How to Install a Free SSL Certificate on Nginx

A complete step-by-step guide to configuring HTTPS on your Nginx web server

This guide walks you through installing a free SSL/TLS certificate from freesslcert.net on an Nginx web server. By the end, your website will serve traffic over HTTPS with a valid, browser-trusted certificate from Let's Encrypt.

Prerequisites

A server running Nginx (1.18+)
SSH (root or sudo) access to your server
A domain name pointing to your server's IP address
SSL certificate files from freesslcert.net

Step 1: Generate Your SSL Certificate

Visit freesslcert.net, enter your domain, choose your certificate type, complete domain validation, and download your certificate files.

Step 2: Upload Certificate Files to Your Server

Transfer certificate.crt, private.key, and ca_bundle.crt to your server's /etc/ssl/ directory using SCP or SFTP.

Step 3: Create the Full Chain Certificate

Nginx requires a single file containing both your certificate and the intermediate CA certificate. Concatenate them into a fullchain.pem file.

Step 4: Configure Nginx Server Block

Edit your Nginx server block to listen on port 443 with SSL. Add ssl_certificate, ssl_certificate_key, and security headers.

Step 5: Test and Reload Nginx

Test the configuration with nginx -t, then reload with systemctl reload nginx.

Step 6: Set Up Auto-Renewal Reminder

Let's Encrypt certificates expire after 90 days. Set a reminder to renew before expiration.