SSL Certificates: Single Domain vs. Wildcard vs. Multi-Domain

As the name implies, a single domain SSL has been tailored to protect just one domain and its subdirectories. For example, purchasing a single domain certificate for (www.domain1.com) will not secure another domain like (domain2.com) or a subdomain like (news.domain1.com).

If you operate a small business or a blog that doesn't necessarily require collecting sensitive information from customers, a single domain SSL is ideal.

A Wildcard SSL secures your primary domain and all of its subdomains.

Because it covers a larger area than a single domain SSL, it gives you the advantage of adding new subdomains without any hassls. Wildcard certificates offer more value for money as you don't need to purchase separate certificates for each subdomain you own.

For example, if you purchase a wildcard certificate for (www.yourdomain.com), other subdomains like (store.yourdomain.com), and (blog.yourdomain.com) will all be protected under a single wildcard SSL.

Suppose you own a big brand that operates multiple subdomains under the main domain, we recommend getting a wildcard certificate as a cost effective way to get protection for them all.

For example, multiple domains like (www.domain1.com), (www.domain2.com), (www.domain3.com) could all be protected by one certificate. Should each of these domains have subdomains under them, they will also be protected by this same certificate. Awesome right?

But before you get any funny ideas for protecting your friend’s domain, the requirement for this to work is if all the domains have the same owner.

Before you're issued the certificate, you must prove that you own it, so there's no cutting corners here.

Before you're issued an SSL certificate, the certificate authority needs to ensure that your business is legitimate in a process called SSL validation.

This is the easiest type of SSL validation to set up. The certificate authority (CA) only needs to verify and ensure that you who applied for the certificate are the domain owner.

This is usually done via email authentication and the CA will verify from the Whois registrar whether you registered for the certificate or not.

This is best for small businesses and personal websites as it saves time and money.

If you're trying to get validation for a company or organization, the verification process is a bit more strict. An OV certificate displays the domain name, name of the company, and name of the city, state, and country where the company exists.

This warrants a list of requirements you need to verify.

As tedious as this process might seem, it is the only way to distinguish between fake and genuine companies. Organizational validation is best if you own a medium sized business.

This is the highest level of validation an SSL certificate can get. EV certificates instantly make users feel secure, they show a level of trust needed to carry out big and sensitive transactions.

EV certificates can identify phishing sites, stop attacks, and make your website as secure as a bank vault.

This SSL certificate also displays the name and location of your business. However, the certificate authority will require.

This is the goto validation large enterprises choose, for them, being trustworthy is paramount. At Trustname, we took our EV certificates a step further by collaborating with DigiCert, the most reputable certificate authority in the world.

Since we're still dissecting SSLs, there's one more important document you need to know about.

When you open the SSL purchase page, you will see a variety of certificates to choose from. However, you'll need to own a domain name or have access to the domain registrar account. If you don't have one, you can register a new domain here on Trustname.

Once you select your preferred choice, the next page will bring up options on how many websites you want to protect. You can choose between single, multiple, or full domains (with subdomains).

The next step is to paste your certificate signing request (CSR). If you don't have one, you can easily create it from your control panel or a CSR generator tool. To learn more about how to do this, check out these resources.

Create a CSR using cPanel.

Create a CSR using the CSR generator tool.

The next step is to add your contact information. You can decide to add a new contact or use a predefined contact that's free and provided by Trustname to ensure your Whois privacy.

Next, choose how you want to validate your ownership of the domain/identity. If you're buying a DV SSL certificate, you can select Domain, Email, or File verification.

The final step will be to fill in your billing address and payment details to make your purchase. Once you're done typing in the details, review the transaction and click 'Pay'.