SSL Certificates for Vibe Coders: Don't Let Your App Go Down at 3 AM
You shipped your app with Bolt or Lovable. It's got HTTPS. Job done, right? Not quite. Here's what you need to know about SSL certificates before one expires and takes your app down.
The 3 AM Wake-Up Call
Picture this: It's 3 AM. Your phone buzzes with angry tweets. Your app is showing users a terrifying "Your connection is not private" warning. Traffic has dropped to zero because browsers are blocking your site.
The cause? Your SSL certificate expired. And you had no idea it was about to happen.
Real Impact of Expired SSL
- • Browsers show scary warning pages
- • Most users won't proceed past the warning
- • Google may de-index your site
- • API calls from other services will fail
- • Payment processors may block transactions
What SSL/TLS Actually Does
SSL (technically TLS now) does two critical things:
1. Encryption
All data between users and your server is encrypted. Without it, anyone on the same WiFi network could read passwords, credit cards, and personal data in plain text.
2. Authentication
The certificate proves your server is actually yours. Without it, attackers could intercept traffic and impersonate your site (man-in-the-middle attacks).
The Good News for Vibe Coders
If you're deploying to modern platforms, SSL is mostly handled for you:
Vercel
Automatic SSL with Let's Encrypt, auto-renewal included
Netlify
Automatic SSL with Let's Encrypt, auto-renewal included
Cloudflare
Free SSL on all plans, handles everything
Railway / Render
Automatic SSL provisioning and renewal
When SSL Goes Wrong
Even with auto-renewal, things can break. Here are common scenarios vibe coders run into:
Custom Domain DNS Misconfiguration
You added a custom domain but the DNS records are wrong. The platform can't verify ownership, so it can't issue a certificate. Your site shows HTTPS errors.
Domain Transfer Without Updating
You moved registrars or changed DNS providers but forgot to update the hosting platform. Renewal fails because domain verification fails.
Self-Hosted Backend
Your frontend is on Vercel but your API is on a VPS. The VPS certificate expires because you forgot to set up Certbot auto-renewal.
Subdomain Not Covered
You have SSL for example.com but not api.example.com. Or you have a wildcard cert but added a new subdomain level (api.v2.example.com).
TLS Versions: What You Need to Know
TLS is the protocol that actually does the encryption. The version matters:
| Version | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| TLS 1.3 | Recommended | Fastest, most secure |
| TLS 1.2 | Acceptable | Still secure, widely supported |
| TLS 1.1 | Deprecated | Disable immediately |
| TLS 1.0 / SSL | Insecure | Known vulnerabilities |
Most modern hosting platforms use TLS 1.3 by default. Use our SSL Checker to verify your site's configuration.
The Vibe Coder's SSL Checklist
Check your certificate now - Use our free tool to see expiry date and TLS version
Set up monitoring - Use a service like UptimeRobot or Better Uptime to alert you before certificates expire
Enable HSTS - Force browsers to always use HTTPS (most platforms do this automatically)
Check all subdomains - api.yourapp.com, www.yourapp.com, staging.yourapp.com
Keep DNS access secure - If someone gains access to your DNS, they can intercept your traffic
HSTS: The Extra Layer
HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) tells browsers to always use HTTPS for your domain. Even if someone types http://yourapp.com, the browser automatically upgrades to HTTPS.
HSTS Header:
Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomainsThis tells browsers to only use HTTPS for the next year, including all subdomains.
Check Your SSL Now
Verify your certificate validity, expiry date, and TLS version instantly.