How to install an SSL certificate on Hostinger

Files you need

cert.pem, privkey.pem and chain.pem. Hostinger does not say whether it accepts ECDSA keys, so choose “RSA 2048” in step 1 of the generator.

Upload the certificate from production mode. A certificate from test mode is only for checking the process: browsers don't trust it, and some panels won't accept it at all.

Before you start

• Hostinger automatically installs a free certificate (“Lifetime SSL”) on every domain and renews it for as long as the website is hosted at Hostinger. If it works on your website, you do not need to upload anything. Your own certificate makes sense mainly when the automatic installation does not succeed (status “Failed”). Remember that you then have to renew your own certificate by hand.
• On web and cloud hosting, Hostinger does not accept wildcard certificates (*.example.com) or certificates for several different domains. These work only on VPS plans. In the generator, enter only your domain and its www version, for example example.com and www.example.com.
• Websites built with Hostinger AI Builder do not support custom certificates. This guide is for websites built with PHP and HTML, WordPress and similar.
• Your domain must point to Hostinger: through Hostinger nameservers or an A record.
• Watch out: the “Install SSL” tab installs Hostinger's free certificate. It is not the place for your own certificate. You upload your own certificate in the “Import SSL” tab.

Step by step

1. Log in to the Hostinger dashboard (hpanel.hostinger.com) with your Hostinger account.
2. Go to “Websites” and click “Dashboard” next to your website.
3. In the menu on the left, expand “Security” and click “SSL”. You can also type “SSL” in the search box above the menu.
4. If the domain already has a certificate, click the three-dot button (⋮) next to it in the certificate list, choose “Uninstall” and confirm. From now until the new certificate is installed, your website works without https, so continue straight away.
5. Open the “Import SSL” tab and choose your domain from the “Domain” list.
6. Paste the contents of the files into the three fields (see below for which file goes where) and click “Install SSL”.
7. Check the certificate status in the list. When it shows “Active”, the certificate works. According to Hostinger, activation can take a few hours.

What to paste into which field

• “Certificate (CRT)”: the entire contents of cert.pem
• “Private Key (KEY)”: the entire contents of privkey.pem
• “Certificate Authority Bundle (CABUNDLE)”: the entire contents of chain.pem. The panel says you usually do not need to fill it in, because the server fetches the chain itself. Paste it anyway, so the chain is certainly complete.

How to copy the content of a file

1. Windows: right-click the file, choose “Open with” and then “Notepad”. Mac: Control-click the file, choose “Open With” and then “TextEdit”.
2. Select all the text (Ctrl+A, on a Mac Cmd+A) and copy it (Ctrl+C, on a Mac Cmd+C).
3. In the panel, click into the field and paste (Ctrl+V, on a Mac Cmd+V). Paste everything, including the BEGIN and END lines, and don't change anything.

Checking the result

Open your website over https:// and click the padlock (or the settings icon) next to the address. The certificate details should show Let's Encrypt as the issuer and an expiry date matching the panel. If the browser still shows the old certificate, wait a few minutes and reload the page.

If you see a warning instead of your website, we explain the error codes on the page “Your connection is not private”. If the site opens over https but looks broken or something doesn't work, see mixed content. Finally, turn on the redirect from http to https so everyone lands on the secure version.

Good to know

• On Agency hosting plans the panel looks different: on the “SSL” page, click “Manage” next to the domain and choose “Install custom SSL”. The form warns that installing a custom certificate removes the free one currently in use. Paste cert.pem into “Certificate (CRT)” and privkey.pem into “Private key” (and chain.pem, if your form also has a field for the CA bundle), then click “Install”. If the option is missing, uninstall the current certificate there first.
• If the installation fails, check that your domain points to Hostinger, that you are uploading a certificate from production mode, and that all three files come from the same run of the generator.
• The redirect to https is switched on next to the certificate: three-dot button (⋮) → “Force HTTPS”. On web and cloud plans it is usually on by default, and the menu then shows “Unforce HTTPS” instead. While HTTPS is forced, an expired certificate of your own makes the website unreachable, so renew it on time. Agency plans do not have this option.

When you renew

In the last 14 days before the certificate expires, the panel shows a message about it and the domain appears again in the list in the “Import SSL” tab. Then paste the new files using the same steps, without uninstalling the old certificate. Before that, you have to uninstall the old certificate first, and your website works without https until the new one is installed.

DNS record for domain verification

If your domain uses Hostinger nameservers and you verify it with a DNS record: in your website's dashboard choose “Advanced” → “DNS Zone Editor”, or go to “Domains” → your domain → “DNS / Nameservers”. In the “Manage DNS records” section, choose TXT as the “Type”. In the “Name” field, enter the short name shown by the generator (for example _acme-challenge), because the panel adds your domain itself. Paste the value from the generator into the “TXT value” field, leave the TTL as it is and click “Add Record”.

Hosting panels change from time to time. If something looks different from this guide, write to kontakt@freessl.pl and we'll update it.