Domain (SAN) Certificates
- Extended Validation EV Certificates
- Self-Signed Certificates
- ACME Protocols
When researching for these certificates, you want to assume that all sources have the same security strength unless it’s being specified from the platform you are downloading or purchasing from. In subsequent writing, we will outline the step-by-step guides on how to install an SSL certificate for your site.
How to Install SSL/TLS from cPanel
Before beginning this process, you want to already have the certificate downloaded. It usually comes in the form of a *.key and *.crt file format, if you downloaded a zip file, you will want to extract it to make sure the file is in a recallable folder. However, if you downloaded a *.pem file, or your certificate is in text format, there will be an extra step below
- Log into your cPanel
- Locate the SSL/TLS manager by navigating through Websites & Domains >> SSL/TLS Certificates
- Proceed further to Manage SSL sites >> SSL/TLS Certificate
- Select the domain you want the certificate to be affected in
- Scroll down to the “Upload the certificate files” section and upload your *key or *crt file
- In a case where you downloaded a *.pem file, you will now have to upload it twice
- If you stored your certificate as text, you will want to use the “Upload as text” section.
- After you are done, a list of your newly uploaded certificates will be available in the repository. You can find it by navigating through Websites & Domains >> SSL/TLS Certificates.
- Now navigate through Websites & Domains >> Hosting Settings >> select SSL/TLS Support checkbox
- Now select the certificate you just uploaded and click “OK”
Next time you try visiting your site without a prefix, “https://” will automatically be added to the page that is loaded.
At modewebhost, we offer affordable and reliable web development, web hosting and domain registration services and all our hosting plans comes with free SSL certificates. Visit www.modewebhost.com.ng to get started with your online business journey.
