---
title: Configuring Let's Encrypt with Apache on Ubuntu Bionic
description: Let's Encrypt lets you generate free SSL certificates to secure the connection between client and server
tags: Let's-Encrypt Apache Ubuntu-Bionic SSL-certificates
products:
- instances
- domains-and-dns
dates:
validation: 2025-04-08
posted: 2019-05-23
validation_frequency: 12
difficulty: beginner
usecase:
- website-hosting
ecosystem:
- third-party
---
import image from './assets/scaleway-config_apache.webp'
import image2 from './assets/scaleway-ssl_enabled.webp'
import Requirements from '@macros/iam/requirements.mdx'
Let's Encrypt is a certificate authority providing free SSL certificates. The creation, validation, and installation are automated with Certbot — all major browsers trust certificates issued by Let's Encrypt.
In this tutorial, you will discover how to secure your Apache web server on a Scaleway Instance running Ubuntu Linux.
We will walk you through the process of setting up a website on Apache and obtaining a Let's Encrypt SSL certificate using Certbot. Let's dive in and make your web presence safer and more trustworthy.
- A Scaleway account logged into the [console](https://console.scaleway.com)
- [Owner](/iam/concepts/#owner) status or [IAM permissions](/iam/concepts/#permission) allowing you to perform actions in the intended Organization
- An [SSH key](/organizations-and-projects/how-to/create-ssh-key/)
- An [Instance](/instances/how-to/create-an-instance/)
- A [domain name](/domains-and-dns/quickstart/) pointing towards your Instance's IP address (via an A or AAAA record)
- `sudo` privileges or access to the root user
## Installing Apache
1. [Connect to your Instance via SSH](/instances/how-to/connect-to-instance/), and update the software already installed:
```
apt update
apt upgrade -y
```
2. Install the Apache web server:
```
apt install apache2
```
3. Create a directory for the website. In this tutorial, we use `myweb.example.com`. Replace it with your domain name whenever you see it:
```
mkdir -p /var/www/html/myweb.example.com/public_html
```
4. Create an index page for the website by running the following command:
```
nano /var/www/html/myweb.example.com/public_html/index.html
```
Then copy the following content into the file, save it, and exit nano:
```
myweb.example.com
New Website
This is the new website of myweb.example.com
```
5. Create a configuration file for the website, by making a copy of the default configuration:
```
cp /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf /etc/apache2/sites-available/myweb.example.com.conf
```
6. Open the file in a text editor:
```
nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/myweb.example.com.conf
```
E
dit the following lines to match your configuration, add them to the file, save i, and exit the editor:
```
ServerAdmin webmaster@myweb.example.com
ServerName myweb.example.com
ServerAlias www.myweb.example.com
DocumentRoot /var/www/html/myweb.example.com/public_html
```
Once edited the file should look like this example:
7. Activate the new site:
```
a2ensite myweb.example.com
```
8. Reload the Apache configuration to enable the new site:
```
systemctl reload apache2.service
```
## Installing Certbot
Install Certbot via apt:
```
apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y
```
## Running Certbot
1. Run Certbot to request a certificate for the domain name:
```
certbot --apache
```
Certbot will ask you a series of questions:
- First, Certbot asks for your email address. Enter it and press `Enter` on your keyboard.
- You will then be asked to agree to the terms of service. Do so by pressing `Y`.
- Decide if you want to share your email address with the [Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)](https://www.eff.org/). Press `Y` for yes or `N` for no.
- Next, you will be asked for which domains you want to activate SSL. Select the appropriate numbers separated by commas and/or spaces, or leave input blank to select all options shown.
- Certbot asks if all traffic should be forced to HTTPS. Type `1` for no or `2` for yes.
- The certificate is requested and the following message appears once it has been obtained:
```
Congratulations! You have successfully enabled https://myweb.example.com
You should test your configuration at:
https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=myweb.example.com
```
2. Verify the certificate by opening your site in a web browser:
The small padlock icon indicates that the connection to your Instance is now encrypted.