15/02/2019
If you’ve never had to deal with this stuff in the past, figuring out these certificates can be a headache as well as an unexpected expense for your business. Luckily, there is a free option out there — LetsEncrypt [https://letsencrypt.org/]. This fantastic initiative offers free SSL/TLS certificates and automates the exhausting process of creating, validating, signing, installing, and renewing certificates. As a result of their affordable, streamlined process, LetsEncrypt has played a huge role in building a more secure web over the past several years.
“Free” doesn’t come without some hidden costs.
Okay, yes, LetsEncrypt is fantastic! However, there are few things you should know before you start heavily drinking that LetsEncrypt Kool-Aid:
1. LetsEncrypt has no validation options beyond Domain Validation. And they have no plans to implement OV or EV certificates in the future. So if your website requires a more extensive certificate, LetEncrypt may not be a suitable option for your site.
2. LetsEncrypt certificates need to be renewed every three months. I totally understand why this is the case from a technical standpoint. Since they’re providing free certificates, they need to make sure they’re regularly reused and recycled. Makes sense.
3. LetsEncrypt certificate renewals sometimes have issues. Even with automatic renewals in place, I’ve seen a number of instances where auto-renewals fail for one reason or another. I don’t believe it’s the fault of LetsEncrypt. It’s more than likely an issue with whoever built the auto-renewal process, but nonetheless, it is a problem we’ve seen in more than one occasion.
4. Your web host may not fully support LetsEncrypt. To expand on point #3 above, a failed certificate renewal likely means downtime for your website until you can manually renew it. LetsEncrypt also doesn’t offer support beyond their documentation. If you’re trying to use a LetsEncrypt certificate on your own, you’re gonna need some System Administration skills. LetsEncrypt maintains a list of all of the hosting providers that have LetsEncrypt support.
If you have a host who fully supports LetsEncrypt and their auto-renewal system, and you don’t need anything beyond Domain Validation, LetsEncrypt is definitely a strong way to go. If you’d rather purchase a certificate, or simply need an OV or EV cert, we can help with that!
If you need to implement LetsEncrypt on your website and don't know how to, we can assist. Talk to us today.
