SSL Certificate Errors

Encountering SSL or HTTPS issues with your custom domain? This guide helps you resolve certificate errors, mixed content warnings, and secure connection problems for your Firebuzz landing pages.

Understanding SSL in Firebuzz

Firebuzz automatically provisions and manages SSL certificates through Cloudflare for all connected custom domains. Certificates are issued free, renewed automatically before expiration, and require no manual configuration.

Troubleshooting

SSL Certificate Not Issued

Your custom domain shows as insecure (no padlock icon) or browsers display warnings about missing HTTPS, even though the domain is connected.

Solution:

1. Verify your domain status is Active in Brand then Domains
2. SSL provisioning only begins after successful domain verification
3. Wait 15-30 minutes after domain verification completes
4. Click Sync Status to check SSL certificate status
5. Clear your browser cache and try accessing the domain again
6. Test in an incognito/private browsing window
7. If pending after 2 hours, check that DNS configuration is correct
8. Verify no DNS changes were made that could affect verification

Certificate Shows as Invalid or Untrusted

Browsers display security warnings stating the certificate is invalid, untrusted, or doesn't match the domain.

Solution:

1. Verify you're accessing the exact domain configured in Firebuzz
2. Check certificate details in browser (click padlock icon, then certificate information)
3. Ensure the domain in the certificate matches your URL exactly
4. A certificate for www.example.com won't work for example.com (and vice versa)
5. Clear your browser's SSL cache:
   • Chrome/Edge: Settings > Privacy > Clear browsing data > Cached images and files
   • Firefox: Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data > Clear Data
6. Try a hard refresh: Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac)
7. Verify your system date and time are correct (incorrect time causes certificate errors)
8. Test from a different device or network to rule out local caching issues

Mixed Content Warnings

Your page loads with HTTPS, but browsers show "Not fully secure" warnings or display broken content like missing images or styles.

Mixed content occurs when an HTTPS page loads resources (images, scripts, stylesheets, fonts) over insecure HTTP connections. Browsers block or warn about this for security reasons.

Solution:

1. Open browser developer tools (F12) and check the Console tab
2. Look for "Mixed Content" warnings that identify HTTP resources
3. Review your landing page content for URLs starting with http://
4. Update all resource URLs to use https:// instead
5. Use protocol-relative URLs for flexibility: //example.com/image.jpg
6. Check external resources and third-party scripts:
   • Analytics tracking codes
   • Social media widgets
   • Font providers
   • CDN-hosted libraries
7. Replace any HTTP-only resources with HTTPS alternatives
8. Verify custom code blocks don't reference HTTP resources
9. Check form submission endpoints use HTTPS
10. Review custom CSS for HTTP URLs in background images

HTTPS Redirect Not Working

Your domain is accessible via HTTP but doesn't automatically redirect to HTTPS, or you can access both versions independently.

Solution:

1. Verify your domain shows Active status in Domains
2. Firebuzz automatically enforces HTTPS for all published landing pages
3. Wait 15-30 minutes after domain verification for redirect configuration
4. Clear browser cache and test in incognito mode
5. Ensure you're accessing the Firebuzz-connected domain (not a different server)
6. Check that DNS points correctly to Firebuzz (CNAME record is active)
7. Test the redirect explicitly by typing http://yourdomain.com in the browser
8. If redirect fails after 2 hours, click Sync Status

Certificate Expired Warning

Visitors encounter expired certificate warnings when accessing your custom domain, preventing them from viewing your landing page.

This should not happen under normal circumstances as Firebuzz automatically renews all certificates before expiration. An expired certificate indicates a system issue or domain configuration problem.

Solution:

1. Check your domain status in Domains
2. Verify DNS records still point correctly to Firebuzz
3. Check that no DNS changes were made that could affect verification
4. Click Sync Status to force certificate refresh
5. If status shows issues, see Domain Not Connecting
6. Try removing and re-adding the domain to trigger fresh certificate provisioning
7. Wait 15-30 minutes for new certificate issuance
8. If problem persists, contact support at support@firebuzz.com with your domain name

Certificate Name Mismatch

Browsers display warnings that the certificate is valid but doesn't match the domain you're accessing.

Solution:

1. Verify you're accessing the exact domain configured in Firebuzz (including or excluding www)
2. If you configured www.example.com, you must access it with www
3. If you configured example.com, you must access it without www
4. Check your domain configuration in Domains
5. To support both versions, add both domains separately to Firebuzz
6. Configure your DNS provider to redirect one version to the other
7. Most registrars offer URL forwarding from root to www (or vice versa)

How SSL Works in Firebuzz

Understanding the SSL lifecycle helps troubleshoot issues more effectively:

1. Domain Verification - You add a custom domain and configure DNS
2. Verification Complete - Firebuzz confirms ownership via CNAME record
3. Certificate Request - Cloudflare automatically requests SSL certificate
4. Certificate Issuance - Certificate issued within 15 minutes to 2 hours
5. HTTPS Enforcement - All traffic automatically secured and redirected
6. Auto-Renewal - Certificates renewed 30 days before expiration

Testing SSL Configuration

Browser Test

1. Visit your custom domain using HTTPS: https://yourdomain.com
2. Click the padlock icon in the address bar
3. Verify certificate is valid and issued to your domain
4. Check that certificate is issued by Cloudflare

Developer Tools Test

1. Open developer tools (F12) and go to Console tab
2. Look for any mixed content warnings or security errors
3. Go to Network tab and filter by type (img, script, css)
4. Verify all resources load via HTTPS (green padlock)

External SSL Test

Use SSL Labs Server Test to get a comprehensive SSL configuration report including certificate validity, encryption strength, and security grade.

FAQ

Related Resources

• Domain Not Connecting
• DNS Configuration Errors
• Adding Custom Domains