Installing an SSL Certificate on a Windows Server

For Dedicated Servers & Cloud Servers with Windows Server 2016/2019/2022

In this guide, we will show you how to set up the SSL Starter Wildcard certificate from IONOS for websites that use Microsoft's IIS web server.

• Establish a remote desktop connection to your server.

• Open the Server Manager.

• Open the IIS Manager by clicking on Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager in the Server Manager.

• Double-click on the computer name at the top-left of the window.

• Scroll down on the right-hand side and double-click on the Server Certificates icon.

• Click on the Import... link in the top right-hand corner of the Actions sidebar.

• In the new window, click on ... and navigate to the directory containing your PFX file. Enter the password you selected when creating the PFX file in the text field. Also activate the checkbox to allow the export of this certificate. When you are finished, click OK.

• The certificate you have just added is now displayed in the Server certificates section. Then click on Sites in the Connections section on the left-hand side.

• Double-click on the website for which you want to use the SSL certificate.

• On the right-hand side, under Actions, click on the Bindings link.

• Click on Add.

• Change the type to https.

• If you want to install more than one SSL certificate, select the IP address used by the website.

• From the SSL certificate drop-down menu, select the certificate you have just added. Optionally, you can change the port number for the binding. However, it is recommended that you leave the default setting (port 443).

• Click OK when you are finished.