> It is clear that the cost and bureaucracy of obtaining certificates was forcing many websites to continue with the insecure HTTP protocol
I never realized this so clearly, but it's true. The biggest hindrance to security until LE was that certs were expensive and hard to install. I don't think it was so much the former as the latter. I'd gladly pay 10% more for my cert if it meant my server could renew automatically without me touching it at all.
Then again, for small things, like my home computer that I want to access some stuff on but don't want to pay $10 for, self-signed was fine, so I guess the price was a problem, to a degree.
I never realized this so clearly, but it's true. The biggest hindrance to security until LE was that certs were expensive and hard to install. I don't think it was so much the former as the latter. I'd gladly pay 10% more for my cert if it meant my server could renew automatically without me touching it at all.
Then again, for small things, like my home computer that I want to access some stuff on but don't want to pay $10 for, self-signed was fine, so I guess the price was a problem, to a degree.