How to create a self-signed certificate for a domain name for development

Using PowerShell

From Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 (Windows PowerShell 4.0) and upwards, you can create a self-signed certificate using the new New-SelfSignedCertificate cmdlet:

Examples:

New-SelfSignedCertificate -DnsName www.mydomain.example -CertStoreLocation cert:\LocalMachine\My

New-SelfSignedCertificate -DnsName subdomain.mydomain.example -CertStoreLocation cert:\LocalMachine\My

New-SelfSignedCertificate -DnsName *.mydomain.example -CertStoreLocation cert:\LocalMachine\My

Using the IIS Manager

^{Note that IIS certificates use SHA-1 hashing, which isn’t supported by modern browsers. IIS cannot create certificates using SHA-2 hashing options, thus it cannot create SSL certificates accepted by modern browsers.}

1. Launch the IIS Manager
2. At the server level, under IIS, select Server Certificates
3. On the right hand side under Actions select Create Self-Signed Certificate
4. Where it says “Specify a friendly name for the certificate” type in an appropriate name for reference.
   • Examples: www.domain.example or subdomain.domain.example
5. Then, select your website from the list on the left hand side
6. On the right hand side under Actions select Bindings
7. Add a new HTTPS binding and select the certificate you just created (if your certificate is a wildcard certificate you’ll need to specify a hostname)
8. Click OK and test it out.