Resources

Guides, tutorials, and tips for domain expiry monitoring.

Why Auto-Renew Isn't Enough for SSL Certificates

Auto-renewal sounds foolproof. It isn't. Certbot failures, DNS changes, server migrations, and silent errors that leave you with an expired certificate.

How to Track SSL Certificate Expiry Dates in Bulk

Manage SSL certificate expiry dates across dozens or hundreds of certificates. Methods from scripts to dedicated monitoring tools for teams of every size.

Famous SSL Certificate Expiry Disasters

Real-world SSL certificate expiry incidents at Microsoft, Spotify, LinkedIn, and more. What happened, what it cost, and how monitoring would have prevented it.

Free SSL Certificates: Your Complete Guide

Everything about free SSL certificates: Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL, Cloudflare, and hosting providers. How free certificates work, their limitations, and when to pay.

How to Check an SSL Certificate

Four ways to check any website's SSL certificate: browser inspection, online tools, command line, and monitoring. Plus a comparison of free SSL checker tools.

How to Check SSL Certificate Expiration Date

Five ways to check when an SSL certificate expires: browser, OpenSSL, online tools, cURL, and monitoring platforms. Never be surprised by an expired cert.

How to Check SSL Certificates in Your Browser

Step-by-step guide to viewing SSL certificate details in every major browser. Check expiry dates, certificate chain, and issuer without leaving your browser.

How to Check SSL Certificates with OpenSSL

OpenSSL commands for checking SSL certificates: view expiry dates, decode certificates, verify chains, and test TLS connections. Copy-paste commands included.

How to Decode an SSL Certificate

Decode SSL certificates in PEM, DER, and PKCS formats. Read certificate fields, extract SANs, check key usage, and understand the certificate structure.

How to Fix SSL Certificate Errors

Troubleshoot common SSL certificate errors: expired certificates, name mismatches, untrusted issuers, mixed content, and chain issues. Step-by-step fixes.

How to Validate an SSL Certificate

Validate SSL certificates are correctly installed and trusted. Check chain completeness, hostname matching, protocol support, and certificate transparency.

Using Let's Encrypt in Production: Best Practices

Best practices for running Let's Encrypt in production: Certbot configuration, renewal automation, monitoring, rate limits, and failure handling.

Self-Signed SSL Certificates: When to Use Them

What self-signed SSL certificates are, when they're appropriate, and when they'll cause problems. Development, testing, and internal use cases.

SSL Certificate Chain Explained

How SSL certificate chains work: root CAs, intermediate certificates, and leaf certificates. Why chain errors break your site and how to fix them.

SSL Certificate Glossary

Definitions of SSL and TLS terms: certificates, CAs, OCSP, CSR, SANs, HSTS, certificate pinning, and more. Plain-English explanations for every term.

SSL Certificate Management Strategy for Growing Teams

Build an SSL certificate management strategy: inventory, automation, monitoring, and incident response. For teams scaling from 10 to 1,000+ certificates.

Best SSL Certificate Providers Compared

Comparison of SSL certificate providers: Let's Encrypt, DigiCert, Sectigo, GlobalSign, and GoDaddy. Pricing, validation types, warranty, and support.

SSL Certificate Checker Tools Compared

Comparison of the best free SSL certificate checker tools: Qualys SSL Labs, SSLShopper, DigiCert, SSL Checker, and more. Features, speed, and reliability.

SSL Certificate Monitoring Explained

What SSL certificate monitoring is, why you need it, and how it works. Beyond expiry tracking: chain validation, certificate changes, and proactive alerts.

SSL Certificate Renewal Checklist

Step-by-step SSL certificate renewal checklist. From inventory to validation to deployment — never miss a renewal or break your site with a bad certificate swap.

SSL vs TLS: What's the Difference?

SSL and TLS explained: the differences between protocol versions, why SSL is deprecated, and why everyone still says 'SSL' when they mean TLS.

Types of SSL Certificates: DV, OV, and EV Explained

Domain Validation, Organization Validation, and Extended Validation SSL certificates compared. Which type you need, what they cost, and what they actually prove.

Website Security Checklist

Essential website security checklist: SSL/TLS configuration, headers, authentication, updates, backups, and monitoring. Prioritized for maximum impact.

What Happens When an SSL Certificate Expires

The full timeline of an SSL certificate expiration: browser warnings, broken APIs, SEO impact, and lost revenue. What breaks and how fast.

What Is SSL Inspection?

How SSL/TLS inspection works, why organizations use it, and the security and privacy trade-offs. Also known as TLS interception or SSL decryption.

Wildcard SSL Certificates Explained

How wildcard SSL certificates work, when to use them, their limitations, and why they can be a security risk. Plus: alternatives to wildcards.