Get a free SSL certificate from Let's Encrypt

What is Let's Encrypt?

SSL is a lock for the link between a visitor and your site. A Certificate Authority (CA) is a trusted company that hands out SSL certificates. Let's Encrypt is a free CA run as a non-profit. Its certificates are trusted by all major browsers. They last 90 days, so they must be renewed. Most tools renew them for you.

Before you start

• You own a domain name.
• The domain points to your hosting. DNS is the phone book that connects the name to the server. It must be set correctly.
• Your site opens on plain http:// first.

Way 1: through cPanel (easiest)

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. Open SSL/TLS Status.
3. Find your domain in the list.
4. Click Run AutoSSL. This asks for a free certificate and installs it.
5. Wait a few minutes. A green padlock icon appears next to the domain.

Whether AutoSSL uses Let's Encrypt depends on the server setup. Ask Hostvento support which provider your plan uses.

Way 2: on your own VPS with Certbot

This way needs root access, so it is for VPS or dedicated server owners. Certbot is a free tool that gets and renews the certificate for you.

1. Log in to your server over SSH.
2. Install Certbot with your system's package manager. For example on Ubuntu with Apache:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache

This installs Certbot and its Apache helper.

3. Run Certbot for your domain:

   

sudo certbot --apache -d example.com -d www.example.com

This gets a certificate for both names and sets up Apache to use it.

4. Answer the questions. Choose the option to redirect http to https.
5. Test the renewal:

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

This pretends to renew, so you know automatic renewal works.

Quick recap

• Let's Encrypt gives free, trusted certificates that last 90 days.
• On cPanel, use SSL/TLS Status and Run AutoSSL.
• On a VPS, use Certbot.
• Make sure the domain points to your server first.