Ssl cert expiring soon
Quick winRenew your SSL/TLS certificate before it expires to keep your store secure, trusted, and visible in search results.
What it is
An SSL/TLS certificate is the digital credential that proves your website is who it says it is and encrypts the connection between your store and your customers' browsers — it's what puts the padlock icon and "https://" in the address bar. Every certificate has an expiry date, after which browsers will show a full-screen red warning ("Your connection is not private") to anyone who tries to visit your site. Renewing means getting a fresh certificate installed before the old one runs out. Most certificates last 90 days to 1 year, and renewal should be started at least 30 days before expiry to allow time for any issues.
Why it matters
When your certificate expires, every major browser — Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge — will block visitors with a hard security warning before they even see your store. This instantly destroys trust and conversions: most shoppers will leave and never return. Google also uses HTTPS as a ranking signal, so an expired certificate can hurt your organic search visibility. If you collect any customer data (names, emails, payment info), operating without a valid certificate exposes that data to interception and puts you at legal risk under privacy regulations such as GDPR and PCI-DSS. Even a single day of expiry can cause lasting damage to your brand reputation.
How to fix it
- Check who issued your current certificate — your hosting provider, your ecommerce platform, your CDN (e.g. Cloudflare), or a certificate authority (CA) like Let's Encrypt or DigiCert — because that determines where you renew it.
- Log in to the relevant dashboard (hosting panel, platform admin, CDN, or CA account) and locate the SSL/TLS certificate management section.
- Initiate a renewal or, if auto-renewal is available, confirm it is enabled and that payment/DNS details are up to date so the renewal won't silently fail.
- After the new certificate is issued, verify it has been installed correctly by visiting your store in a browser and checking that the padlock shows a future expiry date, or use a free tool like SSL Labs (ssllabs.com/ssltest) to confirm.
- Set a calendar reminder 60 days before the new certificate's expiry date as a backup, even if auto-renewal is enabled.
- If your platform manages the certificate automatically (e.g. Shopify, Wix, Squarespace), confirm the auto-renewal is still active and that your custom domain's DNS records are correctly pointed to the platform — misconfigured DNS is the most common reason automatic renewals fail.
Fix it on your platform
Pick your platform for the exact steps.
How to fix ssl cert expiring soon on Shopify
- Shopify provisions and auto-renews SSL certificates for all stores and custom domains at no extra charge — you do not manually renew them.
- To verify the certificate is active: go to Shopify Admin → Settings → Domains. Each domain shows a green padlock and 'SSL certificate: Active' when healthy.
- If the certificate shows 'Unavailable' or 'Pending', click on the domain and choose 'Verify connection'. The most common cause of failure is DNS not correctly pointed to Shopify's servers (check your A record and CNAME point to Shopify).
- If it remains stuck, contact Shopify Support from Admin → Help — they can force a re-provision.
How to fix ssl cert expiring soon on Shopify Plus
- Identical to standard Shopify — SSL is automatically managed by the platform.
- Go to Shopify Admin → Settings → Domains and confirm each domain shows 'SSL certificate: Active'.
- For enterprise domains with custom DNS setups (e.g. Cloudflare proxying), ensure the Cloudflare SSL mode is set to 'Full (strict)' and DNS records point to Shopify's IPs to avoid certificate conflicts.
- Contact your Shopify Plus Merchant Success Manager if you need a dedicated/custom certificate.
How to fix ssl cert expiring soon on WooCommerce
- WooCommerce itself does not manage SSL — the certificate is handled by your web host or server.
- Log in to your hosting control panel (cPanel, Plesk, Kinsta, SiteGround, WP Engine, etc.) and go to the SSL/TLS section.
- If using a host with Let's Encrypt integration (most shared hosts): find 'Let's Encrypt' or 'SSL/TLS Status', click 'Renew' or confirm auto-renewal is toggled on for your domain.
- If using a paid certificate: download the renewed certificate files from your CA and upload them under SSL/TLS → 'Install and Manage SSL for your site'.
- After renewal, install the WordPress plugin 'Really Simple SSL' (free) to verify your entire site runs over HTTPS and to force redirects — it will flag any mixed-content issues introduced by the renewal.
- In WordPress Admin → Settings → General, confirm both 'WordPress Address (URL)' and 'Site Address (URL)' start with https://.
How to fix ssl cert expiring soon on BigCommerce
- BigCommerce automatically provisions and renews SSL for all storefronts using the built-in shared certificate — no manual action needed for the default subdomain (*.mybigcommerce.com).
- For a custom domain: go to BigCommerce Admin → Store Setup → Store Profile → SSL Certificate. BigCommerce auto-provisions a free Let's Encrypt certificate when your custom domain's DNS is correctly pointed to BigCommerce.
- If the certificate shows as expired or invalid, go to Server Settings → Store Profile, remove and re-add the custom domain to trigger re-provisioning.
- If you have purchased a dedicated/EV certificate, upload the certificate files under Store Setup → SSL Certificate → 'Upload Certificate' and enter the private key, certificate, and CA bundle.
How to fix ssl cert expiring soon on Wix
- Wix automatically provisions and renews SSL for all sites — no manual renewal is needed.
- To confirm HTTPS is enforced: go to Wix Dashboard → Settings → Domains → click on your domain → confirm 'SSL certificate' shows as active.
- Enable HTTPS redirect: Dashboard → Settings → SSL/HTTPS → toggle 'Redirect all traffic to HTTPS' to ON. This ensures visitors are always served the secure version.
- If SSL shows as inactive for a connected custom domain, the most common fix is to update your domain's DNS records (A record and CNAME) to point to Wix's servers — Wix provides the required values in Dashboard → Settings → Domains → DNS Records.
How to fix ssl cert expiring soon on Wix Studio
- SSL is automatically managed by Wix Studio — same infrastructure as Wix.
- Check status in Wix Studio Dashboard → Settings → Domains → confirm each domain shows a valid SSL certificate.
- Ensure HTTPS redirect is enabled: Settings → SSL/HTTPS → 'Redirect HTTP to HTTPS' toggled on.
- Verify DNS records are correctly configured if a custom domain SSL is not activating.
How to fix ssl cert expiring soon on Squarespace
- Squarespace automatically provisions and renews SSL certificates for all sites — you cannot manually upload a certificate.
- To verify: go to Squarespace Admin → Settings → Domains → click your domain → the SSL badge should show 'Active'.
- If SSL is inactive or showing an error, go to Settings → Advanced → SSL and ensure 'Secure (HTTPS)' is selected and 'HSTS' is enabled.
- If your custom domain's SSL is stuck, the fix is almost always updating your domain registrar's DNS records to match Squarespace's required A/CNAME values, then waiting up to 72 hours for propagation. Squarespace Support can expedite this.
How to fix ssl cert expiring soon on Webflow
- Webflow automatically provisions and renews SSL via Fastly/Let's Encrypt for all published sites on custom domains — no manual renewal required.
- To check: go to Webflow Designer → Project Settings → Hosting → Custom Domains. A green lock icon next to your domain confirms SSL is active.
- If SSL is not provisioning: confirm your domain's DNS A record and CNAME are pointing to Webflow's servers (values are shown in Project Settings → Hosting → DNS Settings).
- To force re-provisioning after a DNS fix, remove the custom domain from Webflow and re-add it.
- Enable 'Redirect HTTP to HTTPS' under Project Settings → Hosting → Security to ensure all traffic is encrypted.
How to fix ssl cert expiring soon on Adobe Commerce (Magento)
- Adobe Commerce does not manage SSL — it is handled at the server/hosting level (cloud hosting, on-premise, or managed hosting partner).
- For Adobe Commerce Cloud: the certificate is managed by Fastly CDN. Log in to the Cloud Console (cloud.magento.com), navigate to your environment, go to Services → Fastly. SSL certificates are auto-renewed; verify the expiry date in the Fastly dashboard.
- For on-premise or third-party hosting: log in to your server or control panel, locate the SSL/TLS manager (e.g. cPanel → SSL/TLS), and renew or replace the certificate.
- After installing a new certificate, update the Magento base URLs if needed: Admin Panel → Stores → Configuration → General → Web → Base URLs (Secure) — ensure all use https://.
- Run 'bin/magento cache:flush' from the server command line after any configuration change to clear the config cache.
How to fix ssl cert expiring soon on Magento Open Source
- SSL is managed at the web server / hosting level (Apache, Nginx, cPanel, Plesk, etc.) — not within Magento itself.
- Renew via your hosting control panel or by running 'certbot renew' on the server if using Let's Encrypt.
- After renewal, verify in Admin → Stores → Configuration → General → Web → Base URLs (Secure) that all URLs use https://.
- Flush Magento cache: Admin → System → Cache Management → Flush Magento Cache, or run 'bin/magento cache:flush' via CLI.
How to fix ssl cert expiring soon on PrestaShop
- SSL is managed at the server/hosting level. Renew via your hosting control panel (cPanel, Plesk) or via Let's Encrypt CLI on your server.
- After renewal, go to PrestaShop Admin → Shop Parameters → General → Enable SSL → set to 'Yes', and also enable 'Force SSL on all pages'.
- Clear PrestaShop cache: Admin → Advanced Parameters → Performance → Clear cache.
How to fix ssl cert expiring soon on OpenCart
- Renew the SSL certificate through your hosting control panel or Let's Encrypt CLI.
- After renewal, update OpenCart's config files: in /config.php and /admin/config.php, ensure 'HTTP_SERVER' and 'HTTPS_SERVER' constants use https://.
- In Admin → System → Settings → Your Store → Server tab, set 'Use SSL' to 'Yes'.
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Scan my site freeFrequently asked questions
What is Ssl cert expiring soon?
An SSL/TLS certificate is the digital credential that proves your website is who it says it is and encrypts the connection between your store and your customers' browsers — it's what puts the padlock icon and "https://" in the address bar. Every certificate has an expiry date, after which browsers will show a full-screen red warning ("Your connection is not private") to anyone who tries to visit your site. Renewing means getting a fresh certificate installed before the old one runs out. Most certificates last 90 days to 1 year, and renewal should be started at least 30 days before expiry to allow time for any issues.
Why does ssl cert expiring soon matter?
When your certificate expires, every major browser — Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge — will block visitors with a hard security warning before they even see your store. This instantly destroys trust and conversions: most shoppers will leave and never return. Google also uses HTTPS as a ranking signal, so an expired certificate can hurt your organic search visibility. If you collect any customer data (names, emails, payment info), operating without a valid certificate exposes that data to interception and puts you at legal risk under privacy regulations such as GDPR and PCI-DSS. Even a single day of expiry can cause lasting damage to your brand reputation.
How do I fix ssl cert expiring soon?
Renew your SSL/TLS certificate before it expires to keep your store secure, trusted, and visible in search results.
Authoritative references
- OWASP Top Ten — OWASP
- OWASP Cheat Sheet Series — OWASP
- HTTP Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS) — MDN
- Website security — MDN