How to Install an SSL Certificate on CWP (CentOS Web Panel)?

A website is able to use an SSL certificate to create a secure connection between the server and the visiting browser. An SSL certificate creates a secure connection between the server and any visitor who connects to your site via HTTPS.

An SSL certificate will protect any data shared between the two systems (such as user login credentials, credit card/debit card data, customer personal data) as well as increase the trustworthiness of your site and improve your site’s overall search engine ranking.

Once you install the SSL certificate on your website, users will see the padlock icon in the browser address bar when visiting your website. The padlock icon indicates that your site is secure and that any shared data is protected.

This guide explains how to install an SSL certificate on CWP step by step, including CSR generation, certificate installation, validation, and SSL testing.

Prerequisities

Before you can begin the installation process of an SSL Certificate, ensure the following prerequisites are completed:

• Access to the CWP Admin Panel
• Your SSL (CRT) file and Key files
• The private key was created while generating the CSR
• Your CA Bundle (Intermediate Certificate)
• Your domain points correctly to the server

Your SSL certificate has been issued and activated by the Certificate Authority.

If you have any outstanding CSR Generation or Private Key Files, please follow your CSR generation guide before continuing with this guide on installing your certificates.

How To Generate a CSR Using CWP?

If you already have your SSL files, just skip to the installation of the SSL certificate.

Step 1: Begin CSR

• Log in to the CWP admin control panel as root
• On the left side of the menu, select Apache Settings >  SSL Certificate
• Click on the CSR Generate tab

Step 2: Fill in your Info

To fill out your certificate request, start by filling in the fields as illustrated below:

• Common Name / Domain – Enter the FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) that you want to secure with the certificate you are creating. If you are using a wildcard certificate, you will want to use an asterisk in front of your FQDN. For example, *.yourdomain.com.
• Country Name (Code) – Enter the two-letter ISO code of the country where you reside.
• State or Province Name – Enter the name of your state or province.
• City Name – Enter your city or locality. Abbreviations should NOT be used in this field.
• Organization Name – Enter the full legal name of the company you represent; if you are not representing a company, enter “NA” (Not Available).
• Organisational Unit Name – This field is no longer being used and can be left blank.
• Email Address – Leave this blank as email is no longer used as a method of validating your certificate by CAs.
• Valid Days (Default value of 365 days) – The default value will be entered as the number 365, but this does not change the validity period of the certificate you will be using.
• Key Size – Select ‘2048b’ for key size (2048b).  You’ll find it in the dropdown box on the right.

Step 3. Retrieve the CSR

• Once you have completed the CSR form, select the Generate button on the form.
• The system will then create two files: your CSR code and the private key. The path for your CSR is /etc/pki/tls/certs/ and will end with a .csr (for example, mydomain.csr).
• The next step is to open the CSR (mydomain.csr) in a text editor, and copy the entire contents into your SSL order form. You can view your private key by clicking the Private Key tab on your CWP dashboard. Your private key file will also be located in /etc/pki/tls/private.

Steps for SSL Certificate Installation on CentOS Web Panel

Step 1: Access Your CWP Admin Dashboard

• Once logged into your CWP admin dashboard.
• From the left-hand navigation, select Apache Settings.

Step 2: Open Your SSL Certificates

• In the Apache Settings, select SSL Certificates
• Then, open the Manual Installation Tab.

Step 3: Select Your Domain

• From the drop-down box next to Domain, select the domain you wish to secure.
• Once you have selected the domain, CWP will automatically retrieve the private key that was created with your CSR.

Step 4: Pasting Your SSL Certificate

• Open the SSL Certificate (.crt file) in a text editor.
• Select and copy all of the content in the certificate, including:

—–BEGIN CERTIFICATE—–
—–END CERTIFICATE—–

• Paste the code into the Certificate field inside CWP.

Step 5: Add the Private Key

• Paste your private key into the corresponding field.
• The private key should include:

—–BEGIN PRIVATE KEY—–
—–END PRIVATE KEY—–

• Make sure the Private Key you are using is the same one generated with the original CSR Request.
• If the CSR was automatically created by CWP, when selecting your Domain, you will see the Private Key filled in automatically.
• If the Private Key isn’t filled in automatically, you can locate it manually using your file manager at: File Manager >> etc >> pki >> tls >> private

Step 6: Copy and paste the CA Bundle:

• After copying your CA Bundle (also known as Intermediate Certificates), paste it into the Certificate Authority field. The CA Bundle links your Certificate to the Trusted Root Certificate Authority, thus helping you avoid warnings that your browser might give you about trusting a Certificate.
• If you do not have a CA Bundle in a separate file, you may generate one by going into CWP and selecting Generate Intermediate Certificates.

Step 7: Verify your SSL Certificate:

Before saving your SSL Certificate installation, click on Validate Certificate to check:

• You have entered a matching Private Key with your Certificate.
• Your Certificate Chain has been configured correctly.

This also helps you avoid any mismatch errors associated with the SSL Certificate(s).

Step 8: Save

• Once you have verified your SSL Certificate installation.
• Click on Save to save your SSL Certificate installation.

Congratulations! Your SSL Certificate is now installed in CWP.

Conclusion

By following the above steps, you can generate a CSR, verify your SSL Certificate installation, and successfully install your SSL Certificate to your server.

If you need assistance with SSL Certificate installation/configuration or troubleshooting, please contact our Support Department to help get you the best price for your SSL Certificates.