Hey, what’s up?
If you’re using Spaceship web hosting and you’re still paying for SSL certificates, there’s a good chance you don’t need to.
In this post, I’m going to show you step by step how to enable free SSL on Spaceship hosting and get rid of paid SSL subscriptions. It only takes a few minutes and it can save you money every year.
I have been using Spaceship for about one or two years now. Back when I first started using it, only paid SSL certificates were available. Free SSL was not an option at the time, even though most hosting providers already offered it.
Because of that, if you had multiple websites, you had to pay for SSL on every single one. In my case, I have three websites, so that meant three paid SSL certificates.
A few days ago, I was checking my setup and realized that Spaceship now offers free SSL certificates. That is great news, because for most people, there is absolutely no reason to pay for SSL.
Unless you are running a bank or a very large and critical platform, free SSL is more than enough.
So if you’re still using paid SSL on Spaceship, this guide is for you.
1 – Log Into Your Spaceship Account
First things first, log into your Spaceship account.
Once you’re logged in, go to the Hosting Manager. This is where you will see all your domains, subdomains, and hosting settings.
In my case, I have one main domain and two subdomains. I already switched one domain and one subdomain to free SSL, but I still had one subdomain using a paid Positive SSL.
If you open your website in a browser and check the connection details, you can see which certificate is being used. Mine was issued by Sectigo Limited, which means it was a paid SSL.
2 – Remove the Paid SSL
Next, select the domain or subdomain that is still using a paid SSL.
Click on the small lock icon next to it. On the right side, make sure the SSL connection is selected.
From there, remove the SSL connection. You will see a warning message. Confirm it and proceed.
You may need to refresh the page after that.
Once the page reloads, the domain or subdomain should no longer have an SSL certificate attached. The lock icon will be gone.
3 – Apply the Free SSL
Now click on the three dots next to the domain and choose Get SSL.
You will see two options:
- Free SSL
- Positive SSL (paid)
Back then, only the paid SSL option existed. Now you can simply select the free SSL.
Choose Free SSL, continue, and connect it.
You may need to wait a few seconds or a few minutes for everything to be set up. The SSL will start propagating in the background.
4 – Check Your SSL Subscriptions
While the SSL is propagating, go to the Launchpad and open the Subscription Manager.
Here, make sure that all your SSL certificates are free and that no paid SSL subscriptions are still active.
In my case, everything was switched to free SSL, so I was good to go.
5 – Make Sure AutoSSL Renewal Is Enabled
This part is important.
Free SSL certificates usually last three months, so you want to make sure they renew automatically.
Go back to the Hosting Manager, select your web hosting plan, and open cPanel.
Scroll down to the Security section and click on SSL TLS Status.
On this page, you will see all your domains and subdomains.
Make sure every domain you want protected by free SSL is included in AutoSSL.
When I checked, most of my domains were already included, but the one I had just changed was still excluded.
If you see that a domain is excluded, simply select it and include it. You can also select everything and include all domains just to be safe.
This ensures that all your free SSL certificates will renew automatically.
I am not sure if Spaceship always handles this perfectly by default, so it is worth checking once.
6 – Verify the SSL Certificate
Now go back to the Hosting Manager and wait for the SSL propagation to finish.
Once it is done, visit your website again.
Check the connection details in your browser and look at the certificate information. You should see that it is issued by Lets Encrypt, which means the free SSL is working correctly.
At this point, everything should be properly secured.
Conclusion
That is pretty much it.
Switching from paid SSL to free SSL on Spaceship hosting is easy, and it can save you money every year. All you really need to do is remove the paid SSL, apply the free SSL, and make sure AutoSSL renewal is enabled.
The last step only takes a couple of minutes, but it gives you peace of mind.
If this guide helped you, feel free to leave a comment below. If you have any questions, I will answer them.
I hope this helps, peace!
Leave a Reply