What is one limitation of using a self-signed webserver certificate?

A self-signed webserver certificate is a certificate that is signed by the individual or organization that creates it rather than a trusted certificate authority. One of the main limitations of using a self-signed certificate is that it is not recognized by browsers as a trusted certificate. When a user attempts to access a website that presents a self-signed certificate, the browser will display a warning message indicating that the site may not be secure. This lack of recognition occurs because browsers maintain a list of trusted certificate authorities and only accept certificates issued by those authorities as valid.

In contrast, certificates issued by recognized and trusted certificate authorities (CAs) are inherently trusted by browsers, allowing for a seamless experience without warning messages. Thus, while a self-signed certificate can be useful for testing or internal purposes, its inability to be trusted by external users limits its practical application for production environments or public-facing websites.