Installing a Purchased SSL Certificate

<h3>Using a Commercial SSL Certificate in DirectAdmin</h3> <p>If you have purchased an SSL certificate from a certificate authority (CA) such as Comodo, GeoTrust, DigiCert, or Sectigo, you will need to generate a CSR, submit it to the CA, and then install the returned certificate in DirectAdmin.</p> <h3>Step 1: Generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR)</h3> <ol> <li>Log in to DirectAdmin and go to <strong>Account Manager &rarr; SSL Certificates</strong>.</li> <li>Select <strong>Create a certificate request</strong>.</li> <li>Fill in the required fields: <ul> <li><strong>Common Name:</strong> Your domain name (e.g., <code>www.example.com</code>)</li> <li><strong>Organization:</strong> Your company or personal name</li> <li><strong>City, State, Country:</strong> Your location details</li> <li><strong>Email:</strong> Your contact email</li> <li><strong>Key Size:</strong> Select 2048-bit or higher</li> </ul> </li> <li>Click <strong>Save</strong>. DirectAdmin will generate both a private key and a CSR.</li> <li>Copy the entire CSR text (including the <code>-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----</code> and <code>-----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----</code> lines).</li> </ol> <div class="alert alert-warning"><strong>Important:</strong> Do not delete or regenerate the private key after generating the CSR. The private key and certificate must match. If you lose the private key, you will need to reissue the certificate.</div> <h3>Step 2: Submit CSR to Your Certificate Authority</h3> <p>Paste the CSR into your CA's order form. Complete any required domain validation (email, DNS, or file-based). The CA will issue your certificate files, typically including a primary certificate and a CA bundle (intermediate certificates).</p> <h3>Step 3: Install the Certificate</h3> <ol> <li>Return to <strong>SSL Certificates</strong> in DirectAdmin.</li> <li>Select <strong>Paste a pre-generated certificate and key</strong>.</li> <li>Paste your issued certificate into the certificate field.</li> <li>If prompted, paste the CA bundle (intermediate certificate) into the appropriate field.</li> <li>Click <strong>Save</strong>.</li> </ol> <p>Visit your site over HTTPS to confirm the certificate is installed and the chain is valid. Tools like <a href="https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/" target="_blank">SSL Labs</a> can help verify the full certificate chain.</p>