Installing SSL with Certbot on Apache and Nginx

Securing your website with HTTPS is no longer optional. It’s a fundamental requirement for trust, SEO, and modern web features. Luckily, Let’s Encrypt makes it free, and Certbot makes it easy. In this post, we’ll walk through installing an SSL certificate using Certbot on both Apache and Nginx servers.

Let’s start by figuring out what server your system is running.

Step 1: Check Your Web Server Type

You’ll need to know whether your server uses Apache or Nginx. Run this command:

To check running web server:

sudo ss -tulwn | grep -E '80|443'

Or check installed packages:

apache2 -v

If Apache is installed, you'll see version info. If not:

nginx -v

Still unsure? Try this:

ps aux | grep -E 'apache2|nginx'

Now that you’ve figured it out, let’s install SSL using Certbot.

Step 2: Install Certbot

Certbot is a client that simplifies the process of obtaining and installing SSL certificates. It’s available for both Apache and Nginx.

Install Certbot and the plugin matching your web server.

For Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache   # for Apache
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx    # for Nginx

For CentOS/RHEL:

sudo dnf install epel-release
sudo dnf install certbot python3-certbot-apache   # for Apache
sudo dnf install certbot python3-certbot-nginx    # for Nginx

Step 3: Get SSL Certificate with Certbot

Now that Certbot is installed, you can use it to get an SSL certificate.

For Apache:

sudo certbot --apache

Certbot will automatically detect your virtual hosts and ask you which domains to enable HTTPS for. Follow the prompts.

For Nginx:

sudo certbot --nginx

Follow the prompts to complete the process. Certbot will ask you for your email address and agree to the terms of service.Same as Apache, Certbot will configure your server blocks automatically.

Step 4: Auto-Renewal

Let’s Encrypt certificates are valid for 90 days. Certbot sets up a systemd timer or cron job by default. You can test the renewal process:

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

If everything looks good, you can run the renewal process without the dry-run flag:

sudo certbot renew

Done 🎉

Whether you're on Apache or Nginx, your site should now be secured with a valid SSL certificate. Visit your domain with https:// and verify the padlock.

If you’re using a different web server (like Caddy or Lighttpd), or need to manually configure Certbot, you can explore more options at Certbot’s documentation.