Question 1

What happens when an SSL certificate expires?

Accepted Answer

Browsers replace your website with a full-screen security warning that most visitors will not click through. Practically, an expired certificate takes your site down — and it happens silently on a schedule, which is why checking the expiry date matters.

Question 2

What does "not trusted" mean if the certificate exists?

Accepted Answer

The certificate was presented but browsers cannot verify it — typically a self-signed certificate, a certificate for a different domain name, or a missing intermediate certificate in the chain. Visitors see the same scary warning as an expired one.

Question 3

Why does my certificate expire every 90 days?

Accepted Answer

Providers like Let's Encrypt issue short-lived certificates by design and expect automated renewal. Ninety-day expiry with working automation is healthier than a one-year certificate renewed by a human who might forget.

Question 4

Does SSL affect Google rankings?

Accepted Answer

HTTPS has been a lightweight ranking signal since 2014, and Chrome labels plain-http pages "Not secure" — which costs trust with visitors regardless of rankings. There is no good reason for a business site to be on http in 2026.

Question 5

Is this check read-only?

Accepted Answer

Yes — it opens one TLS connection to port 443, reads the certificate the server presents (exactly what every browser does) and disconnects. Nothing is changed or stored.

Is your padlock about to expire?

Fair questions.

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