Properly configure free SSL for domain on cPanel using Let's Encrypt SSL certificate

As I got around getting this website up finally in early 2020, I wanted to make sure that the domain I'll be using will be secured with an SSL certificate. My hosting provider does provide automated, free SSL certificates from within the cPanel but they were self-signed and the browser (Chrome) by default would complain about it. So I went to Let's Encrypt.

Let's Encrypt is the fantastic certificate authority that allows us to get valid SSL certificates for free. The certificates are valid for 4 months, which is a bit of a shame, but given the usefulness of the whole service, I think well worth it.

The certificates are issued by partners that work with Let's Encrypt. In my case, I stumbled upon SSL for Free. Their site is quite straightforward. However, as their main call-to-action's text box placeholder says "enter your website to secure", I was under the impression that you can enter one domain at a time - whether regular or wildcard.

However, the main point of this article is that you probably should specify multiple domains for your site. In my case I had to create a certificate for multiple domains - regular and wildcard: 2x2works.com and *.2x2works.com.

If you specify a single domain when starting the process on SSL for Free site (eg. 2x2works.com, like I did initially), you get a certificate valid for that domain and the www- version of it (so 2x2works.com and www.2x2works.com). Great until I wanted to have mail.2x2works.com secured too.

If you specify *.2x2works.com, you'll cover all the possible subdomains but not the non-www version - you don't get the https on non-www (i.e. 2x2works.com doesn't work). Bummer.

So the trick is to request multiple domains initially - one regular and the other wildcard. This way you get what you most likely want in the first place which would work without issues on cPanel (v.84.x in my case at least).

So go to SSL for Free and get your SSL certificate for free!

Resources

1. How To Get A Trusted SSL Certificate for FREE (Works 2020) for steps on dealing with cPanel configuration.