Your hosting sends automatic emails about SSL certificates. Some need action and some are just notices. Here's how to tell them apart.
| Email says | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| "AutoSSL certificate installed! ... The new certificate lacks N of the website's domains" | The free certificate was renewed, but some extra names (often mail., cpanel. or autodiscover.) couldn't be included because they don't point to our server. If your website loads with the padlock, you can usually ignore this. If you use one of the listed names, fix its DNS. See Free SSL Did Not Renew or "Authorization for the Domain Failed". |
| "AutoSSL certificate expiry" or "The SSL certificate for example.com has not been renewed" | The free certificate couldn't renew. This one needs action, or your site will show a warning when it expires. See Free SSL Did Not Renew or "Authorization for the Domain Failed". |
| "The SSL certificate expires on (date)" for a paid certificate (RapidSSL, GeoTrust, DigiCert) | A paid certificate is valid for up to about a year, even on a multi-year plan. During your plan it's reissued and reinstalled automatically before it expires, so you may see this warning shortly before the new one arrives. At the end of your plan, the certificate renews once the renewal invoice is paid. Check your invoices under Billing in the Client Area. |
| "Your SSL certificate is now ready for installation!" | On our hosting, it's installed for you automatically. Nothing to do. For a site hosted elsewhere, retrieve the certificate and install it there. See I Bought a Certificate. Is It Installed?. |
| "Action Required: Please provide your Certificate Signing Request (CSR)" | The order is waiting for setup. If your site is hosted with us, open a support ticket and we'll finish it. If it's hosted elsewhere, see Set Up a Paid Certificate for a Site Hosted Elsewhere. |
| An email from the certificate authority asking you to approve a certificate | This is the domain validation step for a paid certificate. Click the link and approve it. Until you do, the certificate can't be issued. See Pending Validation, Reissues and Renewals. |
| Let's Encrypt emails about a domain you no longer host | The old certificate files are still on the server. You can ignore these, or open a support ticket and we'll remove them. |
Important: If someone calls or emails saying your SSL certificate is about to expire and asks you to pay them, don't pay. Your SSL renewals are billed only through your invoices in our Client Area. If you're not sure, open a support ticket.
Paid a renewal invoice but still see a warning?
After payment, the certificate authority has to validate and reissue it. On our hosting this usually finishes within an hour, but it can wait on your approval email. Check the certificate's status in the Client Area (see Pending Validation, Reissues and Renewals). If it's been more than a day, open a support ticket.
