Awe CheckHow to check a website’s SSL certificate: expiry, chain, domain name
Three things break a certificate: it expired, the chain is incomplete, the name is wrong. Check a site’s SSL online, free, in a minute.
Checked against sources: 8 October 2026
- 3things in a certificate: expiry, name, chain
- 90 daysLet’s Encrypt certificate life
- 1 minfree check from outside
The short answer
To check a site’s SSL certificate, look at three things: when it expires, whether it was issued for exactly this domain, and whether the chain reaches a trusted authority. All of it is visible from outside from a single address. Enter the site in Awe Check: the report shows the expiry, the name and the http to https redirect together.
1. Expiry
An expired certificate turns the site into a red “connection not private” page and most visitors leave. Free Let’s Encrypt certificates last 90 days, paid ones are shorter than they used to be, and the limit keeps shrinking. Renewal has to be automatic, not a calendar reminder.
2. Domain name
A certificate is issued for specific names. If it covers example.com but the site opens on www.example.com or a subdomain, the browser warns. Check the bare domain, the www version and every subdomain visitors see.
3. The chain
The browser trusts not your certificate but the authority that issued it. If the server does not send the intermediate certificate, some devices, older phones in particular, show an error while everything opens fine in your browser. It is the sneakiest cause of “works for me”.
4. What else must line up
- An http:// address leads to https:// in one hop.
- The HSTS header tells browsers to always use https.
- No images or scripts load over http, or the padlock disappears.
What Awe Check sees
The rules cover a valid certificate, days until expiry, the https redirect, HSTS and mixed content. For each item the report names the page and gives a ready line for the server setup.
Frequently asked
How do I check an SSL certificate’s expiry online?
Enter the site address in Awe Check: the report says whether the certificate is valid and when it ends. In a browser the same shows by the padlock next to the address.
Why is there a padlock but the site is still “not secure”?
Most often the page loads resources over http: images, fonts or scripts. The browser treats it as mixed content and drops the padlock.
How long does an SSL certificate last?
A free Let’s Encrypt one: 90 days. Paid ones run up to a year or less, and the maximum keeps being cut, so auto-renewal is a must.
Does a brochure site need SSL?
Yes. Without it browsers flag the site as not secure, Google ranks it lower and forms cannot be sent safely.
