Easy SSL Setup

TROUBLESHOOTING CENTER

Something went wrong? Start with the symptom.

Pick what you are seeing. Each fix starts with the safest checks first.

Run Automatic SSL Checker Open GoDaddy Setup Wizard

Browser says “Not Secure”

The page loads, but the browser does not show a secure connection.

  1. Open the site directly with https://.
  2. If the certificate warning appears, do not add redirects yet.
  3. Confirm the certificate covers the exact hostname you opened.
  4. Check whether the certificate is expired or missing in cPanel.
  5. If HTTPS itself works but the page still says Not Secure, check for page resources still loading over HTTP.
Do not force HTTPS first if HTTPS itself is broken. Fix the certificate problem before the redirect.

Privacy / certificate warning

Chrome or another browser shows a certificate or privacy warning.

  1. Check the address bar: are you opening the root domain or the www version?
  2. Make sure the certificate was requested for that exact name.
  3. Confirm DNS points to the correct server before requesting a new certificate.
  4. Try a private/incognito window to rule out old cached certificate information.
Do not simply click through a certificate warning on a customer site.

HTTPS works, but HTTP stays on HTTP

The certificate works, but visitors are not automatically sent to HTTPS.

If HTTPS is already working, the tested GoDaddy cPanel redirect is:

RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

Put it in the website document root as .htaccess, then test again in a private window.

This rule forces HTTP → HTTPS. It does not choose between www and non-www.

404 or 403 error

The domain reaches the server, but the website page is missing or forbidden.

  1. Confirm the domain is added in cPanel.
  2. Check the domain’s Document Root.
  3. Make sure the actual site files are in that folder.
  4. Confirm an index.html, index.php, or equivalent homepage exists.
  5. Check permissions only after verifying the correct folder.
A 404/403 can be a website-folder problem, not an SSL problem.

Root domain works, but www fails

example.com works, but www.example.com does not.

  1. Confirm DNS has a www record.
  2. A common setup is a CNAME from www to the root domain.
  3. Make sure the SSL certificate includes both names if you want both to work securely.
  4. Test https://www.example.com directly.

Domain still shows parking or the old site

DNS may still be pointing somewhere else, or the change may still be cached.

  1. At the registrar, check the root A record.
  2. Remove only old parking records that conflict with the website records.
  3. Keep unrelated MX/TXT records unless they truly need to change.
  4. Try a private/incognito window and another network/device.
  5. Allow time for DNS caches to update.

CertSage page will not load

certsage.php gives an error, blank page, or cannot find its files.

  1. Confirm certsage.php is in the domain’s real document root.
  2. Check the $dataDirectory line.
  3. Make sure the private folder exists at the account Home level.
  4. Make sure that private folder contains account.key.
  5. Do not copy another site’s password.txt or certificate files into it.
The number of ../ levels depends on the real document root. Do not guess if the site lives deeper than /public_html/example.com.

Automatic renewal job is missing or duplicated

CertSage renewal should normally have one cron job per site.

In cPanel → Cron Jobs, look for a command shaped like:

curl -sS https://example.com/certsage.php?autorenew
  • If it exists once, leave it alone.
  • If it is missing after a successful CertSage setup, investigate before adding a manual duplicate.
  • If the same site appears twice, verify which entry is correct before deleting anything.

The wrong website opens

The domain loads, but it displays another site from the hosting account.

  1. Open cPanel → Domains.
  2. Find the domain and read its Document Root.
  3. Make sure it is not sharing the main domain’s root by accident.
  4. Confirm the correct website files are inside the listed folder.

Force HTTPS switch is unavailable

cPanel may show the switch as off or unavailable even though a certificate is installed.

On some GoDaddy cPanel setups, the Force HTTPS switch may not be usable when AutoSSL is not active.

If the certificate is already valid, use a tested .htaccess redirect instead of assuming the certificate failed.

Always confirm HTTPS works before adding redirect rules.
No matching problem found. Try a shorter word such as SSL, DNS, 404, www, or cron.