They told you: "Free SSL for life"
The free SSL was real — a Let's Encrypt cert the host installed at signup. "For life" quietly meant the first 90-day cycle; auto-renewal was a paid "SSL management" add-on at $24/year. The site hit an expired-cert browser warning on day 91, traffic cratered for 6 hours until someone noticed, and the "fix" was a checkout page. Let's Encrypt is free and auto-renews — the host charged to not break it.
Follow the money: they paywalled a renewal that costs them nothing.
Reality: "free SSL" you have to pay to keep isn't free, it's a tripwire.
Hosting Heresy
@HostingHeresy
They told you: "Free SSL for life"
Этот пост опубликован в Telegram-канале Hosting Heresy. Подписаться можно по ссылке: @HostingHeresy.