SSL/TLS certificates are essential for the security of your websites. An expired certificate can make your site inaccessible via HTTPS and display security warnings to users. In this comprehensive guide, we explain how to monitor your SSL certificates with UptimeFlux to avoid expiration issues and ensure the security of your websites.

1. Why Monitor Your SSL Certificates?

An expired SSL certificate can have serious consequences:

  • Inaccessible site: Your site becomes inaccessible via HTTPS
  • Security warnings: Browsers display scary warnings to users
  • Loss of trust: Users lose trust in your brand
  • SEO impact: Google penalizes sites with invalid certificates
  • Revenue loss: Users leave your site due to security warnings

SSL monitoring allows you to avoid these issues by alerting you before your certificates expire.

2. How Does SSL Monitoring Work?

UptimeFlux automatically checks the expiration date of your SSL/TLS certificates:

  1. Connection to your HTTPS domain
  2. Analysis of the SSL/TLS certificate
  3. Verification of the expiration date
  4. Calculation of remaining days
  5. Sending alerts at regular intervals (30, 15, 7 days before expiration)

3. Types of SSL Certificates Monitored

UptimeFlux can monitor all types of SSL/TLS certificates:

Let's Encrypt Certificates

Free certificates with a 90-day validity period

Commercial Certificates

DigiCert, GlobalSign, Sectigo, etc. with one-year or longer validity

Wildcard Certificates

*.example.com certificates for multiple subdomains

Multi-Domain Certificates

SAN (Subject Alternative Name) certificates for multiple domains

4. Configure SSL Monitoring

To monitor your SSL certificates with UptimeFlux:

  1. Create a new "SSL" type monitor in your dashboard
  2. Enter the domain to monitor (e.g., example.com)
  3. Configure expiration alerts (30, 15, 7 days before expiration)
  4. Associate your contacts to receive notifications
  5. Test the monitor to verify it works correctly

5. SSL Expiration Alerts

UptimeFlux sends you alerts at several times before expiration:

  • 30 days before expiration: Early alert to plan renewal
  • 15 days before expiration: Reminder if you haven't renewed yet
  • 7 days before expiration: Urgent alert to renew quickly
  • Day of expiration: Critical alert if the certificate expires today

Configure your alerts to receive these notifications by email, SMS, or webhook.

6. Best Practices for SSL Monitoring

  • Monitor all your domains: Don't forget subdomains and test domains
  • Configure multiple alerts: Receive alerts at different times so you don't forget
  • Automate renewal: Use tools like Certbot for Let's Encrypt
  • Monitor intermediate certificates: Also check the certificate chain
  • Test regularly: Verify that your alerts work correctly

7. Integration with HTTPS Monitoring

SSL monitoring perfectly complements HTTP/HTTPS monitoring. Together, they allow you to:

  • Monitor the availability of your HTTPS sites
  • Verify the validity of your SSL certificates
  • Detect SSL configuration issues
  • Ensure complete security of your websites

Conclusion

SSL monitoring is essential to maintain the security and availability of your websites. By monitoring your certificates and receiving alerts before expiration, you can avoid availability issues and maintain user trust.

Start monitoring your SSL certificates with UptimeFlux. Discover our SSL monitoring service and configure your alerts in minutes.