CloudCannon · cloudcannon · Nov 20, 2024 · Nov 20, 2024 · Nov 20, 2024 · Nov 20, 2024
diff --git a/.cloudcannon/routing.json b/.cloudcannon/routing.json
@@ -1468,7 +1468,7 @@
     },
     {
       "from": "/documentation/articles/https-support-for-your-sites-hosted-on-cloudcannon/",
-      "to": "/documentation/articles/add-a-wildcard-ssl-certificate/",
+      "to": "/documentation/articles/add-an-auto-generated-ssl-certificate/",
       "status": 301
     },
     {

diff --git a/_data/navigation.yml b/_data/navigation.yml
@@ -384,6 +384,7 @@ headings:
         articles:
           - introduction-to-hosting
           - what-is-web-hosting
+          - hosting-on-cloudcannon
           - testing-domain
       - _type: group
         name: Custom Domains
@@ -408,7 +409,7 @@ headings:
           - _type: items
             articles:
               - what-is-an-ssl-certificate
-              - add-a-wildcard-ssl-certificate
+              - add-an-auto-generated-ssl-certificate
               - add-a-custom-ssl-certificate
       - _type: group
         name: Configuring routing

diff --git a/articles/add-a-custom-domain.mdx b/articles/add-a-custom-domain.mdx
@@ -42,6 +42,6 @@ The domain will now appear in your *Domain browser*, which you can access from y
 
 To see your Site content live on your domain, you will need to set up your [DNS](/documentation/articles/what-is-dns/). For more information, please read our documentation on [configuring CloudCannon DNS](/documentation/articles/configure-cloudcannon-dns/) (recommended) or [configuring external DNS](/documentation/articles/configure-external-dns/).
 
-We also recommend adding an [SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/what-is-an-ssl-certificate/) to your Site. For more information, please read our documentation on [adding a wildcard SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-a-wildcard-ssl-certificate/) or [adding a custom SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-a-custom-ssl-certificate/).
+We also recommend adding an [SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/what-is-an-ssl-certificate/) to your Site. For more information, please read our documentation on [adding an auto-generated SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-an-auto-generated-ssl-certificate/) or [adding a custom SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-a-custom-ssl-certificate/).
 
 To stop hosting your Site on a Custom Domain, navigate to the *Danger zone* tab on the *Custom Domain* page and click the *Remove Custom Domain* button.
diff --git a/articles/add-a-wildcard-ssl-certificate.mdx → ...add-an-auto-generated-ssl-certificate.mdx b/articles/add-a-wildcard-ssl-certificate.mdx → ...add-an-auto-generated-ssl-certificate.mdx
@@ -2,14 +2,14 @@
 _schema: default
 _uuid: d81ab242-41d6-4266-ba54-673a999a8788
 _created_at: '2021-09-15 23:13:40 +0000'
-title: Add a wildcard SSL certificate
-nav_title: Add a wildcard SSL certificate
+title: Add an auto-generated SSL certificate
+nav_title: Add an auto-generated SSL certificate
 published: true
 image: >-
   https://cc-dam.imgix.net/documentation/images/default-thumbnail/2023-Q4/CloudCannon-Documentation-Thumbnail.png
 description: >-
-  Learn how to enable a wildcard SSL certificate for your site, update DNs
-  records, and redirect HTTP links to HTTPS.
+  Learn how to enable an auto-generated SSL certificate for your site, update
+  DNS records, and redirect HTTP links to HTTPS.
 article_category:
   - Instructions
 article_topic:
@@ -21,34 +21,43 @@ related_links:
   Managing your SSL certificate on CloudCannon requires you to host your Site through CloudCannon. If you are hosting your Site through an external service, please review their documentation on SSL certification.
 </comp.Notice>
 
-A wildcard SSL certificate protects a single domain and all its subdomains (e.g., example.com and its subdomains blog.example.com, support.example.com, app.example.com etc.).
+By default, CloudCannon will automatically generate an SSL certificate for all Sites hosted on CloudCannon through ZeroSSL and Cloudflare. This can be a wildcard SSL certificate or a single-domain SSL certificate. These certificates renew automatically each year, so you Site is never unsecure.
 
-CloudCannon automatically adds a free wildcard SSL certificate to all Sites hosted on CloudCannon through ZeroSSL and Cloudflare. These certificates renew automatically each year, so you Site is never unsecure.
+* **Wildcard SSL certificate**— A certificate that protects a single domain and all its subdomains (e.g., example.com and its subdomains blog.example.com, support.example.com, app.example.com etc.).
+* **Single-domain SSL certificate** — A certificate that protects a single domain. This is useful if you only have one CloudCannon Site which is hosted on a subdomain.
 
-After adding a wildcard SSL certificate, CloudCannon serves your Site over HTTPS. You can also redirect any users trying to access your website through the HTTP URL to the correct HTTPS URL.
+<comp.Notice info_type="info">
+  Wildcard SSL certificates are not available for [Sites hosted on a subdomain](/documentation/articles/add-a-subdomain/). If you have a CloudCannon Site hosted on your base domain, add a wildcard SSL certificate to that Site.
+</comp.Notice>
+
+After adding an auto-generated SSL certificate, CloudCannon serves your Site over HTTPS. You can also redirect any users trying to access your website through the HTTP URL to the correct HTTPS URL.
 
 Before you add an SSL certificate to your Site, you must [add a Custom Domain](/documentation/articles/add-a-custom-domain/) to your [Organization](/documentation/articles/what-is-an-organization/).
 
 <comp.Notice info_type="info">
   If you have recently added your Custom Domain to your Site, CloudCannon may need a few minutes to fetch your domain details before you can add an SSL certificate. If this process takes more than a few minutes, please contact our friendly [support team](/support/).
 </comp.Notice>
 
-To add a wildcard SSL certificate to your Site:
+To add an auto-generated SSL certificate to your Site:
 
 1. Navigate to the *SSL* tab on the *Custom Domain* page, under *Site Settings*.
 2. Select a version number in the *Minimum TLS Version* dropdown.
 3. Select the *DNS Text Record* option from the *Validation Method* dropdown.
-4. Ensure the *Generate a wildcard certificate to enable SSL on \*example.com* checkbox is ticked.
+4. (Optional.) If you are adding an SSL certificate to a Site hosted on your base domain, we recommend ensuring the *Generate a wildcard certificate to enable SSL on \*example.com* checkbox is ticked. This option is not available for Sites hosted on a subdomain.
 5. Click the *Update SSL* button.
 
-CloudCannon will add a wildcard SSL certificate to your domain and all subdomains.
+CloudCannon will add an auto-generated SSL certificate to your domain.
 
 <comp.DocsImage path="https://cc-dam.imgix.net/documentation/images/hosting/add-an-ssl-certificate/2024-12/CloudCannon-Documentation-Site-Settings-Custom-Domain-SSL.png" alt="A screenshot of the Custom Domain page under Site Settings shows the SSL tab with fields for Minimum TLS Version and Validation Method." title="The Custom Domain page" type="screenshot"/>
 
-To disable the wildcard SSL certificate, untick the *Generate a wildcard certificate to enable SSL on \*example.com* checkbox and click the *Update SSL* button. We do not recommend disabling your SSL certificate.
+To switch between a wildcard SSL certificate and a single domain SSL, untick the *Generate a wildcard certificate to enable SSL on \*example.com* checkbox and click the *Update SSL* button.
 
 ## Add TXT DNS records
 
+<comp.Notice info_type="info">
+  This step is only required if you are using an [external DNS provider](/documentation/articles/configure-external-dns/) and a CloudCannon auto-generated SSL certificate.
+</comp.Notice>
+
 [TXT record validation](/documentation/articles/what-is-an-ssl-certificate/#validation-method) is a method of authenticating ownership of your domain, so unauthorized individuals cannot add an SSL certificate to your domain. Whether you need to add a TXT record to your [DNS](/documentation/articles/what-is-dns/) will depend on which provider you are using.
 
 If you are using [CloudCannon DNS](/documentation/articles/configure-cloudcannon-dns/), you do not need to add a TXT record as CloudCannon will handle validation for you. If you are using an [external DNS provider](/documentation/articles/configure-external-dns/), you will need to add the TXT records provided by CloudCannon to your DNS provider.

diff --git a/articles/configure-cloudcannon-dns.mdx b/articles/configure-cloudcannon-dns.mdx
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ related_articles:
   - using-external-dns-to-configure-your-custom-domain
 related_links:
 ---
-CloudCannon DNS allows you to manage your DNS records within CloudCannon for each [Custom Domain](/documentation/articles/what-is-a-custom-domain/) on your [Organization](/documentation/articles/what-is-an-organization/). If you use CloudCannon DNS, you can also generate a free [wildcard SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-a-wildcard-ssl-certificate/) for your Sites.
+CloudCannon DNS allows you to manage your DNS records within CloudCannon for each [Custom Domain](/documentation/articles/what-is-a-custom-domain/) on your [Organization](/documentation/articles/what-is-an-organization/). If you use CloudCannon DNS, you can also generate a free [wildcard SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-an-auto-generated-ssl-certificate/) for your Sites.
 
 Before you can configure DNS for your Site, you must [add a Custom Domain](/documentation/articles/add-a-custom-domain/).
 

diff --git a/articles/configure-external-dns.mdx b/articles/configure-external-dns.mdx
@@ -55,11 +55,9 @@ You can now manage your DNS records through an external provider.
 
 ### Load balancing on external DNS
 
-x
+Load balancing is a method of distributing incoming traffic requests across multiple servers, providing redundancy incase one or more servers are offline. This reduces the potential downtime risk for your Site.
 
-<comp.Notice info_type="important">
-  [CloudCannon DNS](/documentation/articles/configure-cloudcannon-dns/) is strongly recommended for sites on apex domains (no subdomain). External DNS relies on an A record mapped to a single server. This cannot be dynamically load balanced, reducing redundancy and increasing potential down time risk.
-</comp.Notice>
+If you use an external DNS provider, CloudCannon will not be able to dynamically load balance incoming traffic to your Site. We recommend using CloudCannon DNS, particularly for Sites on your base domain, or investigating if your third-party DNS service provides load balancing.
 
 ### CloudCannon DNS records
 
@@ -85,7 +83,7 @@ To set up Cloudflare Proxy with CloudCannon Origin:
 
 To add a CNAME record:
 
-1. Log in to your third party DNS provider.
+1. Log in to Cloudflare and navigate to your DNS settings.
 2. Add a CNAME record pointing your Domain Name (e.g., example.com) at *orange-cloud.cloudcannon.com*.
 
 <comp.Notice info_type="important">
@@ -102,7 +100,8 @@ To add a CNAME record:
 
 In some cases, you may need to configure your DNS records to point directly at CloudCannon's host origin, rather than *sites.cloudcannon.com*. This bypasses the normal benefits of hosting on CloudCannon:
 
-* x
+* The ability for CloudCannon to auto-generate a wildcard SSL certificate for your domain and its subdomains.
+* Faster DNS lookup speed due to a globally distributed edge caching network.
 
 Most commonly, you might use this setup if you need to point your base domain at CloudCannon while also using an external DNS.
 

diff --git a/articles/hosting-on-cloudcannon.mdx b/articles/hosting-on-cloudcannon.mdx
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+---
+_schema: default
+_uuid: a1f0b189-be2e-4cb0-9910-e4ba35505f91
+_created_at: 2024-12-18T14:46:00+13:00
+title: Hosting on CloudCannon
+nav_title: Hosting on CloudCannon
+published: true
+image: >-
+  https://cc-dam.imgix.net/documentation/images/default-thumbnail/2023-Q4/CloudCannon-Documentation-Thumbnail.png
+description:
+article_category:
+  - Explanation
+article_topic:
+  - Hosting
+  - Sites
+  - SSL/TLS Certificates
+  - DNS
+  - Custom Domains
+tags: []
+related_articles: []
+related_links: []
+explicit_canonical:
+---
diff --git a/articles/introduction-to-hosting.mdx b/articles/introduction-to-hosting.mdx
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ In the Hosting Section of our documentation, we cover:
 * [Testing Domain](/documentation/articles/testing-domain/) — Learn about the free Testing Domain provided by CloudCannon for each of your Sites.
 * Custom Domains — Learn about [Custom Domains](/documentation/articles/what-is-a-custom-domain/), including how to [add a Custom Domain](/documentation/articles/add-a-custom-domain/), [add a subdomain](/documentation/articles/add-a-subdomain/), or [host on a subpath](/documentation/articles/host-your-site-on-a-subpath/).
 * DNS — Learn about [DNS](/documentation/articles/what-is-dns/), including how to configure your Site for [CloudCannon DNS](/documentation/articles/configure-cloudcannon-dns/) or [external DNS](/documentation/articles/configure-external-dns/).
-* SSL Certificates — Learn about [SSL certificates](/documentation/articles/what-is-an-ssl-certificate/), including how to add a [wildcard SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-a-wildcard-ssl-certificate/) or a [custom SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-a-custom-ssl-certificate/) to your domain.
+* SSL Certificates — Learn about [SSL certificates](/documentation/articles/what-is-an-ssl-certificate/), including how to add a [wildcard SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-an-auto-generated-ssl-certificate/) or a [custom SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-a-custom-ssl-certificate/) to your domain.
 
 Let's briefly introduce a few of these topics.
 
@@ -74,10 +74,10 @@ For a more in-depth explanation of DNS, including how to configure CloudCannon o
 
 ## SSL certificates
 
-An SSL certificate (or a TLS certificate) is a periodically regenerated, digital certificate that supports your website's authenticity and enables encryption for greater security between your web server and the visitor's browser. On CloudCannon, any Site with a [Custom Domain](https://daring-train.cloudvent.net/documentation/articles/what-is-a-custom-domain/) can use a wildcard or custom SSL certificate.
+An SSL certificate (or a TLS certificate) is a periodically regenerated, digital certificate that supports your website's authenticity and enables encryption for greater security between your web server and the visitor's browser. On CloudCannon, any Site with a [Custom Domain](https://daring-train.cloudvent.net/documentation/articles/what-is-a-custom-domain/) can use an auto-generated or custom SSL certificate.
 
 For a more in-depth explanation of SSL certificates, please read our documentation:
 
 * [What is an SSL certificate?](/documentation/articles/what-is-an-ssl-certificate/)
-* [Add a wildcard SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-a-wildcard-ssl-certificate/)
+* [Add an auto-generated SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-an-auto-generated-ssl-certificate/)
 * [Add a custom SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-a-custom-ssl-certificate/)
diff --git a/articles/what-is-an-ssl-certificate.mdx b/articles/what-is-an-ssl-certificate.mdx
@@ -84,25 +84,16 @@ To configure an SSL certificate for your Site on CloudCannon, you must specify t
 
 A higher TLS version is a stronger cryptographic standard, including fixes for known vulnerabilities in previous versions. On CloudCannon, the minimum TLS version you can use for your Site is 1.2, however 1.3 is available if you require it.
 
-## Validation Method
-
-To configure an SSL certificate for your Site on CloudCannon, you must specify the validation method.
-
-* **Validation Method** — The method used by the Certificate Authority to authenticate you are the owner of your domain. This is sometimes called the DCV (Domain Control Validation) method.
-
-An important role of Certificate Authority is to ensure that the person requesting an SSL certificate is authorized to use the domain they request it for. On CloudCannon, you can verify ownership of a domain using one of the following methods: *DNS TXT Record* or *HTTP/Automatic*.
-
-DNS TXT Records demonstrate control over a domain, as only authorized individuals should be able to update the records stored by your DNS provider. If you select DNS TXT record as your validation method, CloudCannon will provide you with two TXT records to add to your DNS provider.
-
-HTTP/Automatic adds a verification HTTP token to your domain. If you select HTTP/Automatic as your validation method, you cannot use a [wildcard SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/https-support-for-your-sites-hosted-on-cloudcannon/).
-
 ## SSL certificate types
 
-On CloudCannon, any Site with a [Custom Domain](/documentation/articles/what-is-a-custom-domain/) can use a [wildcard SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/https-support-for-your-sites-hosted-on-cloudcannon/) or a [custom SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-a-custom-ssl-certificate/).
+On CloudCannon, any Site with a [Custom Domain](/documentation/articles/what-is-a-custom-domain/) can use an [auto-generated SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/https-support-for-your-sites-hosted-on-cloudcannon/) or a [custom SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-a-custom-ssl-certificate/).
+
+* **Wildcard SSL certificate** — A certificate that protects a single domain and all its subdomains (e.g., example.com and its subdomains blog.example.com, support.example.com, app.example.com etc.).
+* **Single-domain SSL certificate** — A certificate that protects a single domain. This is useful if you only have one CloudCannon Site which is hosted on a subdomain.
+* **Custom SSL certificate** — A certificate you have generated using a trusted third-party service (e.g., GoDaddy, Google, AWS, Cloudflare). Most web hosting services also provide the option to generate custom SSL certificates.
 
-* **Wildcard SSL** — A certificate that protects a single domain and all its subdomains (e.g., example.com and its subdomains blog.example.com, support.example.com, app.example.com etc.).
-* **Custom SSL** — A certificate you have generated using a trusted third-party service (e.g., GoDaddy, Google, AWS, Cloudflare). Most web hosting services also provide the option to generate custom SSL certificates.
+## How do I get an SSL certificate?
 
-CloudCannon offers free wildcard SSL certificates by default through ZeroSSL and Cloudflare. These certificates regenerate automatically every year so that your Site is never unsecure. For more information, please read our documentation on [adding a wildcard SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/https-support-for-your-sites-hosted-on-cloudcannon/).
+By default, CloudCannon will automatically generate an SSL certificate for all Sites hosted on CloudCannon through ZeroSSL and Cloudflare. This can be a wildcard SSL certificate or a single-domain SSL certificate. These certificates renew automatically each year, so you Site is never unsecure. For more information, please read our documentation on [adding an auto-generated SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/https-support-for-your-sites-hosted-on-cloudcannon/).
 
-If you don't want to use the free wildcard SSL certificate generated for you by CloudCannon, you can purchase a custom SSL certificate from a trusted third-party service. You can add your custom SSL certificate to your Site on CloudCannon. For more information, please read our documentation on [adding a custom SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-a-custom-ssl-certificate/).
+If you don't want to use the free auto-generated SSL certificate, you can purchase a custom SSL certificate from a trusted third-party service. You can add your custom SSL certificate to your Site on CloudCannon. For more information, please read our documentation on [adding a custom SSL certificate](/documentation/articles/add-a-custom-ssl-certificate/).