Website SSL cert renewal

[molinari]

I hope I’m posting this in the right place, this isn't something I've previously dealt with.

We have a website with an SSL certificate. Last year it expired so we had to get a new cert then install that onto the servers before all was good again. This year, we don’t plan on letting it expire! It is due for automatic renewal in a few weeks, and automatic renewal, I’m assuming, just means the issuer (IONOS) automatically generates a new cert for us to use? We would then have to download that and upload to the server? If it expires at 9am, will users see security connection warning from 9am until we’ve uploaded the new SSL cert?

I was hoping to renew it early in order to make sure we don’t have any issues, but if I manually renew the certificate early, what happens to the existing one? Does it continue to work until its expiry even though a new one has been issued, or do we have to upload the new certificate files immediately to the servers to avoid issues? Will the new cert be valid from the time I manually renew it up to the original expiry date, and then for the following year that we’ve purchased it for?

Lots of questions, sorry, but I want to understand this fully.
Thanks.

 

[Beansprout]

Just move to a host who include a free SSL, add some free monitoring from Uptime robot, then never worry about this again.

But failing that, an SSL is just a text file and it's valid for the time it says which never changes even if you buy another one (no such thing as a 'renewal' really).

 

[throwaway4372]

Automate the whole process.

Let's Encrypt

Let's Encrypt is a free, automated, and open certificate authority brought to you by the nonprofit Internet Security Research Group (ISRG). Read all about our nonprofit work this year in our 2023 Annual Report.

letsencrypt.org

 

[touch]

I was hoping to renew it early in order to make sure we don’t have any issues, but if I manually renew the certificate early, what happens to the existing one? Does it continue to work until its expiry even though a new one has been issued, or do we have to upload the new certificate files immediately to the servers to avoid issues? Will the new cert be valid from the time I manually renew it up to the original expiry date, and then for the following year that we’ve purchased it for?

Lots of questions, sorry, but I want to understand this fully.
Thanks.

You can usually renew 90 days before the current certificate expires and the expiry date of the new certificate will be 1 year after the expiry date of the old certificate.

The old certificate will continue to work up until it's expiry date even if you renew early.

 

[molinari]

If I could move to a host with a free SSL cert I would, but I can't, and I can't automate the process either.
Anyway, thanks for the replies. So, if I renew/buy the new cert now, the old one will continue to work up until its expiry date and time, that's easy. However, am I able to upload the new cert before expiry of the old cert, or does it have to be done on the hour of expiry of the old one? Basically, does the new cert have a valid date of when it was purchased, or of when the old one is due to expire? Thanks again!!

 

[throwaway4372]

It'll be valid from when purchased so you can replace it a few days ahead of expiry to avoid any issues.