Set Up: Installing a pre-existing third-party SSL certificate in cPanel

NOTE: This article is for users who has a pre-existing SSL certificate from a third-party certificate authority and would like to install it on their Doteasy hosting account.

If you do not have an SSL Certificate yet, you can purchase one for your Doteasy Unlimited Hosting plan or upgrade to the Doteasy Business Hosting plan. SSL Installation is included free of charge for either options.

What you need

If you are installing a pre-existing third-party SSL certificate onto your Doteasy account, you need to make sure you have the following information:

1. The SSL certificate. This will be a block of encrypted text. It should say --BEGIN CERTIFICATE— at the top. Copy or download the entire certificate, including the beginning and ending text. If you're downloading the raw file, it will end with .crt. 
2. The private key. This will be a block of encrypted text. It should say -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY----- at the top. Copy or download the entire private key, including the beginning and ending text. If you are downloading the raw file, it will end with .key.
3. CA/ Chain Certificate – You may also find up to three chain certificates (or CA certificates) with your SSL certificate. You will need to copy or download all these chain certificates. 
4. The server types must match. You need to make sure you are using an Apache version of your certificate. If your previous server was also an Apache server, then you can simply copy the existing certificate to your Doteasy account. However, if this isn’t the case, then you will need to contact your certificate authority (ie. SSL provider) and ask them for a different version of the certificate. If no other versions are available, you will need to purchase a new certificate.

   NOTE: If you do not have all of these things, you won’t be able to install your pre-existing SSL certificate on your Doteasy account. You will need to purchase a new certificate for your Doteasy Unlimited Hosting plan or upgrade to the Doteasy Business Hosting plan, which includes a free SSL certificate.

How to proceed

Once you have confirmed that you have all the above information, you can follow the below step-up articles in order: 

1. Upload SSL Certificate
2. Activate SSL Certificate