Using Third Party SSL Certificate in cPanel

Reclaim offers several ways to work with SSL certificates within your Shared Hosting account. Reclaim offers free SSL certificates for all users through AutoSSL and Let's Encrypt at no extra cost to the user. 

There are some instances where a user may want to purchase a different SSL certificate: some SSL certificates can last a full year before renewing, for example, or perhaps the user's institution has policies in place that requires a specific SSL certificates. This article will walk you through setting up a custom SSL certificate within Shared Hosting's cPanel environment.

If you're working with an environment on Reclaim Cloud, please follow this Reclaim Cloud Guide.

 

Obtain SSL Certificate

The first step is to purchase the SSL certificate that works for you. There are tons of companies that offer them, or your Institution may provide you with a specific certificate directly. There are a few files you need when working with the SSL certificates that we'll go over next.

 

Files

Once you obtain the SSL Certificate, you'll be provided with a bunch of files. Here's an example of what that might look like: 

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SSL Certificate File

The main file you'll need is the .crt.pem file. This file contains the certificate cPanel will use to recognize after it's uploaded. 

Key File

The second file you'll need is the .key.pem.withoutpassword file. This allows the SSL certificate issuing company to authenticate with the server on Reclaim Hosting. 

 

cPanel

Next, you'll need to log into your cPanel and navigate to the Security > SSL/TLS section. This is where we will need upload and install the SSL certificate.

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Once you're in the SSL/TLS section, select the link to Generate, view, upload, or delete SSL certificates.

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Uploading SSL Files

On the next page, scroll down to the Upload a New Certificate section. Click Upload Certificate.

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Browse SSL Certificate files and select the domainname.crt.pem file.

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Generating the CSR

Once you've got the certificate uploaded, you'll want to generate a CSR for the domain name. Navigate back into the SSL/TLS section. Then click the link to Generate, view, or delete SSL certificate signing requests.

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Fill in the prompted fields for Domains, City, State, Country and Company.

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Scroll down to the bottom page and click 'Generate' to create the CSR. From there, scroll up to the top of the page, and click 'Edit' next to the CSR you are working with. 

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Copy/Paste the 'Encoded Key' into a plain text document. This can be sent to the company where you purchased the SSL certificate.screencapture-vip1-reclaimhosting-2083-cpsess5963871132-frontend-paper-lantern-ssl-viewcsr-html-2022-05-17-15_39_32.png

 

Installing the Certificate on the Domain

Lastly, you'll need to install the SSL certificate on the domain name. Back in the SSL/TLS section click on the link for Generate, view, upload, or delete SSL certificates.

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Scroll to the particular SSL certificate uploaded and Click Install.

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That's all! You should see the SSL lock within your browser once the SSL certificate is installed. 

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