Troubleshooting SSL and HTTPS Issues

If you encounter issues with your SSL certificate or HTTPS connection, follow this comprehensive troubleshooting guide to resolve the most common problems.

SSL certificate not generating

10Web provides free SSL certificates using the Letsencrypt certificate generating services for websites hosted at 10Web. You can generate SSL from 10Web dashboard using this guide. If your SSL certificate is not generated correctly, the issue may stem from one or more of the following causes:

• Incorrect domain pointing or unresolved domain pointing.
• The use of IPv6.
• Presence of CAA records, but none for Let's Encrypt.

Follow these steps to check and fix the issue accordingly.

Step 1: Check domain pointing

Make sure your domain is pointed properly. Use a DNS checker to verify that the A record of your root domain resolves to the correct IPv4 address. Here are detailed steps: 

1. Log in to your 10Web dashboard and select the website experiencing the error.
2. Head to Hosting Services > Credentials section 
3. Find the IPv4 Address under Datacenter & IP section
4. Open the DNS checker website 
5. Add your domain name and choose A record
6. Compare the result and make sure it corresponds to the above IP address

Step 2: Check the presence of IPv6

If your SSL certificate is not generated correctly, a likely cause is the use of IPv6. Follow these steps to check and fix this issue:

1. Check if IPv6 is present. Go to dnschecker.org, enter your domain name, and select the AAAA record type. If IPv6 is enabled, the search results will reveal the record value.
2. Disable IPv6: Once you have identified the IPv6 record value, go to your website’s DNS records, locate the matching AAAA record, and delete it. 
3. Give the domain up to 24 hours and try to generate SSL again. 

Step 3: Check CAA records

1. Open the DNS checker website 
2. Add your domain name and choose CAA record
   

   Note:

   If no CAA record is found, skip the next steps. If there are CAA records, continue to the next step.

3. Make sure there is a value for Letsencrypt. You can find more details here. 

Could Not Parse Certificate error when adding custom SSL

When attempting to add a custom SSL certificate, if you receive the error message "Could not parse certificate," it typically means that the certificate files (.key, .cert, and .ca) are not formatted correctly. Each line in these files should be split every 64 characters. Here is how to fix the issue:

1. Ensure the .key, .cert, and .ca files are properly formatted.
2. Use an online tool like this text splitter to break up the file content into lines of 64 characters each.
3. Contact the SSL provider to recheck the files.

Your Connection is Not Private error on your website

If your URL starts with https:// but you receive the message Your connection is not private error, check the below steps:

Step 1: Clear network cache 

In some cases, the URL starts with https:// due to network cache, even though an SSL certificate has not been properly added. To resolve this, clear the cache of your network and try reloading the page.

To clear browser data in Chrome, follow these steps:

1. Open Chrome on your computer.
2. Click on the three dots at the top right corner, then select Delete browsing data.
3. Choose a time range, like Last hour or All time.
4. Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files.
5. Click Delete data.

Note that the steps to clear cache and cookies in other browsers, such as Safari, are generally similar, though the specific menus and options may vary slightly.

Step 2: SSL Generated Prior to Complete Domain Resolution

This issue can occur if you attempt to generate an SSL certificate before your domain has fully resolved on 10Web hosting. If you have recently pointed your domain to 10Web, wait for 24 hours for the changes to propagate across the DNS network. Once the domain has resolved:

1. Go to your website's dashboard on 10Web.
2. Navigate to Hosting Services > Tools > SSL Certificate.
3. If no SSL certificate is present, generate a new one. If an SSL certificate already exists but the issue persists, remove the current certificate and generate a new one.

Step 3: Check for mixed content errors

Despite having an SSL certificate, some files may still load over http, causing mixed content errors. To check for this, inspect the browser console for any warnings about insecure resources. Steps to resolve mixed content errors:

1. Go to your WordPress Dashboard > Settings > General section 
2. Locate the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL)
3. Ensure both URLs are set to https://
4. If the issue persists, use a plugin like Better Search Replace to change all URLs in your database from http to https.