We've got you covered for SSL, but if you need a to use a custom SSL certificate on your Thinkific site, this article will go over how to get started.
All Thinkific sites are covered by an SSL certificate by default. If you're using a thinkific.com URL, your site will be covered by our own certificate for Thinkific. When you're using a custom URL, we generate an SSL certificate for you via Let's Encrypt. More on that here.
If you would prefer to, you can also use your own custom SSL certificate. We cover that in more detail below.
Why use a custom SSL certificate?
For most customers, the certificates we generate via Let's Encrypt will work just fine! There are times when you may want to use a custom certificate, though, including:
- If you already have your own SSL certificate - If you've already got a certificate that you're using for another external site, you can use the same one for Thinkific too. (Make sure it's a wildcard SSL so it works across all subdomains.)
- If you want your brand name to show on the certificate - Use a custom SSL certificate to have your company name show next to the padlock in the browser address bar.
How much does it cost?
There are no additional Thinkific fees beyond your monthly or yearly subscription plan. You will require custom SSL certificate (purchased from your domain host or another third-party certificate provider).
How do I add my custom SSL certificate to my Thinkific site?
First, make sure that you've already purchased the SSL certificate of your choice.
You'll see the option to Use Custom Certificate under the Site tab in the Settings of your admin dashboard:
- Click Use Custom Certificate - or this link - to go to our custom certificate survey
- Fill out the required details and click to Submit
- You'll then be emailed your Certificate Signing Request (CSR). The CSR is what you need to send to your certificate provider to verify you as the owner of that domain
- Contact your domain host/certificate provider to give them the CSR
- They'll give you back a signed certificate. Opt to have PEM format if possible
- Attach the signed certificate to a message for our Support team
We'll then apply the certificate to your Thinkific site for you and send you an email once it's done!
What happens when my certificate expires?
SSL certificates have a set expiry date. To ensure your site is always covered by SSL, we renew custom certificates 30 days before they expire.
Ahead of this cutoff, you'll be able to go to Settings > SSL Certificate in your Thinkific admin dashboard to renew your certificate by generating a CSR and reaching out to our Team as before.
If you don't update your certificate in time, your site will be switched back to using one of our basic auto-generated certificates. So your site will still be secure, but you won't have the benefits of the custom SSL as described above.
If your site has been switched back to the basic auto-generated certificate, you can still reach out to our Support team to renew your custom certificate.
Or, if at any point you'd like to stop using a custom SSL certificate, then please let us know.
How do I remove my custom certificate?
If at any point you need to remove your custom SSL certificate from your Thinkific site, get in touch with our Support team here.
Your site will then go back to using one of our basic auto-generated certificates.