I’ve been running this blog since July 2002 with no problems, but I’m now finding that some of my photos (which are hosted on my own site, joulestaylor.com ) aren’t loading. I’ve been advised this is because neither the blog nor my site have SSLs. I can sort out the site issues by having the hosting company add the SSL for me, which is going to be expensive, but I can’t see how to do that with the blog. How do I go about getting a (free please!) SSL for blogger.com?
(Please bear in mind I’m now 60, and while I can still manage the basics, the minutiae of webmastering is a bit beyond me now.)
Hello Juergen and many thanks for your speedy reply.
I see what you mean about blogger (thanks for that): the hosting for joulestaylor.com is with 123-reg. I’m not sure if I have root access (though I’d guess probably not) - when I ftp to the site the first directory that appears is called /public_html: above that is logfiles and public_html (where is a folder icon), then I can’t go any further up. At the moment they’re trying to persuade me to pay £60 + VAT a year for the SSL so I rather doubt they’d be willing to give me any further access, or allow me to get an SSL from anyone else. Or are they not allowed to refuse it? I really know nothing about this except that more and more sites are needing it for access, even when - like me - no personal or financial info is held on the site.
Hope that makes sense.
Honestly, a web host charging that much for SSL these days doesn’t deserve your money. A quick skim of your site makes it look like it’s largely just static files. Is that right?
There are a huge number of free or almost free web hosting platforms for static sites these days that also have automated SSL built-in. You can still use 123-reg for your domain registration. But I’d consider moving your actual site content somewhere else.
Hi there.
Yes, static files (there might be a couple of animated gifs, but nothing more complex than that) and links to our main partnership site, Wavewrights. And I do agree, that’s an outrageous amount, which is why I’m now exploring other avenues.
I’d be happy to move the site elsewhere. The domain name is held by Fasthosts, who charge £25 +VAT per year for an SSL if they’re also hosting the site, and I am considering moving there, although they charge slightly more a year than 123-reg. I do want it to be hosted by someone I trust and who has been in business a long time: the joulestaylor site has been online for 14 years and I want to keep it for as long as I’m alive, if possible. Fasthosts ticks both boxes, but if you know of any one else I could check out I’d be happy!
The certbot site looks great - many thanks! I shall take a good look at it.
Thanks for all your help - at least I know a bit more about the situation than I did before, and have some ideas to try. Much appreciated.