Introduction
As part of my AWS Cloud Resume Challenge, I aimed to host my resume on a custom domain with secure HTTPS. This blog shares how I configured Route 53 for domain management and AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) for SSL/TLS certificates.
Step 1: Configuring Route 53 with a Hostinger Domain
Create a Hosted Zone in Route 53
In the AWS Management Console, navigate to Route 53.
Click Create Hosted Zone and enter your domain name (e.g.,
mycloudresume.com). Choose Public Hosted Zone. A hosted zone in Amazon Route 53 is a container that holds information about how you want to route traffic for a specific domain (e.g.,example.com) and its subdomains (e.g.,www.example.com,blog.example.com).
AWS will generate NS (Name Server) and SOA (Start of Authority) records for the hosted zone.
Update Hostinger DNS Settings
Log in to your Hostinger account and navigate to the DNS Zone settings for your domain.
Replace the default Hostinger nameservers with the Route 53 nameservers provided in the hosted zone (e.g.,
ns-123.awsdns-45.com).Save the changes and wait for DNS propagation (may take a few minutes to several hours). You can use this tool to check if it is full propagated https://www.whatsmydns.net/
Step 2: Issuing an SSL/TLS Certificate with ACM
Request a Public Certificate in ACM
In the AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) dashboard, click Request. Then request a public certificate. AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) is a managed service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that simplifies the process of provisioning, managing, and deploying SSL/TLS certificates. These certificates are used to secure network communications (HTTPS) and establish the identity of websites and applications.
Enter your domain name or you can add a wildcard (e.g.,
*.cloudresume.comandwww.mycloudresume.com).Leave other settings default and wait it to be issued it usually take sometimes.
Choose DNS Validation
ACM will provide CNAME records for validation.
Add these CNAME records to your Route 53 hosted zone:
Go to your hosted zone in Route 53.
Click Create Record and select CNAME.
Enter the details provided by ACM.
Validation and Issuance
Once the CNAME records are added, ACM will validate the domain automatically.
After successful validation, the certificate status will change to Issued.
Step 3: Integrating SSL with CloudFront
With my certificate ready in ACM, the next step was to integrate it with CloudFront to serve my website securely over HTTPS.
Associate the ACM Certificate:
In the CloudFront distribution settings, navigate to the General Settings section.
Under Custom SSL Certificate, select the certificate issued by ACM for your domain.
Save the changes to associate the certificate with your distribution.
Navigate again on route 53 and create a record use simple routing, then define simple record and add resume.pinesprojects.cloud after that wait for a few minutes to sync the configurations
Conclusion
By using Route 53, AWS Certificate Manager, and CloudFront, I was able to provide a secure and professional experience for visitors to my AWS Cloud Resume Challenge website. These services simplified domain management, ensured secure communication, and laid the groundwork for a scalable solution.
If you’re tackling the AWS Cloud Resume Challenge or building any web application on AWS, I highly recommend leveraging these tools for your domain and security needs.
Feel free to reach out or share your thoughts if you’re also on this journey!