Need SSL for your site but don’t know your Multi-Domain SSLs from your SSL Wildcard certificate? You’ve come to the right place! This article will give a quick and easy overview of the different types of SSL on the market and how to know which one to choose. To know what kind is right for you, you basically need to ask yourself two questions:
- How many domains and subdomains do you have?
- What is the purpose of your website?
Let’s explore these questions further and explain why you’re asking them.
How many Domains and Subdomains do you have?
There are two key elements to SSL certificates, and the first one is the number of sites in your possession. In this way, SSLs are split into three main types, most of which are pretty self-explanatory:
- Single-domain SSL: This secures one domain.
- Multi-domain SSL: This secures multiple domains.
- Wildcard SSL: This secures a single domain and multiple subdomains linked to it.
So, deciding on the first element is pretty much as easy as asking yourself, “How many sites do I currently have?” and going from there.
The second question might require a little more thought.
What is the Purpose of your Website?
The second key element of an SSL is validation. When you buy an SSL, the issuing Certificate Authority (CA) must verify the person or organization requesting it to ensure they’re legit by performing several background checks. This can be pretty mild or pretty extensive, depending on the validation level you need. But how do you know if you need extensive validation or not? A good rule of thumb is thinking about what you ask your users to do. If you have a blog or static site with no interaction or logins required from users, then you don’t need robust validation. On the other hand, if you have an online store that requires users to hand over personal information, it’s a good idea to get more extensive validation for user peace of mind.
Okay, enough of that. Here are the three main validation levels:
- Domain Validation: The least extensive, the CA will just verify the website’s admin’s email.
- Organization validation: The CA will carry out a few extra checks, such as the existence of your company.
- Extended validation: The most extensive validation, the CA will cross-check government records and call the company premises.
Conclusion
There you have it. Although SSL certificates can seem complicated if you’re just reading about them for the first time, they actually aren’t when you break them down into their two key elements. To secure your site, make sure to choose your SSL ASAP.