How do I check and activate the Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate on LWS?

An SSL certificate lets you display your site with an address starting with https://. [PERSON_NAME] site, for example when a form is submitted or a payment is made.

It is important to understand that an SSL certificate does not secure the site itself : it does not fix vulnerabilities in the code, does not prevent the hacking of a vulnerable site, and does not guarantee that the site owner is legitimate. A fraudulent site can also use a valid SSL certificate.

On LWS Panel hosting, the free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate is generally activated automatically. This help article explains how to check its status, how to restart it if necessary, and what to check if HTTPS is still not working.

Before you begin

The Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate can only work if the domain correctly points to the relevant hosting account.

Before re-enabling SSL, check the following points if your site is not yet accessible over HTTPS:

• the domain name must point to the IP address of your LWS hosting account;
• the address www.votredomaine.fr must point to the same hosting account if you also want to secure the www version;
• if an IPv6 record is present in your DNS zone, it must point to the correct IPv6 address of the hosting account;
• if your DNS zone is not managed at LWS, the corrections must be made through the provider that manages your DNS.

Check whether the SSL certificate is already active

Before making any changes, test your site in a browser:

1. Open a new browsing window.
2. Enter your site address with https://, for example:
   https://votredomaine.fr

3. Also test the address with www if you use it:
   https://www.votredomaine.fr

If the site displays correctly over HTTPS, the certificate is already functional. You can then enable an automatic redirect to HTTPS if you want all visitors to be directed to the secure version of the site.

Enable or restart the SSL certificate from LWS Panel

If the certificate is not active, you can check its status from your LWS customer area.

1. Log in to your LWS customer area.
2. Click Manage next to the relevant domain or hosting account.
3. In the Domain management section for domain plans or Security for other hosting plans, click SSL.
   
4. Select Enable on the first line [PERSON_NAME] SSL Service (1).
   
5. Then click the Validate button.

Check that everything works

Once the certificate has been enabled or restarted and after waiting about fifteen minutes for the configuration to propagate, check again:

• https://votredomaine.fr
• https://www.votredomaine.fr, if you use the www

The site should open without a security warning.

If HTTPS works only without www, or only with www, the problem often comes from a different DNS pointing between the main domain and the www record.

After activating the certificate

The SSL certificate allows the site to be accessible over HTTPS, but it does not always automatically force visitors to use this secure version.

To finalize the configuration, you can then:

• enable automatic redirection from http:// to https://;
• enable HSTS if you want to strengthen HTTPS usage;
• fix any mixed content issues if some images or resources are still loading over HTTP.

Common problems

My site still shows “Not secure”

First check [PERSON_NAME] site with https:// and not http://.

If the site works over HTTPS but visitors still arrive on the non-secure version, enable automatic redirection to HTTPS.

If the browser displays a certificate warning, check the DNS pointing for the domain, the www and the IPv6.

The SSL certificate does not activate

The most common case is incorrect domain pointing. Check that the domain points to the IP address of your LWS hosting account.

If your domain uses an external DNS zone, the correction must be made through the service that currently manages the domain’s DNS.

HTTPS works without www, but not with www

The www record probably does not point to the same hosting account as the main domain.

In the domain’s DNS zone, check that www points to the relevant LWS hosting account. After correcting it, wait for DNS propagation to finish, then test the HTTPS address again.

The domain points correctly, but SSL still does not work

If you have just modified the DNS zone, wait for propagation to finish. The certificate can only be generated correctly when the domain actually points to the LWS hosting account.

You can then go back to the SSL section of LWS Panel and restart the certificate activation.

I want to install a paid SSL certificate

The installation of a paid certificate is no longer offered on LWS Panel.

To use a custom paid SSL certificate, you must use a cPanel hosting account or a VPS, then follow the procedure adapted to that environment.