How to Install Free Let’s Encrypt SSL (HTTPS) on Linux Server

Introduction

Let’s Encrypt provides free SSL/TLS certificates to secure websites with HTTPS. This guide explains how to install and configure SSL on a Linux server using Certbot.

Prerequisites

Linux server (Ubuntu 20.04+)
Domain name pointing to server IP
Sudo or root access
Nginx or Apache installed

Step 1 — Update System Packages

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2 — Install Certbot

Nginx

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

Apache

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y

Step 3 — Obtain SSL Certificate

sudo certbot --nginx

sudo certbot --apache

Step 4 — Verify HTTPS

Visit:

https://yourdomain.com

Step 5 — Auto-Renew SSL

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Conclusion

Your Linux server is now secured with free HTTPS using Let’s Encrypt.

Author

Marquefactory DevOps Team