When you purchase a certificate, the fee that you must pay varies based on the certificate type, domain name type, certificate brand, and service that you select. Before you purchase a certificate, we recommend that you understand the billing details about Certificate Management Service. This topic describes the billing details about Certificate Management Service and how to manage certificates that expire.
Billing method
SSL certificates use the subscription billing method.
Billable items
The prices of certificates vary based on certificate types, domain name types, and brands. For more information about the prices of certificates, visit the Certificate Management Service buy page.
Validity period description
Each certificate is valid for a specified period of time. A certificate can be valid for up to 397 days regardless of which certificate authority (CA) issues the certificate.
Expiration impacts
After the validity period of a certificate elapses, the certificate expires. After a certificate expires, your website that uses the certificate is affected. The following list describes the impacts of certificate expiration on your website:
The website cannot be accessed.
When a user accesses the website from a browser, the website is reported as not secure.
The search ranking of the website drops.
The communication between visitors and the website cannot be encrypted.
Manage certificates that are about to expire
To prevent your website from being affected after your certificate expires, you must apply for a new certificate and complete the issuance of the new certificate before the existing certificate expires. After the new certificate is issued, you must install the new certificate on Alibaba Cloud services and web servers on which the existing certificate is installed to replace the existing certificate.
Certificate type | Required operation before expiration |
Official certificate | Purchase a new certificate for renewal 30 calendar days before the existing certificate expires, submit an application for the new certificate, complete the issuance, and then install the new certificate.
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Third-party certificate | Go to the platform of the certificate issuer to purchase a new certificate before the existing certificate expires. Then, click Upload Certificate in the Certificate Management Service console to upload the new certificate. Then, install the new certificate. For more information about how to upload a certificate, see Upload and share an SSL certificate. |
Manage certificates that expire
If a certificate expired more than one year ago, Alibaba Cloud automatically deletes the certificate, and the certificate cannot be restored.