Now this option is enabled for cPanel users as well. This is a great solution for securing a search engine-friendly, SSL-adorned web presence without going the extra mile and purchasing a dedicated IP address.
Starting from today, you and your cPanel customers will be able to activate an SSL certificate using a shared IP address for the following services:
- All cPanel services offered through the cPanel Reseller Program
- Virtuozzo Virtual Private Servers with cPanel
- OpenVZ Virtual Private Servers with cPanel
- Dedicated servers with cPanel
Why install an SSL on a shared IP address?
The option to use a shared IP address for SSL certificate installation purposes has been made possible with the integration of SNI support into modern browsers. SNI is an extension of the TLS protocol, which allows browsers and servers to map multiple SSL-secured domain names to one IP address and gate, without this making any difference to the site visitor security-wise.
This way, an SSL-enabled website that uses a shared IP address will still have ‘https’ in front and will look as secure as a normal site that uses a dedicated IP. So, users who cannot afford a dedicated IP address for their website will still be able to make it secure for their visitors by using the shared IP of the server the site is hosted on at no extra cost.
How to install an SSL using a shared IP address in cPanel?
The user needs to go through the regular SSL activation procedure, the main difference being that they will not be required to buy a dedicated IP address beforehand. Here are the three default activation steps:
1. Generate a CSR (Certificate Signing Request) from the SSL/TLS Manager section of the cPanel Control Panel;
2. Order the SSL certificate from the WHMCS Billing Manager;
3. Install the SSL using the Install and Manage SSL for your site (HTTPS) option, which is available in the SSL/TLS Manager section of the cPanel Control Panel;
During the third step, the user will see a warning of how older versions of browsers with no integrated SNI support might fail to recognize https sites using a shared IP, as well as the shared IP of the server where the customer’s account is located:
This cPanel addon is a great selling point not only for cPanel resellers, but also for all hosting partners under our Free Reseller Program who are working to compete on the cPanel server hosting marketplace.