SSL CERTIFICATES EXPLAINED – AN STEP BY STEP GUIDE FROM CHOOSING & PURCHASING THE SSL CERTIFICATE

WHAT IS AN SSL CERTIFICATE? HOW SSL CERTIFICATE WORKS? WHY IT IS IMPORTANT FOR WEBSITES?

There are six variants of SSL certificates. Each one have varying levels of security options. One needs to check the requirements on what kind of SSL certificate is needed from below options when buying the certificate from SSL Certificate Providers.

 i) Domain validated certificate
ii) Organizationally validated certificate
iii) Extended validation certificate
iv) Wildcard SSL certificate
v) Multi-Domain SSL Certificate
vi) Unified Communications validation Certificate

     i) DV SSL or Domain validated certificate

• It verifies the owner of the site.
• It sends an email to the website’s registered email address to verify its owner’s identity
• Company’s detailed information is not required
• DV Certificate is easy to obtain & having the lowest level of security & trust

  ii) OV SSL or Organizationally validated certificate

• Certificate Authority validates the organization’s identity like company physical address location & website’s domain name.
• OV SSL certificate takes about 2-3 days to process.
• OV certificates have a moderate level of trust
• OV certificates are good for public-facing websites having lower-level transactions

  iii) EV SSL or Extended validation certificate

• EV SSL certificate is having the highest level of security
• EV SSL is suitable for a site that comprises sensitive information.
• The Certificate Authority thoroughly reviews the applicant’s details before issuing an EV SSL certificate.
• Certificate Authority reviews & verifies the corporate documents, identity documents, and Other relevant information through a third-party

  iv) Wildcard SSL certificates
  Wildcard SSL validation certificates implement to secure a base domain and unlimited sub-domains in a single certificate. In case you have multiple sub-domains of your website to secure, you need to purchase Wildcard SSL certificate. Wildcard SSL has an asterisk * with it, The asterisk represents all valid sub-domains on the base domain. For example, a single Wildcard certificate for *website can be used to secure:

  • test1.yourdomain.com
  • test2.yourdomain.com
  • test3.yourdomain.com
  • testn.yourdomain.com

• www.test1.com
• www.test2.com
• www.test3.com
• sd1.test1.com
• sd2.test2.com

     Multi-Domain certificates directly don’t support sub-domains configuration by default. You need to
     secure both hostnames when obtaining the certificate.

vi) UCC or Unified Communications validation Certificate
UCC or Unified Communications validation Certificates are same as Multi-Domain SSL certificates. Initially, They were designed to secure Microsoft Exchange & Live Communications servers. Now a days you can use these certificates to secure multiple domain names on a single certificate. This certificates gives a website users the highest assurance through a green address bar.

Things to consider before purchasing an SSL Certificate-
There are more than 50 Certificate Authorities (CA) registered, you should loon into the below factors before selecting an SSL Certificate provider:

• SSL Security Level
• The Encryption Certificate Validation Type
• SSL Issuance time
• Compatibility with all Devices and Browsers
• Trusted Secure Site Seal
• SSL Warranty Policy
• SSL provider’s Refund Policy
• Support system of SSL provider
• SSL Trial Period, If available

Benefits of Using SSL Certificates

• High level of Security for your Online customers
• Securing the Online Payment/Transactions
• Identifying and Securing Your Website from Malware Attacks and Phishing
• Increasing Ranking probability in Google Search & Other Search Engines
• Secure Your Customers, Increase Trusts, Online Sales and Profit

Below are the list of top SSL Certificate Providers by features, Cost, Rating and Services-

1. Comodo

• One of the largest SSL certificate providers with ‘point-to-verify’ technology
• Cost-effective solution for small and medium-sized online businesses
• Top level of security with 2048 bit signatures & up to 256-bit encryption.
• Comodo prices start from $7.02/year for DV SSL
• 30-day money-back guarantee,
• Free SSL certificate management tool
• Trust Logo site seal

  2. SSL.com

• Costs of DV SSL SSL start from $36.75/year

    3. DigiCert

• Offers SSL encryption for websites & IOTs( Internet of Things ) devices
• Offers free SSL reissues on unlimited servers for lifetime of your certificate
• SSL certificates of DigiCert are trusted by most of the mobile devices, mail systems and browsers
• It features 256-bit encryption and 2048-bit RSA keys which is signed with SHA-256
• DigiCert SSL certificates ensure fullest website security
• DigiCert offers ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) support
• Costs of standard DigiCert SSL start from $218.17/year, while its Wildcard SSL costs approx $625/year

    4. Sectigo
        Costs of DV SSL start from $78/year

    5. AlphaSSL 
        Costs of DV SSL start from $49/year

    6. Entrust 
        Costs of OV SSL start from $199/year

    7. GlobalSign
        Costs of DV SSL start from $249/year

    8. Symantec
        Single-domain SSL certificate starts at $399/ year

    9. GeoTrust
        Costs of OV SSL start from $199/year

    10. Thawte
          Single-domain SSL certificate starts at $149/ year

    11. GoDaddy 
          Single-domain SSL certificate starts at $55.99/ year

    12. RapidSSLonline 
          Single-domain SSL certificate starts at $59/ year

    13. Network Solutions 
          Single-domain SSL certificate starts at $54.99/ year

    14. Let’s Encrypt  
          Lifetime free, Valid till 3 months at a time, you must renew it free in every 3 months for another 3 months

   15. SSL For Free   
        Lifetime free, Valid till 3 months at a time, you must renew it free in every 3 months for another 3 months

   16. Instant SSL 
         Free till 3 months , $125 per year and up

Before purchasing, it is essential to be familiar with above points only then you can make the right selection.