My operating system is (include version): windows 7 professional
My web server is (include version): Linux
My hosting provider, if applicable, is: bluehost
I can login to a root shell on my machine (yes or no, or I don’t know): I think so? I have Filezilla
I’m using a control panel to manage my site (no, or provide the name and version of the control panel): Wordpress
I was told I need SSL encryption - but I am a VERY small business and do not have enough customers to warrant paying an extra $15/month for an https. I am trying to set up letsencrypt, but I am not sure if I can do it on Bluehost, and if I can, how do I do so. Thank you for your help.
I have prepaid for hosting for the next 3 yrs, and as i mentioned, i am a
very small businesses and need to keep costs very low. any other
suggestions besides switching host provider?
It looks like Bluehost has not configured their hosting to support no-cost SSL support. You would either need to use the special shared certificate they provide or you’ll need to pay extra for a dedicated IP for manually installing a certificate.
This kind of thing isn’t too uncommon for super-low-cost hosting plans. The company barely breaks even on costs for hosting plans, so they set up all kinds of paid “extras” that allow them to make some profit (the GoDaddy model, I call it).