How to choose the right SSL certificate

Knowing how to choose the right SSL certificate for your website can be daunting if you’re never purchased one before. Which features should you look for? Which provider is best? And why are there such big discrepancies in pricing? We’ve put together a brief guide on how certain SSL certificates are authenticated to help you make an informed choice on which certificate is best for your website.

Domain validation

Domain validation (DV) is a basic validation by a certificate authority. It’s ideal for businesses that need to secure certain areas of their site, like eCommerce stores that want customers to be able to make secure payments. These certificates offer a basic encryption and can be purchased at very low cost. Rapid SSL is an inexpensive option for an SSL certificate that offers domain validation.

Organization validation

Organization validation is a step up from basic domain validation. These certificate types require additional documentation to confirm domain ownership and business identity before the certificate is issued. Under this SSL plan, transactions are also encrypted, meaning happier, safer customers. Secure Site SSL and True BusinessID SSL are two certificates that support organization validation.

Extended validation

Extended validation (EV) certificates use a set of checks and validations to verify business identities and prevent fraud by establishing secure connections. You know when you go to a HTTPS website and see the green bar in the navigation bar? That’s a feature exclusive to EV certificates that promotes more user trust. Secure Site SSL and True BusinessID SSL are both available with extended validation.

Plus, wildcard

SSL certificates that offer a wildcard feature allow users to protect not only their primary domain, but also the subdomains under it. As long as all of the subdomains have the same second level domain (e.g. yourname.rocks), you can encrypt an unlimited number of subdomains. Rapid SSL and TrueBusinessID SSL are both available with Wildcard.

Putting it all together

Using this information, you can determine the type of protection that would work best for your website. Name.com offers a variety of SSL certificates to choose from, and outlines the features and benefits of each to help you make an informed choice.