SSL Certificate Checker
SSL certificates are the backbone of secure communication on the web. When you visit a site over HTTPS, an SSL/TLS certificate verifies that you are actually connecting to the server you think you are, and it encrypts the data traveling between your browser and that server. Without a valid certificate, login credentials, payment information, and personal data can be intercepted by anyone sitting between you and the website. For site owners, a properly configured SSL certificate is no longer optional — it is a baseline expectation from users, browsers, and search engines alike.
Google has used HTTPS as a ranking signal since 2014, and modern browsers now display visible warnings when a site lacks a valid certificate or when a certificate has expired. Beyond SEO and trust, an expired or misconfigured certificate can break your site entirely, preventing visitors from reaching it without clicking through alarming security interstitials. Regularly checking your SSL status helps you catch problems before your users do.
This tool lets you look up the SSL certificate for any domain. Enter a hostname and the checker retrieves the certificate details — including the issuer, expiration date, protocol version, and chain information — so you can verify that everything is current and correctly configured.
Learn about SSL certificates and check any domain. Enter a domain name below to retrieve its SSL certificate details including issuer, expiration date, and protocol information.
How to Use the SSL Checker
Using the tool is simple. Type a domain name into the Domain input field — for example, example.com or shop.yourbrand.com. You do not need to include https:// or any path; just the bare hostname is enough. Then click Check SSL to run the lookup.
The results panel will display the key details of the domain’s SSL certificate. Here is what to look for:
Issuer — the Certificate Authority (CA) that issued the certificate. Common issuers include Let’s Encrypt, DigiCert, Sectigo, and Cloudflare. Knowing the issuer helps you verify that the certificate was obtained through a trusted authority.
Expiration Date — certificates have a fixed validity period, typically 90 days for Let’s Encrypt or up to one year for paid certificates. If the expiration date is approaching, it is time to renew. An expired certificate will cause browsers to block access to your site with a full-page warning.
Protocol and Cipher Information — this tells you which version of TLS the connection uses. TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3 are the current standards. Older protocols like TLS 1.0 and 1.1 are deprecated and considered insecure.
Certificate Chain — a properly configured SSL setup includes not just the domain certificate but also intermediate certificates that link it back to a trusted root CA. A broken chain can cause validation failures in some browsers even if the certificate itself is valid.
Key Features
Check Any Public Domain — enter any hostname and retrieve its certificate information. The tool works with primary domains, subdomains, and any publicly accessible server that responds over HTTPS.
Certificate Details at a Glance — see the issuer, subject, validity dates, and protocol version in a clear, readable format without having to dig through browser developer tools.
Expiration Monitoring — quickly check whether a certificate is still valid and how much time remains before it expires, so you can plan renewals ahead of time.
Chain Validation — the tool inspects the certificate chain to help you identify missing intermediate certificates or configuration issues that could cause trust errors in certain browsers or devices.
No Installation Needed — the checker runs directly in your browser. There is nothing to download or configure, and you do not need an account to use it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I check my SSL certificate?
It depends on your renewal cycle and how critical uptime is to your business. If you use auto-renewing certificates from a provider like Let’s Encrypt (which issues 90-day certificates), a monthly check is a reasonable habit to make sure the automation is working. For longer-lived certificates, checking quarterly or setting a calendar reminder a few weeks before expiration is usually sufficient. If you manage multiple domains or subdomains, consider running checks on all of them at the same time so nothing slips through the cracks. Many teams also set up automated monitoring that alerts them when a certificate is within 30 days of expiring.
What happens when an SSL certificate expires?
When a certificate expires, browsers will display a prominent security warning — typically a full-page interstitial that tells visitors the connection is not secure. Most users will not proceed past this warning, which means an expired certificate effectively takes your site offline for the majority of your audience. Search engines may also temporarily drop your pages from results or flag them as unsafe. On the technical side, API integrations, webhooks, and automated systems that connect to your domain over HTTPS will start failing with certificate validation errors. Renewing the certificate and restarting your web server resolves the issue, but prevention is always better than recovery.
Is SSL the same as TLS?
Technically, no. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the original protocol developed by Netscape in the mid-1990s. TLS (Transport Layer Security) is its successor, first released as TLS 1.0 in 1999. All versions of SSL are now deprecated and considered insecure. When people say “SSL certificate” today, they are almost always referring to a certificate used with the TLS protocol. The term SSL persists largely out of habit and brand recognition. The certificates themselves are the same regardless of whether you call them SSL or TLS certificates — what matters is that your server is configured to use TLS 1.2 or TLS 1.3, the two protocol versions considered secure by current standards.
Does SSL affect SEO?
Yes. Google confirmed HTTPS as a ranking signal in 2014, and its importance has only grown since then. While HTTPS alone will not push a page to the top of search results, the absence of it can hold you back. Sites without valid certificates are flagged as “Not Secure” in the browser address bar, which increases bounce rates and erodes trust — both of which indirectly hurt your search performance. Additionally, referral data is stripped when traffic passes from an HTTPS site to an HTTP site, which can distort your analytics. For any site that wants to compete in search, a properly configured SSL certificate is a fundamental requirement, not a bonus.
SSL is one layer of site security — but production WordPress sites face a wider range of threats. If your site handles user data or processes payments, this deep dive on WordPress security and performance covers hardening strategies that go well beyond certificates. For sites that have outgrown shared hosting, Toimi’s infrastructure team builds and maintains secure, scalable WordPress deployments.