This guide is aimed for those who have a Namecheap domain that uses BasicDNS or
PremiumDNS nameservers, or a third-party domain using FreeDNS, or PremiumDNS.
If you’ve found this guide, you most likely already have an SSL certificate
purchased and want to activate it. If not, let’s purchase one together.
Go to SSL Certificates, and click “Buy Now” under the SSL you want to purchase.
There are many different options, but for this guide, we’ll go with the default PositiveSSL.
Confirm the order and complete the payment.
Now that the SSL is purchased, we can proceed with activating it.
During the activation process, you will be required to submit a “Certificate Signing
Request,” or “CSR” for short. This has to be generated at the hosting server side normally.
You can ask your hosting company for it, or, as an alternative option,
the CSR can be generated using various online tools. We’ll use one of such tools: decoder.link.
At the tool page, switch to CSR generator.
Enter the required fields and hit “Generate.”
Here is your new CSR code. Along with it, the private key was generated. This key will
be required later for SSL installation, so you must save it somewhere on your computer,
for example, in a separate text file. This key contains sensitive information,
so make sure that you don’t share it with anyone except your hosting provider.
Now, let’s copy the CSR and return to the SSL activation window.
Paste the code and proceed to the next step.
Here we have to select the domain control validation method.
By creating a CNAME record in the DNS settings of the domain, we will prove our domain ownership and
the certification authority will be able to issue the SSL certificate. Hit “Next.”
Now we enter the administrative contact email – this is the email
the SSL certificate will be sent to after the domain control validation is completed.
The SSL activation is completed. Now it is pending domain control validation.
We are required to create a specific CNAME record in the DNS settings of the domain.
To retrieve the values for the record, click on this link in the yellow message bar.
Then, hit the drop-down next to the “Edit Methods” button. Click “Get Record.”
This pop-up window shows the CNAME record that has to be created.
Let’s keep this page open and go to “Dashboard” or “Domain List” in a separate window.
Click “Manage” next to the domain name. Switch to the “Advanced DNS” tab.
In the “HOST RECORDS” section, click “Add new record”. Select “CNAME record” as the
record type, and input the provided values into the corresponding fields.
When entering the “Host” value, make sure that you strip the domain name – the DNS
manager appends the domain name to the value by default automatically.
The “Target” values should be pasted as it is. The TTL value should be set to
the minimal value – 1 minute. Click the checkmark to save the record.
Now let’s get back to the certificate details
page. We need to double-check that our record is now visible online.
Click this link, paste the “Host” value, and perform the lookup.
The record is indeed visible now.
We can trigger its verification by clicking “Edit Methods” -> “Retry
Alt DCV” buttons. Wait for a couple of minutes and refresh the page.
The status has now changed to Issued. This means that the CNAME record has
been verified and our SSL is ready. Hit “Download Certificate” to obtain it.
Now that you have the SSL downloaded, forward it to your hosting provider
for further installation. Don’t forget to provide them with the private key as well.
If this guide helped you, please hit the like button. Should you have questions or
if you need additional guides, please let me know in the comments below.