Bluehost Web Hosting Help

Wildcard SSL Certificates

Overview

This article will show you how to use your WildCard SSL Certificate, on your Bluehost hosting account, using mod_rewrite. This is required due to a limitation in WHM that only allows there to be one virtualhost entry.

Folder Structure
Accessing the .htaccess File
Generic mod_rewrite Rule
WordPress/Drupal/Joomla mod_rewrite Rule

Folder Structure

The subdomain must be assigned to a folder that is underneath the folder its parent domain is assigned to. Because of the way subdomains are assigned, it's easy for a subdomain to not be put inside the parent domains folder. You will need to reassign the domain to a folder under the parent domain in this situation.
Example: Say you have a wildcard SSL certificate for example.com. Example.com is assigned to the public_html folder. I want to use my certificate on sub.example.com. In this case sub.example.com should be assigned to public_html/sub/ because sub is a directory underneath public_html.

Accessing the .htaccess File

The .htaccess file is located in the parent domain's folder. While you can use an FTP or an SSH client to access the file, for this article we will be using the File Manger.

Login to your Bluehost cPanel
Click the "File Manager", located in the Files section of the cPanel.
Check the box "Show Hidden Files (dotfiles)."
Right click the .htaccess file and choose "Edit" or "Code Edit
For basic HTML sites follow the instructions under Generic mod_rewrite Rule and copy the code into the Editor. If you have a WordPress, Joomla or Drupal site follow the instructions under WordPress/Joomla/Drupal mod_rewrite Rule.
Click Save Changes.

Generic mod_rewrite Rule

If you have a basic HTML site copy the following text into your public_html/.htaccess file.
Note: You should not use this if you have a WordPress, Joomla or Drupal site. Use the instructions under WordPress/Joomla/Drupal mod_rewrite Rule instead.

You will need to replace subdomain with your subdomain and example.com with your domain name.


                            # Bluehost.com
            #.htaccess WildCard SSL
            RewriteEngine On
            RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^subdomain.example.com$
            RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/subfolder/
            RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
            RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
            RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /subfolder/$1
            RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^subdomain.example.com$
            RewriteRule ^(/)?$ subfolder/index.php [L]

Once you have modified this code you may need to clear your browser cache to be able to see the redirect.

WordPress/Joomla/Drupal mod_rewrite Rule

For WordPress, Joomla or Drupal sites copy the following code:

If Just The Subdomain Holds either a WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal Site

If your subdomain holds either a WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal site but the parent domain does not, copy the following code.

You will need to replace subdomain with your subdomain and example.com with your domain name.


                              # Custom subdomain .htaccess SSL + WordPress
            RewriteEngine On
            RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^subdomain.maindomain.com$
            RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/subfolder/
            RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /subfolder/$1
            RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^subdomain.maindomain.com$
            RewriteRule ^(/)?$ subfolder/index.php [L]
            # End custom subdomain .htaccess

If The Parent Domain has WordPress

If both the parent domain and the subdomain have either a WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal site copy the following code into your .htaccess file. This code will replace the WordPress permalink code.

You will need to replace subdomain with your subdomain and example.com with your domain name.


                              # Custom subdomain .htaccess SSL + WordPress
            RewriteEngine On
            RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^subdomain.maindomain.com$
            RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/subfolder/
            RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /subfolder/$1
            RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^subdomain.maindomain.com$
            RewriteRule ^(/)?$ subfolder/index.php [L]
            # End custom subdomain .htaccess
            
            # Custom maindomain .htaccess WordPress
            RewriteEngine On
            RewriteBase /
            RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www.)?maindomain.com$
            RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
            RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www.)?maindomain.com$
            RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
            RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
            RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
            # End custom maindomain .htaccess

You may need to clear your browser cache for the new rules to work. After that your Wildcard SSL certificate should be working.

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