Your website's security certificate (the "s" in https) is set up when TeamSideline connects your domain, and it can only be issued once your domain points to your TeamSideline site. It covers both yourleague.org and www.yourleague.org, and it renews on its own. A "Not secure" label or a certificate warning usually means one of those two addresses doesn't point to your site yet, a recent DNS change is still spreading, or the certificate couldn't be issued or renewed and Support needs to request it again.
Applies to: Admins · All plans · Legacy content editor and Editor 2.0 websites on your own domain
Where: Your website's address bar, at yourleague.org and www.yourleague.org; Help > Contact Support in the admin menu
What the warning tells you
- "Not secure" next to the address: the page opened with http:// instead of https://, so it isn't encrypted. On a legacy content editor website, that happens when your domain has no certificate yet, or when someone opens an http:// link and your site isn't set to switch every page to https.
- A full-page warning, such as "Your connection is not private" or "Warning: Potential Security Risk Ahead": the browser reached your domain over https, but the certificate is missing, has expired, or doesn't include the address you typed. Often only one of the two addresses, with or without www, has the problem.
- A warning on some pages only: the page is secure, but it shows a picture, file or embedded item whose link starts with http://. Change that link to https://.
Your registration, sign-in and payment pages stay secure either way. They always open with https, on your own domain when TeamSideline has a certificate for it, and on teamsideline.com when it doesn't.
Check these first
- Open https://yourleague.org and https://www.yourleague.org in a private window, and note which one shows the warning.
- If the warning page shows an error code, note it. In Chrome, NET::ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID usually means the certificate has expired, and NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID means it doesn't include the address you opened.
- Ask whoever manages your domain whether its nameservers or DNS records changed recently.
- If the domain or its records changed in the last day or two, wait, then check again.
- Find your situation below. If none fits, or the fix doesn't work, contact Support.
Common causes and fixes
| When you see it | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Right after your domain was connected or a new website went live | The certificate can't be issued until your domain points to your site, and DNS changes take time to spread. | Allow up to 24 hours after your DNS is right (DNS changes themselves can take 24 to 48 hours to reach everyone), then try again in a private window. If the warning is still there, contact Support. |
| At www.yourleague.org but not yourleague.org, or the other way around | Both addresses must point to your site, and one of them doesn't. One certificate covers both names, so it can fail for both until both are right. | If your organization manages its own DNS, check the records Support gave you: the A records for yourleague.org and the CNAME record for www. Then ask Support to request the certificate again. |
| On a website that used to be fine | The certificate couldn't renew. Renewing needs your domain to still point to your site, and it usually breaks when someone changes the nameservers or DNS records, for example while setting up email. | Put back the nameservers or records Support gave you, then ask Support to request a new certificate. |
| On an old or second domain that forwards to your site | Each domain needs its own certificate, including one that only forwards visitors. | Ask Support to add a certificate for that domain, or to remove the domain if you no longer use it. |
| On a legacy content editor website that already has a certificate | Pages opened with http://, from an old link or a typed address, stay on http. | Use https:// in your links, and ask Support to set your website to open every page with https. |
| On one computer, phone or network only | The device's date and time are wrong, or security software or a network filter is checking secure connections. | Correct the device's date and time, or try another network. If other people reach the site without a warning, the certificate is working. |
What Support can do
- Tell you which nameservers or DNS records your domain should have.
- Reset your domain's connection to your website and request a new certificate, once both addresses point to your site. Admins can't do this themselves: domain and certificate settings aren't available to admins in either editor.
- Set a legacy content editor website to open every page with https.
- Remove a domain you no longer use.
What to send Support
Email support@teamsideline.com, or click Help > Contact Support in the admin menu, and include:
- The domain or domains, and whether the warning shows at yourleague.org, at www.yourleague.org, or at both.
- A screenshot of the warning that shows the address bar, and the error code under the message if your browser shows one (for example, NET::ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID).
- When it started, and what changed recently: a new website, a domain move, new nameservers or DNS records, or email setup.
- Who manages your domain's DNS: TeamSideline (you entered the nameservers Support gave you) or your organization, at your registrar.
Never send your registrar password or a verification code. Support doesn't need them.
Good to know
- Certificates renew on their own before they expire, as long as your domain keeps pointing to your site. There's nothing to renew each year.
- A certificate covers yourleague.org and www.yourleague.org. Any other name, such as register.yourleague.org, is a separate domain with its own certificate.
- Before anyone changes your domain's nameservers or DNS records, for email or another service, check with Support. A change there can take your site offline or stop its certificate from renewing.