Quickstart

Welcome to anssl! This guide walks you through creating your account and issuing your first free SSL certificate in about five minutes.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, confirm you have:

• ✅ A valid email address
• ✅ A registered domain name
• ✅ DNS management permissions for the domain (required for ownership validation)

Tip

Need a domain? Register one through your preferred provider (for example, Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, GoDaddy).

Step 1: Create an account

1. Open the registration page

   Visit the anssl registration form.

2. Enter your details

   • Email address
   • Password (minimum 8 characters with letters and numbers)
   • Password confirmation

3. Submit the form

   Click Register. A verification email arrives within a few seconds.

4. Verify your email

   Open the email and follow the verification link to activate your account.

Step 2: Sign in to the console

After verification:

1. Navigate to the login page.
2. Enter the email and password you just created.
3. Click Log in to reach the dashboard.

First-time users see a welcome screen with shortcuts to common tasks.

Step 3: Request a free certificate

1. Open Certificate Management

   In the left navigation, choose Certificates to view your inventory.

2. Start a new request

   Click New certificate in the top-right corner.

3. Pick a certificate type

   Choose the option that fits your scenario:

   • Single-domain: Protects one hostname (for example example.com).
   • Wildcard: Covers a root domain and all subdomains (for example *.example.com).
   • Multi-domain (SAN): Secures multiple unique hostnames under one certificate.

4. Enter domain details

   • Provide the primary domain you want to secure.
   • For wildcard certificates, use the *.domain.com format.

5. Select a certificate authority

   We recommend:

   • Let’s Encrypt – Well-known, fast issuance.
   • ZeroSSL – Free alternative for redundancy.
   • Google Trust Services – Fast issuance backed by Google.

6. Pick a signing algorithm

   • Use ECC P-256 for the best blend of performance and security.
   • If you must support legacy platforms, choose RSA-2048.

7. Choose a validation method

   anssl supports multiple validation flows:

   DNS verification (recommended):

   • Add the requested TXT record to your DNS provider.
   • Works for every certificate type, including wildcards.

   HTTP verification (coming soon):

   • Upload the provided challenge file to your site root.
   • Ideal for domains already serving content.
   • Not supported for wildcard certificates.

8. Complete domain validation

9. Wait for issuance

   Once validation succeeds, the CA issues the certificate—normally within one to five minutes.

10. Download your files

    When the status shows Issued, click Download to retrieve the certificate bundle.

Tip

DNS propagation can take 5–30 minutes. If validation fails, wait a bit and try again after confirming the record resolves.

Step 4: Deploy the certificate

Option A: Manual deployment

After downloading the certificate files, deploy them based on your server stack.

Nginx

1. Upload the certificate and key:

scp example.com.pem root@your-server:/etc/nginx/ssl/
scp example.com.key root@your-server:/etc/nginx/ssl/

2. Update the virtual host configuration:

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/nginx/ssl/example.com.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/ssl/example.com.key;

    ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
    ssl_ciphers HIGH:!aNULL:!MD5;

    # additional directives…
}

3. Test and reload Nginx:

nginx -t
nginx -s reload

Apache

1. Upload the certificate and private key:

scp example.com.crt root@your-server:/etc/ssl/certs/
scp example.com.key root@your-server:/etc/ssl/private/

2. Edit the virtual host:

<VirtualHost *:443>
    ServerName example.com

    SSLEngine on
    SSLCertificateFile /etc/ssl/certs/example.com.crt
    SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/ssl/private/example.com.key

    # additional directives…
</VirtualHost>

3. Restart Apache:

systemctl restart apache2

Option B: Automatic deployment

anssl can deploy certificates for you on a schedule:

1. Open Automatic Deployment in the console.
2. Select the certificate you just issued.
3. Configure deployment targets (server credentials or cloud provider tokens).
4. Run a deployment test to confirm connectivity.
5. Enable automatic deployment to sync changes after each renewal.

See the deployment guide for detailed configuration steps.

Step 5: Verify the certificate

Confirm that the certificate is active and trusted:

1. Check in a browser

   Visit https://yourdomain.com and confirm:

   • The address bar shows a lock icon 🔒.
   • No security warnings appear.
   • The certificate details match your domain.

2. Run an online scan

   Use SSL Labs:

   • Visit the test page.
   • Enter your domain name.
   • Review the grade and remediation tips.

3. Validate via CLI

   openssl s_client -connect example.com:443 -servername example.com

Tip

A Verify return code: 0 (ok) message indicates the certificate chain is valid.

Next steps

Great work—your first certificate is live! Continue scaling your setup with the resources below.

Domain monitoring

Configure expiry monitoring so you receive renewal reminders in advance.

Learn more →

Automated deployment

Keep servers in sync after renewals with automated rollout.

Learn more →

Productivity tools

Use built-in helpers such as WHOIS lookups and CSR generation.

Learn more →

Frequently asked questions

What if domain validation fails?

DNS validation:

• Double-check the requested TXT or CNAME record value.
• Allow 5–30 minutes for propagation.
• Use nslookup or dig to confirm the record is visible publicly.

HTTP validation:

• Ensure the challenge file is publicly accessible over HTTP.
• Review firewall/CDN rules that might block the request.
• Temporarily disable forced HTTP→HTTPS redirects if necessary.

Why does the browser still show “Not Secure”?

Potential causes:

• Incorrect certificate path in your server configuration.
• Mismatch between the private key and certificate.
• Missing intermediate certificates.
• Browser cache holding an earlier state.

Fixes:

1. Review the server configuration for path typos.
2. Run the SSL Labs scan to identify chain issues.
3. Clear the browser cache and reload.

How do I request a wildcard certificate?

Wildcard certificates require DNS validation:

1. Enter the domain as *.example.com.
2. Choose the DNS validation option.
3. Add the provided TXT/CNAME record.
4. Complete validation to receive the certificate.

How do free and paid certificates differ?

Feature	Free certificates	Paid certificates
Encryption level	Same	Same
Browser trust	Same	Same
Validity period	90 days	1–3 years
Validation types	DV only	DV / OV / EV
Support	Community	Dedicated support
Warranty	None	Included on many plans

Free DV certificates cover most personal and SMB use cases. Enterprises with compliance requirements often select OV or EV offerings from commercial CAs.

Need help?

If you run into trouble:

• 📖 Review the FAQ.
• 💬 Join the community discussion group.
• 📧 Email support at contact@anssl.cn.
• 🐛 Report issues on GitHub.