Site-wide configuration
How to fix an invalid HTTPS certificate
The HTTPS certificate does not verify: expired, self-signed, or issued for a different name. Browsers show a full-page warning before anyone reaches the site, and search engines will not index it normally.
What it is, and what it costs
A valid certificate proves the site is who it claims to be for this exact hostname. When it is expired, self-signed, or issued for another domain, browsers block the page with a scary interstitial that most visitors never click past, and Google treats the site as untrustworthy.
How to fix it
Renew or reissue the certificate for this exact hostname, including www if you use it.
- Most hosts: the panel reissues a Let's Encrypt certificate; enable auto-renewal so it never expires again.
- Cloudflare: an edge certificate covers the proxied hostname.
- Hand-coded: Let's Encrypt via certbot issues and auto-renews for free.
How to check your site
Load the site: a browser warning means the certificate is invalid. SSL Labs' test shows exactly what is wrong (expiry, name mismatch, chain).
What this looks like in practice
A site's Let's Encrypt certificate stopped auto-renewing after a server change and expired. Every visitor got a full-page security warning for two days until it was reissued. Turning auto-renewal back on prevented a repeat.
Questions people ask
- Why did a working certificate suddenly break?
- Usually a lapsed auto-renewal or a server migration. Reissue it and confirm renewal is automatic.
Does your site have this?
Check your site to confirm its certificate is valid.
See also
- How to build a custom 404 pageWhen someone follows an old link to a page that is gone, a bare server error tells them nothing and they leave. A 404 page with your normal layout, a short line of explanation, and a search box turns that dead end into a way back into the site.
- How to move your site to HTTPSThe site is served only over plain http. Browsers mark it as Not Secure, anything typed into it travels in the clear, and HTTPS has been a ranking signal for years.
- How to redirect http to httpsThe http:// address does not redirect to https://. Both versions are reachable, so search engines see two copies of the site and some visitors stay on the insecure one.
- How to fix title tag problemsThe title tag is the line people read in search results, and the strongest single signal on the page about what it is for. Four things go wrong with it, and a site with one of them usually has two. Each is below, with what it costs and how to put it right.