Cybersecurity Glossary
TLS Certificate
The credential that proves a website is who it claims to be and enables the encrypted connection.
What TLS Certificate means
A transport layer security certificate binds your domain name to a cryptographic key, vouched for by a certificate authority. Browsers check it on every visit. Certificates expire, usually within a year and increasingly sooner, which is why automatic renewal matters more than the certificate itself.
Why TLS Certificate matters for small businesses and nonprofits
An expired certificate makes every browser warn visitors that your site is unsafe. It is a self inflicted outage that costs enquiries and trust, and it happens most often at weekends.
What to do about TLS Certificate
- Automate renewal and monitor expiry independently of the renewal process
- Cover every subdomain you actually use, including staging and mail
- Alert at least two weeks before expiry to a mailbox somebody reads
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