Top 7 SSL Renewal Ongoing Best Practices

SSL/TLS certificates help secure websites and users. These certificates protect sensitive information, including passwords and customer payment information, with encryption. The impact of these certificates can be gauged by the fact that 85% of visitors are deterred from visiting a site that has been marked as ‘Not Secure.‘

Since SSL certificates have a limited validity period, they must be renewed regularly. If not renewed, a website may experience downtime, browser warnings, and users will lose trust in the site.

In this blog, we will explore the 7 best practices to renew SSL certificates to help you maintain uninterrupted security and keep your website safe.

7 Best Practices For SSL Certificate Renewal

Out of all approaches, the 7 most effective ways to renew an SSL certificate are highlighted below. Let’s explore each one in detail to see how they help maintain security and prevent disruptions.

1. Track Expiry Dates Proactively

Tracking expiry dates prevents unexpected certificate failures. Without proper tracking, administrators may face sudden downtime or browser warnings. To stay ahead, maintain a detailed inventory that includes all domains and associated expiry dates.

Below are a few options on how to manage and track SSL certificate expiration dates on a proactive basis: 

• Designate someone from within your organization as the owner of each certificate.
• Weekly review all certificate inventories for upcoming expiring dates.
• Create email or SMS alerts to address the IT guys beforehand. 

By these means, teams know when renewals will be needed and can take action with plenty of time before a certificate expires.

2. Validate Domain and Organization Details Early

Certificate authorities require accurate domain and organization data. DV certificates verify domain control, while OV and EV certificates also confirm organizational details. If records are outdated, renewals may be delayed or rejected.

Here are the steps to validate domain and organization details early:

• Confirm WHOIS information matches the data submitted to the certificate authority.
• Keep contact emails and phone numbers current for validation requests.
• Check corporate registration details to prevent discrepancies during renewal.

Addressing these details in advance will not only reduce delays but also allow certificates to be issued quickly. This helps prevent service interruptions and maintains continuous website security.

3. Automate Renewals Where Possible

Automation makes it easy to re-issue certificates and prevents human mistakes. If you’re only dealing with a handful of certificates, manual renewal isn’t too bad. But for the larger settings, automated technologies work better. With ACME protocol or certificate management tools, renewals take place automatically without human effort.

Check out the steps below to implement automation effectively:

• Configure automated deployment for web servers or load balancers.
• Use APIs from certificate authorities to streamline renewal requests.
• Watch the automation logs until you see no more errors or failed renewals. 

Automating this workflow reduces a lot of manual labor, prevents failing to renew, and most importantly, assures the security of web services without downtime!

4. Generate New CSR and Re-Key

Always create a new Certificate Signing Request (CSR) when renewing SSL certificates and generating new keys. Reusing older keys diminishes security. And there is an overall increased risk of compromise.

Here are some best practices to protect keys and strengthen encryption:

• Keep private keys within a secure, physically protected, access-controlled site to prevent accidental use. 
• Use strong cipher algorithms (i.e., RSA 3072/4096; ECC).
• Rotate intermediate certificates whenever updates occur in the certificate chain.
• Keep detailed records of key changes to track modifications for future renewals.

All in all, generating fresh CSRs and updating keys regularly strengthens security and helps you maintain a protected environment.

5. Test After Renewal

Testing certificates after installation is essential. Even a properly issued certificate may fail if misconfigured. Use SSL test tools to verify the certificate chain, configuration, and compatibility.

Here are some ways to test: 

• Check different devices and browsers for inconsistencies.
• Check server configuration for your HTTPS protocols and cipher suites.
• Check the logs for any SSL errors during the first deployment or load traffic.

By doing this testing, you can verify the correct operation of the renewed certificate across all systems. This can help to avoid browser warnings and keep your users in a safe, uninterrupted web space.

6. Centralize Certificate Management

Managing certificates in multiple locations can cause oversight and errors. Centralized management allows IT teams to track all certificates from a single dashboard. This improves visibility and audit readiness.

Here’s how to centralize certificate management:

• Keep a single repository of all certificate details, including expiration, type, and owner.
• Perform regular audits to identify certificates with weak encryption or old keys.
• Integrate certificate inventory with network monitoring tools to detect anomalies.

7. Document and Train Teams

Precise documentation of SSL renewal procedures offers consistency. Clear documentation helps reduce errors and provides a source of information for new team members. In addition, training provides the teams with the ability to identify issues and take action quickly.

Some examples of how to strengthen this process are to: 

• Develop step-by-step SOPs for CSR creation, installation, and testing. 
• Hold knowledge-sharing sessions that explain certificate validation processes.
• Review past certificate failures to identify areas for improvement.

By combining proper documentation with continuous training, you can build accountability and technical readiness. This will ultimately empower teams to better manage SSL certificate renewals and prevent outages.

The Bottomline

If you stick to these seven best practices, handling SSL renewals becomes much smoother and reliable. Every step matters because it helps strengthen your overall security. Overlooking any step can leave your systems open to issues like downtime or a loss of trust.  

Most importantly, when it’s time to renew or buy SSL certificates, go with a reputable provider. The right provider gives you strong encryption and dependable support. It helps protect your website while keeping your users’ confidence intact.