How to Renew a Free 90-Day SSL Certificate (Shared Hosting)

Step 1 – Log in to ZeroSSL

1. Go to https://zerossl.com
2. Log in
3. Click Certificates
4. Select your expired certificate (yourdomain.com)
5. Click Renew

Step 2 – Domains

1. Ensure both are listed:
   • yourdomain.com
   • www.yourdomain.com
2. Do NOT select wildcard
3. Click Next Step

Step 3 – Validity

1. Select 90-Day SSL Certificate (Free)
2. Click Next Step

Step 4 – Add-Ons

1. Do NOT select any paid plans
2. Ignore subscription boxes
3. Click Next Step

Step 5 – CSR & Contact

1. Select Auto-Generate CSR
2. Choose your country
3. Click Next Step

Step 6 – Encryption

1. Leave RSA 2048
2. Click Next Step

Step 7 – Verify Domain

1. Click Verify Domains
2. Select HTTP File Upload
3. Download the verification file

Step 8 – Upload Verification File

1. Login to cPanel
2. Open File Manager
3. Navigate to:
   • /public_html/ (main domain)
   • /yourdomain.com/ (addon domain)
4. Create folders if needed:

   /.well-known/pki-validation/

5. Upload the .txt file
6. Test in browser:

   http://yourdomain.com/.well-known/pki-validation/filename.txt

7. Return to ZeroSSL and click Verify

Step 9 – Install Certificate

1. Download the certificate ZIP
2. Extract files:

   certificate.crt
   private.key
   ca_bundle.crt
         

3. In cPanel go to:

   SSL/TLS → Manage SSL Sites

4. Select yourdomain.com
5. Paste each file into its matching field:
   • CRT → certificate.crt
   • KEY → private.key
   • CABUNDLE → ca_bundle.crt
6. Click Install Certificate

Step 10 – Confirm

https://yourdomain.com
https://www.yourdomain.com
  

Renew every 90 days.