Simple Application Server:Install an SSL certificate on a WordPress environment (Linux)

Step 1: Purchase an SSL certificate

Step 2: Configure the SSL certificate

After issuance, the certificate status changes to Issued. Deploy the SSL certificate to your server and configure it. For more information about certificate deployment and installation, see Deploy an SSL certificate.

1. Upload and deploy the SSL certificate.

   1. In the navigation pane on the left, choose Deployment Management > Deployment to Cloud Servers.

   2. On the Deployment to Cloud Servers page, click Create Task.

      1. On the Basic Configuration page, enter a custom task name and click Next.

      2. On the Select Certificate page, choose the certificate type and associate the SSL certificate with your cloud server. Click Next.

      3. On the Select Resource page, choose the appropriate cloud server and resources. Click Next.

         • The system automatically identifies and retrieves all eligible cloud server instances under your Alibaba Cloud account (those running web applications). If resources do not appear, verify that your cloud server runs a web application such as Nginx or Apache.

         • If a certificate was previously deployed to an instance, its name appears.

      4. On the Deployment Configuration page, deploy the certificate to your cloud server as shown in the following table. Click OK.

         Important

         If the certificate configuration directory does not exist on your server, the system creates it automatically. The path configured in the console must match the certificate file path in your cloud server's web application configuration.

         Configuration item	Description	Configuration example
         Certificate Path	Set the absolute path for the certificate file on your cloud server.	/data/cert/certpublic.crt
         Private Key Path	Set the absolute path for the private key file on your cloud server.	/data/cert/cert.key
         Certificate Chain Path	Set the absolute path for the certificate chain file on your cloud server.	/data/cert/certchain.crt
         Reload Command	After deploying the certificate, restart your web application or reload its configuration to activate the certificate. Enter the restart or reload command here. Important Running these commands might cause service startup failures. If this occurs, operate directly on your cloud server.	Not required.

      5. In the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

2. Configure the SSL certificate.

   1. Remotely connect to your Simple Application Server. For more information, see Remotely connect to a Linux server.

   2. Run the following command to edit the vhost.conf configuration file.

      Note

      This example assumes Apache is installed by default in your WordPress environment. Configuration file paths and names may vary—adjust according to your actual environment.

      sudo vim /etc/httpd/conf.d/vhost.conf

   3. Press i to enter edit mode.

   4. Add the following code to the configuration file.

      Before using the example code, update these configuration items:

      • ServerName: Your domain name, for example: example.com.

      • DocumentRoot: Application directory, for example: /data/wwwroot/wordpress.

      • Directory: Application directory, for example: /data/wwwroot/wordpress.

      • SSLCertificateFile: Public key file path, for example: /data/cert/certpublic.crt.

      • SSLCertificateKeyFile: Private key file path, for example: /data/cert/cert.key.

      • SSLCertificateChainFile: Certificate chain file path, for example: /data/cert/certchain.crt.

      Important

      Incorrect certificate file paths prevent HTTPS access.

      Example configuration:

      <VirtualHost *:443>
      # Bind domain to server
      ServerName  example.com
      DocumentRoot "/data/wwwroot/wordpress"
      #ErrorLog "logs/example.com-error_log"
      #CustomLog "logs/example.com-access_log" common
      <Directory "/data/wwwroot/wordpress">
      Options Indexes FollowSymlinks
      AllowOverride All
      Require all granted
      </Directory>
      SSLEngine on
      # Configure SSL certificate. Path must match deployment settings.
      SSLCertificateFile  /data/cert/certpublic.crt
      SSLCertificateKeyFile  /data/cert/cert.key
      SSLCertificateChainFile  /data/cert/certchain.crt
      </VirtualHost>

   5. (Conditionally required) If you want to enable automatic redirection from HTTP requests to HTTPS, you also need to add configuration in <VirtualHost *:80>

      Add the following configuration information to the code block.

      #----------HTTP for WordPress Start--------
      <VirtualHost *:80>
          ServerName example.com
          #ServerAlias example.com
          DocumentRoot "/data/wwwroot/wordpress"
          ErrorLog "logs/wordpress-error_log"
          CustomLog "logs/wordpress-access_log" common
          RewriteEngine on
          RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} !^443$
          RewriteRule ^(.*)?$ https://%{SERVER_NAME}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R]
          <Directory "/data/wwwroot/wordpress">
              Options Indexes FollowSymlinks
              AllowOverride All
              Require all granted
          </Directory>
      </VirtualHost>
      
      #----------HTTP for WordPress End--------

   6. After editing, press Esc, type :wq!, and press Enter to save and exit.

   7. Run the following command to restart the service.

      sudo systemctl restart httpd

   8. Run the following command to restart the database.

      sudo service mysqld restart

Step 3: Verify the SSL certificate

1. Configure the HTTPS domain in the WordPress admin panel.

   1. Log on to the WordPress admin panel.

      For instructions on obtaining the admin panel URL, username, and password, see Quickly build a website using a WordPress application image.

   2. In the navigation pane on the left, choose Settings > General.

   3. In WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL), enter your attached and resolved domain name. This example uses https://example.com.

   4. Click Save Changes.

      Note

      After changing WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL), the admin login URL becomes https://example.com/wp-login.php. Replace example.com with your actual domain.

2. Access https://your Simple Application Server's domain in a browser.

   • If a lock icon appears in the browser address bar, the SSL certificate is installed successfully.

   • If your site cannot be accessed via HTTPS, troubleshoot as follows:

     • Confirm that port 443 on your Simple Application Server is open and not blocked by other tools. For instructions on allowing port 443, see Manage firewall.

     • Verify ICP filing status. If your domain resolves to a server in the Chinese mainland, ensure ICP filing is complete. For more information, see What is ICP filing?.

     • Check certificate path configuration. Ensure the uploaded certificate path matches the configured path. For more information, see Configure SSL certificate.

References

Different server types support different SSL certificate formats. Choose the appropriate SSL certificate based on your server type. For more information, see Deploy an SSL certificate.