Installing an SSL Certificate

Every Maxinames shared hosting plan includes free, auto-renewing SSL certificates from Let's Encrypt. For most sites, you do not need to do anything — SSL installs itself the moment your domain points at the server. This guide covers the automatic flow and what to do if you need to install a paid certificate manually.

Automatic SSL (Let's Encrypt)

The cPanel AutoSSL service issues a free certificate as soon as your domain resolves to the server. To trigger it manually:

1. Sign in to cPanel.
2. Open Security → SSL/TLS Status.
3. Tick the boxes next to the domains you want to secure.
4. Click Run AutoSSL.

Within a few minutes, the certificate is issued and installed. Visit your site with https:// to confirm the padlock appears.

Force HTTPS for visitors

To redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS:

1. Open Domains in cPanel.
2. Toggle Force HTTPS Redirect for the relevant domain.

Visitors typing your bare domain are now sent to the secure version automatically.

Install a paid certificate manually

If you bought a certificate elsewhere (DigiCert, Sectigo, etc.), install it via cPanel:

1. Open Security → SSL/TLS, then Manage SSL sites.
2. Choose the domain.
3. Paste the certificate, private key, and CA bundle into the relevant fields.
4. Click Install Certificate.

If you do not have the private key handy, generate it under Generate, view, upload, or delete SSL keys first, then use it to create a CSR for the certificate authority.

Verify the install

Visit your site with https:// in the URL and click the padlock. You should see your domain listed and the certificate valid for the issued period. For a deeper check, run SSL Labs against your domain.

For background on what SSL actually does, see our blog post What Is an SSL Certificate?.