Which certificate you need depends on how many names have to be covered and whether your organisation's details need to appear in the certificate. For most websites the answer is a free certificate — see What is an SSL certificate and why does my website need one? for the background.
Start here: do you need a paid certificate at all?
A free Let's Encrypt certificate provides exactly the same encryption as any paid one, is issued in minutes and renews itself automatically. All our control panels can issue it:
- Installing an SSL certificate in Plesk
- Installing an SSL certificate in ISPmanager
- Installing an SSL certificate in KeyHelp
It covers a domain and, with a little configuration, its subdomains. Wildcard certificates are available from Let's Encrypt too, though they require DNS-based validation rather than the simpler HTTP method.
When a paid certificate makes sense
- Your organisation's details must appear in the certificate. This is the one thing free certificates cannot do: they confirm control of the domain only. An OV or EV certificate records the verified company name.
- You need a warranty from the certification authority. Paid certificates come with financial cover in the event the authority issues one wrongly. Whether that matters depends on your business.
- Many unrelated domains under one certificate. A multi-domain (SAN) certificate covers a set of different domains in a single certificate, which can be simpler to administer than many separate ones.
- A requirement imposed on you — by a payment provider, an auditor or a corporate policy. This is a common reason, and it is not worth arguing with.
One thing that is not a reason: appearance in the browser. Since 2019 Chrome and Firefox show the same padlock for every valid certificate, and the company name in an EV certificate is visible only if a visitor opens the certificate details. Visitors will not see any difference between a free certificate and the most expensive one available.
Choosing by what you need to cover
| What you need to secure | Certificate type |
|---|---|
| One site, one domain | Domain Validation (DV) |
| A domain and all its subdomains at one level | Wildcard |
| Several different domains together | Multi-domain (SAN) |
| A site that must show verified company details | Organisation Validation (OV) or Extended Validation (EV) |
Note that a wildcard covers one level only: a certificate for *.example.com covers shop.example.com but not eu.shop.example.com.
Ordering
We supply paid certificates. Open a ticket with our Sales department, telling us which domains need to be covered and whether your organisation's details have to appear in the certificate, and we will suggest a suitable option and confirm the price.
Once issued, the certificate is installed through your control panel, following the relevant guide above.
If you are unsure, describe what your site does and how many names are involved — we will tell you the least complicated option that meets the requirement.
