Setting up secure sites via WHM can often be confusing but is also a requirement for encrypted transactions made on security-conscious websites and applications. We here at HorizonIQ hope to break this process down into 10 easy steps!

Certificate and Signing Request

1) For your certificate authority to generate you an SSL Certificate, you will most likely need to generate what is called a Certificate & Signing Request.

2) Load up the Cpanel/WHM login screen via your web browser. In the address bar enter your servers IP address or domain followed by the port number for Cpanel/WHM access, port number 2087.

Which should look something like this: http://123.456.123.456:2087 or this http://domain.com:2087.

3) Your username and password will be the username “root” and your password will be the same as your root password for your server.

4) Once you have entered your username and password and you click login or OK, you will be brought to the main WHM page.

5) From this page you will click “SSL/TLS”.

6) This will bring you to a new page Main >> SSL/TLS.

7) From here you will click Generate a SSL Certificate and Signing Request.

8) Make sure to fill in all of the fields completely.

9) For the password field you can generate a password or use your own. Make sure to remember this password. Once you are done filling in the required information click create.

10) On the next page it will give you a Certificate Request, a Certificate, and a signing key, these will also be emailed to you at the address specified. Your certificate authority will require these pieces of information to be submitted to them in order for them to generate a SSL Certificate for you to install.

The steps involved in installing an SSL Certificate on a server with CPanel/WHM are as follows:

1) Make sure you have your SSL Certificate from your certificate authority available.

2) Load up the Cpanel/WHM login screen via your web browser, in the address bar enter your servers IP address or domain followed by the port number for Cpanel/WHM access, port number 2087.

Which should look something like this http://123.456.123.456:2087 or this http://domain.com:2087.

3) Your username and password will be the username “root” and your password will be the same as your root password for your server.

4) Once you have entered your username and password and you click login or OK, you will be brought to the main WHM page.

5) From this page you will click “SSL/TLS”.

6) This will bring you to a new page Main >> SSL/TLS.

7) Click the icon labeled “Install a SSL Certificate and Setup the Domain”.

8) On this page you will paste your .crt into the box at the top and your .key into the center box, then click submit.

9) Once you do this the screen will change again, and will display a message similar to:

Results of your request

Attempting to verify your certificate….. Certificate verification passed!

Verifcation Result [/C=US/ST=TX/L=CHICAGO/O=Anne Onymous/OU=AO/CN=www.domain.com/

emailAddress=user@domain.com lookup:self signed certificate OK]

The Certificate for the domain www.domain.com was installed on the ip 123.456.123.456.

Finished Install Process..

10) At this time the certificate is done being installed and you should now be able to access your domain using a secure connection via https.