Setup SSL with Certbot

Download Certbot Package

We'll start by downloading the certbot package which can be used to create SSL certificates for your website.

# If using NGINX run the following:
apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx

# If using Apache run the following:
apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-apache

Creating a Certificate

Assuming you have set your domain to point to your webserver IP, you're ready to create a certificate. Creating an SSL cert is as simple as running one of the commands below:

# If you are using NGINX:
certbot certonly --nginx -d example.com

# If you are using Apache:
certbot certonly --apache -d example.com

# Use this if neither works. Make sure to stop your webserver first when using this method.
certbot certonly --standalone -d example.com

Multiple Domains/Subdomains

You can secure multiple domains or subdomains in a single certificate:

certbot certonly --nginx -d example.com -d www.example.com -d api.example.com

Automatic Renewal

Certbot certificates expire every 90 days. Set up automatic renewal:

# Test renewal process
certbot renew --dry-run

# Add to crontab for automatic renewal
echo "0 12 * * * /usr/bin/certbot renew --quiet" | sudo crontab -

Certificate Locations

Certificates are typically stored in:

Certificate: /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem
Private key: /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/privkey.pem

Troubleshooting Tips

Ensure your domain's DNS A record points to your server's IP
Check that ports 80 and 443 are open in your firewall
For the standalone method, stop your web server first: systemctl stop nginx or systemctl stop apache2
If you get rate limit errors, Let's Encrypt has limits on certificate requests per domain

Post-Installation

After creating certificates:

For NGINX: Update your server block to use the generated certificate files
For Apache: Update your virtual host configuration
Test your SSL configuration at SSL Labs

SSL Certificate