Installing Free SSL in DirectAdmin

DirectAdmin supports free SSL certificates through Let's Encrypt. These certificates encrypt traffic between your visitors and your website, and they renew automatically.

What Is Let's Encrypt?

Let's Encrypt is a free, automated certificate authority that provides Domain Validated (DV) SSL certificates. These certificates:

Are trusted by all major browsers
Renew automatically every 60-90 days
Support both single domains and wildcards
Are completely free

Installing Let's Encrypt SSL

Step 1: Access SSL Management

Log in to DirectAdmin
Navigate to Account Manager > SSL Certificates
Or click Domain Setup > select your domain > SSL

Step 2: Request a Free Certificate

Select Free & automatic certificate from Let's Encrypt
Check the boxes for the domains to include:
- yourdomain.com
- www.yourdomain.com
- mail.yourdomain.com (optional, for email SSL)
Click Save or Request Certificate

Step 3: Wait for Validation

Let's Encrypt validates your domain automatically via HTTP challenge. This usually takes 1-2 minutes.

Step 4: Verify Installation

Visit https://yourdomain.com in your browser
Click the padlock icon in the address bar
Verify the certificate is issued by "Let's Encrypt"

Forcing HTTPS

After installing SSL, redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS:

Method 1: Via DirectAdmin

Go to Domain Setup > select your domain
Enable Force SSL with HTTPS redirect
Save

Method 2: Via .htaccess

Add this to the top of your .htaccess file:

apache

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

Auto-Renewal

Let's Encrypt certificates renew automatically. DirectAdmin handles the renewal process 30 days before expiry. You do not need to do anything.

If auto-renewal fails:

Check that your domain still points to the server
Ensure port 80 is accessible (required for HTTP validation)
Go to SSL Certificates in DirectAdmin and click Renew manually

Installing a Purchased SSL Certificate

If you have a commercial SSL certificate:

Go to SSL Certificates in DirectAdmin
Select Paste a pre-generated certificate and key
Paste your:
- Certificate (CRT)
- Private Key (KEY)
- CA Bundle (intermediate certificates)
Click Save

Troubleshooting

Certificate Not Issuing

Ensure your domain DNS points to the hosting server
Check that no .htaccess rules block the .well-known/acme-challenge/ directory
Try removing and re-requesting the certificate

Browser Shows "Not Secure"

Mixed content: some resources load via HTTP instead of HTTPS
Update all URLs in your CMS to use https://
For WordPress: go to Settings > General and change both URLs to https://

SSL Certificate Expired

Auto-renewal may have failed — manually renew in DirectAdmin
Check domain DNS is still pointing to the server
Contact support if the issue persists

Need help? Contact our support team at [email protected] or open a ticket at https://domainindia.com/support.