What types of SSL certificate are there?

SSL certificates are essential to protect browsing on your site. This means the information a user receives and sends is encrypted and much harder for third parties to read. An HTTPS connection prevents attacks such as spoofing and impersonation, among others.

Types of certificate

Single-domain SSL certificate

Single-domain SSL certificates are issued for one domain only, and can’t be reused to authenticate other domains or subdomains. For example, if this certificate is issued for www.yourcompany.com, that address and its subpages, such as www.yourcompany.com/blog, can use it. However, the subdomain system.yourcompany.com can’t use the certificate.

Wildcard SSL certificate

Wildcard SSL certificates can be used for a domain and all of its subdomains. In this case, issuing a single certificate covers www.yourcompany.com, system.yourcompany.com and any other subdomain you want to create in the future.

Multi-domain SSL certificates (MDC)

Multi-domain SSL certificates can be issued for several domains at once, covering domains such as www.yourcompany.com, subdomains such as system.yourcompany.com and other domains such as google.com in a single certificate.

Validation levels

For your certificate to be issued, a Certificate Authority (CA) must validate the domain. Whatever the type of certificate, it’s important to know that all of them offer the same level of TLS encryption. What varies is the number of criteria checked for each type of certification.

Domain-validated SSL

This is the most basic type of certificate. To get it, you only need to prove that the domain is in fact yours. It’s the fastest and cheapest validation, ideal for blogs, business websites and companies looking to improve their online security.

Organization-validated SSL

In this type of validation, the Certificate Authority carries out a qualitative, manual review of the company. The certificate will contain the company’s name and the physical address of its headquarters, giving the domain more credibility.

Extended validation SSL

This form of validation requires a thorough, complete review of the company. The Certificate Authority makes sure the organization exists as a legally registered company, is present at the listed address and runs a legitimate business. This is the slowest and most expensive certification, but the one that delivers a certificate with the highest level of credibility. It’s the ideal validation for large e-commerce companies, financial institutions and multinationals that send a lot of sensitive and personal information, such as credit card details and medical records.

Which certificate is right for my business?

For most business websites and blogs, a domain-validated certificate is enough. Raszio website hosting already includes an SSL certificate, renewed automatically. If you have questions, get in touch and our team will help you choose the best option for your business.