Activating SSL Certificates (HTTPS) For a Custom Domain and Fixing "Pending" or "Unavailable" Errors

SSL technology is the standard web traffic encryption used by millions of websites today. That said, while most people know that SSL is crucial to the proper functioning of their Shopify store and that it's important to add it to your website, a lot of the technical terms can sometimes be hard to navigate.

So, in this article, we'll find out all there is to know about Shopify SSL settings, SSL certificates, and how to fix the SSL pending and unavailable errors.

Do I Need SSL for Shopify?

SSL, or secure socket layer, is a kind of security utilized in protecting data as it travels between the internet and your computer. It functions by encrypting the data exchange between 2 parties, which prevents it from being read by other people, including individuals on the same network.

So with HTTPS, all your content and website traffic is secure, and, when shoppers are browsing your Shopify store, their activities are encrypted as they navigate from page to page. This means that you can assure your customers that they aren't putting their private information at risk.

So you absolutely do need SSL for Shopify.

How to Activate SSL on Shopify

Shopify offers free SSL certificates, which makes it extremely easy for merchants to encrypt their websites. And with a couple of clicks merchants can migrate the Shopify hosted store pages to the secure HTTPS protocol. Now, to activate your free SSL certificate on Shopify, you just need to login to your freshly created online store and Shopify will automatically issue and install an SSL certificate across every URL the moment your domain is connected. In a scenario where your host and the Content Delivery Network (CDN) you use also use SSL, then your SSL certificate will validate right away and your store will be secure.

To verify whether your SSL certification passed you can navigate through your site to check that every URL shows a prefix HTTPS rather than HTTP. If it didn't, you won't see a padlock icon on your browser address bar. However, if your Shopify SSL certificate won't load on your online store, then you'll get a warning message that says SSL pending or SSL unavailable.

What to Do If Shopify SSL is Unavailable?

If you get a Shopify "SSL unavailable" error in your Shopify admin center it's exactly what it states - SSL isn't available for use on your store. This doesn't imply that you cannot use Shopify's free encryption, it simply means that some segment of your domain's configuration or your website's content is insecure, so Shopify is unable to issue an SSL certificate.

There are 4 major ways you can fix this error:

Give it 48 Hours

It usually takes 48 hours from the time you create the website for your SSL Shopify HTTPS certificate to completely distribute and install. So, if you see the error (and also the "SSL Pending" error), just give it some time before trying anything else.

Remove IPv6 Records

Though IPv6 records are a legitimate record type, they're irrelevant to Shopify web hosting and can negatively impact HTTPS encryption. So use Ipv4 A records to make sure that you get an HTTPS URL prefix.

Fix Your Domain Record

If you didn't create a custom domain on Shopify then you have to add it yourself. So you have to manually check whether your A record is pointing towards Shopify's IP address: 23.227.38.65. Plus, your CNAME entries should point at shops.myshopify.com to ensure your Shopify custom domain SSL works.

Lastly, don't use many A records for a single domain as that can trigger the SSL unavailable error.

Remove or Alter Certification Authority Authorization (CAA) Records

It isn't recommended that you use CAA records as they're an unnecessary step in the process. However, if you have to use CAA records then ensure that every record includes certificate authorities from globalsign.com, digicert.com, and letsencrypt.org

What to Do if Shopify SSL is Pending?

SSL pending means that SSL is activated for your online store but Shopify hasn't verified your content and server to ensure that it is compliant with the encryption protocol. The SSL pending message, if all necessary conditions are met, should last for only 48 hours, and there are 3 ways you can address this error if it persists longer:

Correct your A Name Records

If your A Name records are incorrect you'll get the SSL pending error. So ensure that they point to Shopify's IP address: 23.227.38.65.

Fix your CName Records

Change your Shopify CName record to point to: shops.myshopify.com.

Conclusion

That's a wrap! Follow the steps above to fix the SSL unavailable or SSL pending Shopify domain errors and also to activate your Shopify SSL certificate on your online store.