Check a website yourself, using only your browser

No commands to type and nothing to install. It takes about four clicks, and it works on any website, including your own. You can't break anything by looking.

First, which browser are you using?

On a computer

On a phone or tablet

I'm not sure which browser I have

The browser is the program you use to visit websites; you are using it to read this page. Its name is usually on the icon you clicked to open it. A round red, yellow, green and blue icon is Chrome. A blue-green wave is Edge. An orange fox around a globe is Firefox. A blue compass is Safari, which comes with every Mac.

Before you start

Open the website you want to check in a new tab, and wait for it to finish loading. Keep this page open so you can follow along. In the pictures below we use example.com; yours will show your own website's name.

What to look for

Is the expiry date in the future?A certificate is the website's ID card, and it has an expiry date. A date in the future is good. A date that has already passed means visitors see a security warning. If it is less than a month away, it needs renewing soon.

Is it issued to the right website?The name under "Issued to" or "Common Name" should match the address you typed. A different name means the wrong certificate is installed.

Does it say TLS 1.3?TLS is the lock on the connection, and 1.3 is the current version. TLS 1.3 is good. TLS 1.2 still works but is the older version. Firefox shows this in step 4; in Chrome and Edge it is in the optional last step. Safari and phones do not show it.

What your browser can't tell you

Your browser only shows the connection it made. It can't tell you whether the website also still accepts older, weaker connections from other visitors, and that is the most common problem we find.

Our free check tests that for you in about 30 seconds, and shows you exactly what it ran.

Check my website

The pictures are simplified drawings, not photographs of your screen, so yours will look a little different. Browsers also move things between versions; if a step doesn't match, look for the same words nearby. Steps were checked against each browser's current help pages in October 2026.