# How do I install an SSL Certificate on a Droplet?

SSL certificates increase security for your Droplet and your users by enabling encrypted connections to your server. You can purchase certificates through a commercial SSL certificate authority (CA) or use a free, open source CA like [Let’s Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org/).

## Installing Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificates

Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates are free, [remain valid for three months](https://letsencrypt.org/2015/11/09/why-90-days), and support automatic renewal.

To install Let’s Encrypt certificates, you need to [create A records](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/networking/dns/how-to/manage-records/index.html.md#a-records) pointing your domain to your Droplet’s IP address. Then you can use `certbot` to automatically configure SSL on your web server.

[How To Secure Nginx with Let's Encrypt on Ubuntu 22.04](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-secure-nginx-with-let-s-encrypt-on-ubuntu-22-04): This tutorial uses Certbot to obtain and install an SSL certificate for Nginx on Ubuntu 22.04 and set up automatic renewal.

[How To Secure Apache with Let's Encrypt on Ubuntu 22.04](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-secure-apache-with-let-s-encrypt-on-ubuntu-22-04): This tutorial uses Certbot to obtain and install an SSL certificate for Apache on Ubuntu 22.04 and set up automatic renewal.

## Installing Commercial SSL Certificates

Commercial SSL certificates usually cost money and remain valid for one year or longer. After you obtain a commercial SSL certificate, you can install it on your web server by modifying its configuration file.

[How To Install an SSL Certificate from a Commercial Certificate Authority](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-an-ssl-certificate-from-a-commercial-certificate-authority): This tutorial will show you how to acquire and install an SSL certificate from a trusted, commercial Certificate Authority (CA).

## Related Topics

[How do I generate my app's SSL certificate?](https://docs.digitalocean.com/support/how-do-i-generate-my-apps-ssl-certificate/index.html.md): App Platform automatically generates and issues the SSL certificate during the configuration.

[How do I fix a "system not initialized" error on multi-GPU Droplets?](https://docs.digitalocean.com/support/how-do-i-fix-a-system-not-initialized-error-on-multi-gpu-droplets/index.html.md): Make sure NVIDIA Fabric Manager is running and has the same version number as the GPU drivers.

[Why am I getting a Droplet autoscale pool error?](https://docs.digitalocean.com/support/why-am-i-getting-a-droplet-autoscale-pool-error/index.html.md): There may be an issue with the autoscale pool or Droplet configuration, the VPC network’s size, or resource limits on the team or datacenter.