diff --git a/ubuntu/roles/letsencrypt/tasks/main.yml b/ubuntu/roles/letsencrypt/tasks/main.yml
index a806be7..bd7e1fb 100644
--- a/ubuntu/roles/letsencrypt/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/ubuntu/roles/letsencrypt/tasks/main.yml
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@
 - name: Install LetsEncrypt client
   apt: name=letsencrypt state=latest
 
+- name: stop nginx if it already is up and running
+  service: name=nginx state=stopped
+  register: result
+  ignore_errors: True
+
 - name: Generate LetsEncrypt TLS certificates
   shell: letsencrypt certonly -n -m "letsencrypt@sadiqsaif.ca" --agree-tos --standalone -d {{ item }}
   with_items:
@@ -13,6 +18,10 @@
      - twoshadesofbrown.com
      - wiki.staticsafe.ca
 
+- name: start nginx if we stopped it before
+  service: name=nginx state=started
+  when: result|succeeded
+
 - name: Add a cron job to automatically renew LetsEncrypt certificates
   copy: src=letsencrypt-renew dest=/etc/cron.daily/letsencrypt-renew mode=0700
   notify: