Solve A 404 Error On A Subdomain With SSL On SiteGround

If you are getting a 404 error setting up a subdomain on SiteGround (or probably every other host) and you have an SSL certificate installed, don’t panic! The chances are the SSL doesn’t automatically get applied to subdomains or the SSL only gets applied on specific installs. I had this exact problem setting up a subdomain for testing WordPress themes and there is a straight forward solution so you are not greeted with the SiteGround 404 image below.

How I got the 404 Error

I needed an environment for testing some WordPress themes that I have created and decided that I will put them in a subdomain. I normally don’t use install software, but SiteGround do provide Softaculous so today I used it.

The install went smoothly until it was completed and I clicked the link to the subdomain. The URL bar in the browser showed the dreaded red lines through the https://, this was the sign that something was not playing nice with the SSL.

The Solution To The 404 On Your Subdomain

• Login to your host, go to cPanel
• Find the “Security” panel and click “Let’s Encrypt” (see above image)
• Scroll to “Install new Let’s Encrypt Certificate”
• From the domain list, select the subdomain you need
• Select the type of SSL you need, I just used the “Let’s Encrypt SSL” option
• Click install, when it is successful click “OK”
• Give it a few minutes and the subdomain should be good to go and protected by your SSL certificate

Depending on your cache strategy, you still may be seeing the 404 screen so I would suggest going “Incognito” and testing.

Hope that helps you out!