Domains
SSL & expiry checks
We watch both your domain registration and your website's SSL certificate, and warn you before either runs out.
Two different things can run out
- The domain registration is your right to use the name. If it isn't renewed, you can lose the domain.
- The SSL certificate is what makes a website secure in the browser. If it runs out, browsers show visitors a security warning instead of your site.
One can be fine while the other has run out, so we track both.
Domain registration
We keep track of the expiry date of every domain. We look it up ourselves, or you can enter it by hand. If we can't find it, the domain shows an Expiry unknown issue until you set a date. See WHOIS information.
The monitoring page and dashboard count a domain as expiring when its registration ends within 30 days. Emails are sent 30 days, 7 days and 1 day before. See Alert thresholds.
SSL certificate
For domains that are marked as a website, we check the SSL certificate. The domain page shows its status and expiry date. In detailed view it also shows who issued it.
- SSL expiring soon is an issue when the certificate expires within 30 days.
- SSL check failed is an issue when we couldn't check the certificate, for example because the website didn't respond. In that case the domain page says the SSL certificate could not be retrieved.
SSL checks run for domains you marked as a website. Even when monitoring is switched off, the certificate's expiry date and the registration expiry date are still kept up to date.
What should I do about a warning?
- Domain expiring: renew it with the registrar, the company where you registered the domain.
- SSL expiring soon: renew the certificate. If your hosting renews it automatically, check that this actually happened. Each issue's page has more specific steps.
- SSL check failed: check that the website is online and reachable.
Once the problem is fixed, the issue goes away after the next check.
To choose which warnings you get by email, see Notification channels.