Why SSL Monitoring Matters
SSL certificates are the foundation of web security. When they expire, browsers show scary warnings that drive users away. According to research, 85% of users will leave a site that shows a security warning. Even worse, expired SSL certificates can break API integrations, mobile apps, and automated systems that don't show warnings — they just fail silently.
Let's Encrypt certificates expire every 90 days. Commercial certificates typically last 1-2 years. Either way, monitoring ensures you never get caught off guard.
What SSL Monitoring Checks
- Certificate expiry date — Alert well before expiration (30 days recommended)
- Certificate chain validity — Verify intermediate certificates are correctly installed
- Hostname coverage — Ensure the certificate covers all domains and subdomains you use
- Protocol versions — Detect outdated TLS 1.0/1.1 or confirm TLS 1.2+ support
- Certificate transparency — Some monitoring tools check CT logs for unauthorized certificates
How to Set Up SSL Monitoring
- Add your site to UptimePoint with the HTTPS URL
- SSL monitoring is automatically enabled for HTTPS sites
- Configure alert thresholds: 30-day warning and 7-day critical are recommended
- Set up email and Telegram alerts to ensure you don't miss expiry warnings
- For Let's Encrypt: consider automating renewal with certbot and monitoring the renewal process
Best Practices
Automate renewals: Use Let's Encrypt with certbot and a cron job. Monitor that the renewal process works.
Monitor the full chain: A valid leaf certificate with a missing intermediate causes the same errors as an expired certificate.
Check after deployments: SSL issues often appear after server migrations or certificate installations. Monitor immediately after changes.
Include subdomains: If you use www, api, mail, and other subdomains, monitor each one independently.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should SSL certificates be checked?
Daily checks are sufficient for most websites. UptimePoint checks SSL certificates as part of its daily monitoring cycle. For critical infrastructure, more frequent checks (every few hours) can catch issues faster.
When should I be alerted about SSL expiry?
Set alerts for 30 days before expiration (warning) and 7 days before (critical). This gives you time to renew certificates, update configurations, and verify the new certificate works — without the stress of a last-minute renewal.
Can SSL monitoring detect other issues besides expiry?
Yes. SSL monitoring also detects: certificate chain errors (incomplete intermediate certificates), hostname mismatches (certificate doesn't cover your domain), protocol version issues (outdated TLS versions), and revoked certificates.