Obtaining and Installing SSL/TLS Certificates

In this section, we'll walk through the essential steps of obtaining and installing SSL/TLS certificates to secure your website with Nginx. This process involves acquiring a certificate and then configuring Nginx to use it.

There are several ways to obtain an SSL/TLS certificate. For beginners, using a free certificate authority like Let's Encrypt is highly recommended. They offer automated, short-lived certificates that are ideal for getting started. For production environments requiring longer validity periods or specific validation types, commercial Certificate Authorities (CAs) are also an option.

Let's Encrypt is a popular choice due to its ease of use and cost-effectiveness. The most common method to obtain Let's Encrypt certificates is by using a client tool, such as Certbot. Certbot automates the process of verifying your domain, obtaining the certificate, and even installing it on your web server.

To install Certbot, you'll typically use your operating system's package manager. The exact command will vary depending on your Linux distribution.

Once Certbot is installed, you can use it to obtain and install your SSL certificate. This command will automatically detect your Nginx configuration and set up SSL for your specified domain(s).

Certbot will then guide you through a series of prompts, such as whether to redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS. It's generally recommended to choose the redirect option for better security.

graph TD
A[Start: Obtain Certificate] --> B{Choose Certificate Authority}
B --> C[Let's Encrypt (e.g., Certbot)]
B --> D[Commercial CA]
C --> E[Install Certbot Client]
D --> F[Purchase Certificate & Download Files]
E --> G[Run Certbot Command]
G --> H{Verify Domain Ownership}
H -- Success --> I[Obtain Certificate Files]
H -- Failure --> G
I --> J[Install Certificate on Nginx]
J --> K[Configure Nginx to Use Certificate]
K --> L[Test SSL Configuration]
L -- Success --> M[End: Website Secured]
L -- Failure --> K