# Create an SSL Binding and Certificate

For additional information, see How to Set Up SSL on IIS 7.
Note: Before beginning, obtain a certificate from a certificate authority.

1. After obtaining a certificate, open IIS Manager, select the server node in the treeview and double-click the Server Certificates feature in the listview.
2. In the Actions pane, click Create Self-Signed Certificate. Provide a Friendly Name for the new certificate and click OK.
   Note: A self-signed certificate now appears and is marked for Server Authentication use.
3. After importing your certificate, verify NETWORK SERVICES has Read permissions to the private key.
4. Create an SSL binding. WIthin INET Manager, open IIS Manager. Select the website that is hosting the application. In the Actions pane, click Bindings to display the bindings editor to create, edit, and delete bindings for your Web site.
5. Create an HTTPS binding and assign the SSL certificate you want to use for this site. Click OK.
   Note: This certificate will be referenced as the certificate thumbprint. Access the certificate's Properties, then Details tab; find the thumbprint and remove any spaces and special characters.
6. Verify the SSL binding. In the Actions pane, click Browse Web Site and the link associated with the binding you just created.

If using a self-signed certificate: Internet Explorer (IE) will display an error page because the self-signed certificate was issued by your computer, not by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). IE will trust the certificate if you add it to the list of Trusted Root Certification Authorities in the certificates store it on the local computer, or in Group Policy for the domain. Firefox and Chrome react differently, but may also prompt you to continue. Click Continue to this website (not recommended).