How To Create And Install A Self Signed SSL Cert With IIS7

Published: {ts '2012-04-19 00:00:00'}
Author: Steven Neiland
Site Url: http://www.neiland.net/article/how-to-create-and-install-a-self-signed-ssl-cert-with-iis7/

I'm not a fan of IIS but I have to admit that IIS7 does make a lot of things easier than IIS6. One of these things being the creation of self signed ssl certs. If you are a web developer then eventually you will want to create and install an ssl cert for testing purposes, here I'll show you how using the IIS7 GUI.

Note: A site running a self signed certificate will generate warnings when you visit it. Do not use this for a production website.

Step 1: Open The GUI

From the start menu open "Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager". This should present you with this screen.

Step 2: Open Server Certificates Feature

In the pane to the right in the IIS region open the "Server Certificates" feature.

Step 3: Select Create Self-Signed Certificate

The view that just opened will display a list of all currently installed certs. To create a new self signed cert click on the "Create Self-Signed Certificate" option in the "Actions" pane.

Step 4: Name And Save The Cert

In the new window that opened give the cert a meaningful identifier and save it. The cert will now be listed.

Step 5: Install The Cert

Now that the ssl cert is created we now need to install it on a website. To do this right click on the site you want to install the cert on and select "Edit Bindings".

Step 6: Add A New Binding

From the window that opens click the "Add" button to create a new binding.

Step 7: Set Type HTTPS And Select Cert

From the next window which opens set thebinding type to "https" and select the SSL certificate we previously created.

Save the change and you should now see a second site binding listing the https site.

Step 8: Test

Finally test the cert is installed by visiting the website. In this example I created a ssl cert for localhost so to check it I opened the address "https://localhost". After accepting the certificate warning and adding an exception I was able to view my site using ssl.

So there you have it. I don't think you can get any easier than that.