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

Step 1: Purchase an SSL certificate

Step 2: Configure the SSL certificate

After the certificate is issued, its status changes to Issued. You must deploy the SSL certificate to your server and then configure it. For more information about deploying and installing certificates, see Deploy an SSL certificate.

1. Upload and deploy the SSL certificate.

   1. In the , choose Deployment and Resource Management > Deployment to Cloud Servers.

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

      1. In the Basic Configuration step, enter a custom task name and click Next.

      2. In the Select Certificate step, select the certificate type and the SSL certificate for your cloud server, and then click Next.

      3. In the Select Resource step, select the target cloud server and resources, and then click Next.

         

         • The system automatically detects and retrieves all eligible cloud server instances under your Alibaba Cloud account. An eligible instance is a server where a web application is deployed. If the target resource is not displayed, verify that a web application, such as Nginx or Apache, is deployed on the cloud server.

         • If a certificate was previously deployed to an instance, the system displays the name of the deployed certificate.

      4. In the Deployment Configuration step, configure the following parameters to deploy the certificate to the cloud server, and then click OK.

         Important

         If the specified certificate configuration directory does not exist on the server, the system automatically creates it. The path you specify in the console must match the certificate path configured in your web application.

         Parameter	Description	Example
         Certificate Path	The absolute path to the certificate file on the cloud server.	/data/cert/certpublic.crt
         Private Key Path	The absolute path to the private key file on the cloud server.	/data/cert/cert.key
         Certificate Chain Path	The absolute path to the certificate chain file on the cloud server.	/data/cert/certchain.crt
         Reload Command	Specifies a command to restart the web application or reload its configuration file. This command runs after deployment to apply the new certificate. Important If the service fails to start after this command runs, connect to your cloud server to troubleshoot the issue.	Not required.

      5. In the message that appears, click OK.

2. Configure the SSL certificate.

   1. Connect to the simple application server. For more information, see Connect to a Linux server.

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

      Note

      In this example, Apache is installed by default in the WordPress environment. The path and name of the configuration file may vary depending on your environment. Use the actual path and name for your setup.

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

   3. Press the i key to enter Insert mode.

   4. Add the following code to the configuration file.

      Before you use the sample code, replace the following placeholder values:

      • ServerName: The domain name. Example: example.com.

      • DocumentRoot: The application directory. Example: /data/wwwroot/wordpress.

      • Directory: The application directory. Example: /data/wwwroot/wordpress.

      • SSLCertificateFile: The path to the certificate public key file. Example: /data/cert/certpublic.crt.

      • SSLCertificateKeyFile: The path to the private key file. Example: /data/cert/cert.key.

      • SSLCertificateChainFile: The path to the certificate chain file. Example: /data/cert/certchain.crt.

      Important

      Ensure the certificate file paths are correct. Otherwise, you cannot access your website over HTTPS.

      Below is an example of the modified configuration file:

      <VirtualHost *:443>
      # Configure the domain name that is bound to the 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 an SSL certificate. Make sure that the paths are the same as the paths that you specified when you deployed the certificate.
      SSLCertificateFile  /data/cert/certpublic.crt
      SSLCertificateKeyFile  /data/cert/cert.key
      SSLCertificateChainFile  /data/cert/certchain.crt
      </VirtualHost>

   5. Optional: To automatically redirect HTTP requests to HTTPS, add the following configuration to the <VirtualHost *:80> 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. To save your changes and exit Insert mode, press the Esc key, enter :wq!, and then press the Enter key.

   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 SSL certificate

1. Configure the HTTPS domain name in the WordPress admin dashboard.

   1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.

      To find the URL, username, and password for your admin dashboard, see Quickly build a website using a WordPress application image.

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

   3. In the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) fields, enter your site's full HTTPS address (for example, https://example.com).

   4. Click Save Changes.

      Note

      After you modify the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL), your admin login URL changes to https://example.com/wp-login.php. Replace example.com with your domain name.

2. In a web browser, go to https://<your domain name>.

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

   • If you cannot access your website over HTTPS, check the following:

     • Ensure that port 443 is open on the Simple Application Server and not blocked by other tools. To open port 443, see Manage firewalls.

     • Verify that the domain name has an ICP filing. If your domain name is resolved to a website hosted on a server in the Chinese mainland, you must obtain an ICP filing. For more information, see What is an ICP filing?

     • Verify that the certificate path is configured correctly. Ensure the upload path matches the configured path. For more information, see Configure the SSL certificate.

Related documents

Different server types require different SSL certificate formats. To install the correct certificate for your server, see Deploy an SSL certificate.