SSL Cafe

Practical guidance for the people behind the web.

UNDERSTAND · DIAGNOSE · MAINTAIN

New to the subject? Start with a clear path through HTTPS.

Find your starting point

From the reading room

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Automation

A practical certificate renewal plan

Build a renewal process that covers ownership, validation, installation and the certificate visitors actually receive.

4 min read /
Guides

Choosing a certificate for your website

Choose certificate management around your hostnames, renewal needs and support requirements, with free options treated fairly.

4 min read /
Guides

HTTPS, TLS and certificates: a practical map

Follow an HTTPS connection from browser to server, and see what certificates protect, what they do not prove, and who keeps each part working.

3 min read /

Find your next useful read.

Follow your question into the right part of the site.

01

Learn the moving parts.

HTTPS, certificates and the decisions behind a working connection.

02

Get to the root of a warning.

Expired certificates, hostname mismatches and chains that don't connect.

03

Keep the next renewal on track.

ACME, ownership and the checks between issuance and deployment.

The maintenance desk

Good routines make
the next renewal clearer.

Know what you manage, understand what is automated and verify what visitors receive. Start with a practical renewal plan.

Build your renewal plan
THE RENEWAL LOOP
  1. Know the ownerHostnames, responsibilities and renewal paths.
  2. Validate & issueUnderstand what ACME takes care of.
  3. Deploy & verifyCheck the public connection, at every endpoint.