Ssl expiry
Quick winFound on 39% of audited stores.
Renew your TLS/SSL certificate before it expires and enable automatic renewal so your store never goes offline or shows security warnings.
What it is
A TLS (SSL) certificate is the digital credential that puts the padlock in your visitors' browser bar and enables the secure "https://" connection to your store. Every certificate has an expiry date — typically 90 days (Let's Encrypt) or 1–2 years (paid CAs). When it expires, browsers immediately block visitors with a full-screen "Your connection is not private" warning, and the padlock disappears. Auto-renewal is a process (a scheduled script or a hosting feature) that requests a fresh certificate a few weeks before the old one expires, so the swap happens invisibly to shoppers.
Why it matters
An expired certificate is an emergency: every visitor sees a hard browser warning and most will leave instantly, causing an immediate and total loss of sales. Google also uses HTTPS as a ranking signal, so a lapsed certificate can drop your organic rankings. Payment processors and card networks require an active TLS certificate — an expired cert can cause checkout failures and put you in breach of PCI-DSS compliance. Setting up auto-renewal costs nothing and takes minutes; ignoring it risks hours or days of complete store downtime.
How to fix it
- Check your current certificate expiry date: open your store URL in Chrome, click the padlock → 'Connection is secure' → 'Certificate is valid', and note the 'Valid until' date.
- If your hosting platform manages certificates automatically (Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, BigCommerce, Webflow), verify that the auto-renewal feature is turned on in your domain/SSL settings — it should renew silently with no action needed.
- If you self-host or use cPanel/Plesk/a VPS, install or re-enable the Certbot (Let's Encrypt) ACME client and confirm the renewal cron job or systemd timer is active (`sudo systemctl status certbot.timer`).
- Set a calendar reminder 30 days before expiry as a manual safety net, even if auto-renewal is enabled.
- After renewal, verify the new certificate is live: use an online SSL checker (e.g., SSL Labs) to confirm the expiry date has been pushed forward and the chain is valid.
- If you use a CDN or load balancer (Cloudflare, Fastly, AWS CloudFront), ensure the certificate is also renewed/updated there, as it may cache its own copy separately from your origin.
Fix it on your platform
Pick your platform for the exact steps.
How to fix ssl expiry on Shopify
- Shopify provisions and auto-renews TLS certificates for all custom domains automatically — no action is required from you.
- To verify: go to Admin → Settings → Domains, click your custom domain, and confirm 'SSL certificate' shows a green checkmark and an active status.
- If the status shows 'SSL unavailable', click 'Enable SSL' or remove and re-add the domain to trigger re-provisioning.
- Ensure your DNS A/CNAME records still point to Shopify's servers, as a broken DNS record prevents certificate issuance.
How to fix ssl expiry on Shopify Plus
- Same as Shopify: certificates are managed automatically by Shopify's infrastructure.
- For Plus merchants using Shopify's advanced domain features or custom storefronts, confirm each domain in Admin → Settings → Domains shows an active SSL status.
- If you use a third-party reverse proxy or Cloudflare in front of your Shopify Plus store, also check that the certificate on the proxy layer is current.
How to fix ssl expiry on WooCommerce
- WooCommerce itself does not manage SSL — the certificate is controlled by your web hosting provider.
- Log in to your hosting control panel (cPanel, Plesk, or your host's dashboard) and navigate to the SSL/TLS section.
- If your host offers a free Let's Encrypt certificate, look for an 'AutoSSL' toggle (cPanel) or 'Free SSL' option and ensure it is enabled.
- If managing manually: SSH into your server and run `sudo certbot renew --dry-run` to test; then confirm the cron job at `/etc/cron.d/certbot` or `sudo systemctl status certbot.timer` is active.
- Some managed WordPress hosts (WP Engine, Kinsta, SiteGround) have a one-click SSL renewal button in their own dashboards — check your host's specific control panel.
How to fix ssl expiry on WordPress.org
- SSL is managed at the server/hosting level, not inside WordPress itself.
- Log in to your hosting control panel and enable AutoSSL (cPanel) or the equivalent Let's Encrypt integration.
- Install the 'Really Simple SSL' plugin for WordPress — it checks your certificate status and forces HTTPS site-wide, and its Pro version can alert you before expiry.
- Confirm WordPress Site URL and Home URL both use 'https://' under Settings → General.
How to fix ssl expiry on BigCommerce
- BigCommerce provisions and auto-renews SSL certificates for all storefronts automatically.
- To verify: go to Store Control Panel → Server Settings → SSL Certificates and confirm your certificate shows as active.
- For custom domains, ensure your DNS CNAME record correctly points to your BigCommerce storefront subdomain so the certificate can be issued.
- If you see an SSL error after a domain change, remove and re-add the domain in the control panel to trigger re-provisioning.
How to fix ssl expiry on Wix
- Wix automatically provisions and renews free SSL certificates for all sites on premium plans.
- To check: go to your Wix Dashboard → Settings → Domains, select your domain, and confirm the SSL padlock/status is green.
- If SSL is shown as inactive, click 'Enable HTTPS' in the same panel.
- Ensure your domain's DNS is pointed to Wix's nameservers or has the correct CNAME/A records — broken DNS prevents certificate issuance.
How to fix ssl expiry on Wix Studio
- SSL management is identical to standard Wix: auto-provisioned and auto-renewed on all premium plans.
- Verify status under Dashboard → Settings → Domains for each connected domain.
- Re-trigger issuance by disconnecting and reconnecting a domain if the certificate shows as expired or inactive.
How to fix ssl expiry on Squarespace
- Squarespace automatically provisions and renews SSL for all sites — no manual action is needed.
- To confirm: go to Pages (or Website) → Website Tools → SSL, and verify the toggle is set to 'Secure' (HTTPS).
- Also enable the 'HSTS' option in the same panel to enforce HTTPS at the browser level.
- If your domain is registered elsewhere, ensure your DNS records still point to Squarespace, as a misconfigured DNS prevents renewal.
How to fix ssl expiry on Squarespace Commerce
- SSL is managed identically to standard Squarespace — auto-provisioned and renewed.
- Check status at Website → Website Tools → SSL and confirm HTTPS is active for your storefront domain.
How to fix ssl expiry on Webflow
- Webflow automatically provisions and renews SSL certificates for all published sites on paid hosting plans.
- Verify: go to your Webflow Dashboard → Project Settings → Hosting, and confirm your custom domain shows a green SSL indicator.
- If SSL shows as 'Pending' or 'Error', try removing and re-adding your custom domain, then re-publish your site.
- Ensure your domain's DNS A record and CNAME (for www) point correctly to Webflow's servers.
How to fix ssl expiry on Webflow Commerce
- SSL is managed the same as Webflow standard hosting — automatically provisioned and renewed.
- Check Project Settings → Hosting in the Webflow Dashboard to confirm each domain shows an active SSL status.
How to fix ssl expiry on Adobe Commerce (Magento)
- Adobe Commerce Cloud: SSL certificates are managed by Adobe's infrastructure. Log in to the Cloud Console (https://cloud.magento.com), navigate to your environment, and confirm the domain's SSL status under Environments → [your env] → Routes.
- For self-hosted Magento Open Source: log in to your server, check Certbot with `sudo certbot certificates`, and ensure a renewal cron/timer is active (`sudo systemctl status certbot.timer`).
- After renewal, clear the full-page cache in Admin → System → Cache Management and flush the Varnish cache if applicable.
- Confirm Magento's Base URLs under Admin → Stores → Configuration → General → Web both use 'https://'.
How to fix ssl expiry on Magento Open Source
- Log into your server via SSH and run `sudo certbot certificates` to see your current certificate expiry.
- Run `sudo certbot renew --dry-run` to verify auto-renewal will work without errors.
- Confirm the renewal timer: `sudo systemctl status certbot.timer` (Linux with systemd) or check `/etc/cron.d/certbot`.
- After a successful renewal, clear Magento's cache: `php bin/magento cache:flush`.
- Ensure Base URLs in Admin → Stores → Configuration → General → Web use 'https://'.
How to fix ssl expiry on PrestaShop
- SSL is managed at the server/hosting level, not inside PrestaShop.
- Log in to cPanel or your hosting dashboard and enable AutoSSL or Let's Encrypt for your domain.
- Inside PrestaShop admin: go to Shop Parameters → General and enable 'SSL' and 'Enable SSL on all pages'.
- On self-hosted servers, use Certbot: `sudo certbot renew --dry-run` and verify the cron or systemd timer is active.
How to fix ssl expiry on Headless / Custom (I build in code)
- Use Certbot (Let's Encrypt) for free, automated certificate management: install via your package manager and run `sudo certbot --nginx` or `sudo certbot --apache` for automatic configuration.
- Enable the systemd renewal timer: `sudo systemctl enable --now certbot.timer` and verify with `sudo systemctl status certbot.timer`.
- For containerised/cloud setups, use a sidecar like cert-manager (Kubernetes) or AWS Certificate Manager (ACM), which handle issuance and renewal automatically.
- Add a monitoring alert (e.g., UptimeRobot's SSL monitor, or a cron that emails you) to notify you if a certificate is within 21 days of expiry.
- For CDN-fronted architectures (Cloudflare, CloudFront), provision a certificate at the CDN edge layer as well as the origin, and verify both are renewed.
How to fix ssl expiry on OpenCart
- SSL is managed by your hosting provider — log into cPanel/Plesk and confirm auto-renewal is on for your certificate.
- After renewal, verify OpenCart Admin → System → Settings → your store → Server tab → 'Use SSL' is set to 'Yes'.
- Update your config.php and admin/config.php files to use https:// in the HTTP_SERVER and HTTPS_SERVER constants if they were not already.
How to fix ssl expiry on Ghost
- Ghost(Pro) managed hosting handles SSL automatically — no action required. Verify the padlock appears on your custom domain.
- For self-hosted Ghost (on a VPS/server), Ghost uses Let's Encrypt via its built-in SSL setup. Run 'ghost config url https://yourdomain.com' and then 'ghost setup ssl' (or 'ghost restart') to provision/renew.
- Confirm auto-renewal is working by checking the Let's Encrypt renewal cron job on your server: 'systemctl status certbot.timer' or equivalent.
How to fix ssl expiry on Ecwid (by Lightspeed)
- If your Ecwid store is embedded in an existing website, SSL is managed by that website's hosting provider — log in there to verify renewal.
- If using an Ecwid instant site (ecwid.com subdomain or custom domain), SSL is handled automatically by Ecwid/Lightspeed — confirm the padlock is visible on your storefront.
- For custom domains on an Ecwid instant site, ensure your domain's DNS CNAME record points to Ecwid's servers so the platform can manage certificate issuance.
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Scan my site freeFrequently asked questions
What is Ssl expiry?
A TLS (SSL) certificate is the digital credential that puts the padlock in your visitors' browser bar and enables the secure "https://" connection to your store. Every certificate has an expiry date — typically 90 days (Let's Encrypt) or 1–2 years (paid CAs). When it expires, browsers immediately block visitors with a full-screen "Your connection is not private" warning, and the padlock disappears. Auto-renewal is a process (a scheduled script or a hosting feature) that requests a fresh certificate a few weeks before the old one expires, so the swap happens invisibly to shoppers.
Why does ssl expiry matter?
An expired certificate is an emergency: every visitor sees a hard browser warning and most will leave instantly, causing an immediate and total loss of sales. Google also uses HTTPS as a ranking signal, so a lapsed certificate can drop your organic rankings. Payment processors and card networks require an active TLS certificate — an expired cert can cause checkout failures and put you in breach of PCI-DSS compliance. Setting up auto-renewal costs nothing and takes minutes; ignoring it risks hours or days of complete store downtime.
How do I fix ssl expiry?
Renew your TLS/SSL certificate before it expires and enable automatic renewal so your store never goes offline or shows security warnings.
Authoritative references
- Transport Layer Security (TLS) — MDN
- Let's Encrypt documentation — Let's Encrypt