Key Factors to Guide Your Decision on Choosing the Right SSL Certificate
Now that browsers display “Not Secure” warnings for web pages served over HTTP, making the decision to protect your entire website with SSL/TLS certificates is a no-brainer. What’s not so obvious is which type of SSL Certificate makes the most sense.
Without guidance, choosing the right SSL certificate can be a bit overwhelming. But, it’s way too important to be left to chance. Your online reputation and success depend on making an informed decision. Online buyers get savvier by the minute and website security solution says a lot more about you than you think. Here are the key factors to consider when deciding which SSL certificate is right for you.
How many domains and sub-domains do you need to protect?
Single SSL certificates secure one domain name or URL. When you have multiple domains and sub-domains to protect, things can get a little pricey and tough to manage. That is Wildcard and Multi-domain certificates come in. They save you money and simplify management.
With a Wildcard SSL, you can secure your main domain as well as all your sub-domains with just one Certificate. Suppose your domain is example.com and you want to protect account.example.com, site.example.com, blog.example.com etc. The Wildcard SSL should be your choice. However, a Wildcard SSL can only validate one domain and it’s all subdomains.
If you want to validate multiple domain names then Multi-Domain SSL should be your choice. You can secure example.com , example.net, example.org or any domain you own. The only catch is it can not validate your subdomains except the “www” version.
How important is identity validation?
Trust is today’s most valuable currency online—no matter what type of website you have. All SSL certificates include encryption to protect data in transit, including usernames, passwords, and credit card information. But you need to decide what level of identity authentication, also known as validation, is enough for your visitors to feel comfortable without a doubt that you’re a legitimate organization and not some phishing site. The more premium the SSL certificate, the more in-depth the validation, the more visible the visual trust indicators and the more confident your visitors.
The basic validation certificate is called DV or Domain Validation. It just validate your domain name and not your identity. Another one is OV or Organization Validation. The OV validates your domain as well as the identity of your Organization. The Most popular type is the EV or Extended Validation. The Extended Validation SSL Certificate not only authenticate your identity, it also display the brand name to your visitors. The EV gives you the most security, trust and surely Return on Investments.
What are your goals?
If your online reputation is a key factor in your success and your goal is to maximize conversions, trust is essential. Studies show 69% of online shoppers specifically look for websites that display trust symbols. display instantly recognizable visual indicators, plus are proven to increase sales. EV SLL should be your top priority to gain more trust and sales. Especially for e-commerce Businesses.
How much risk can you afford?
SSL certificates typically come with a warranty so, in the event of a hack or data breach that results from a flaw in the certificate, you’re covered. Warranty levels vary, with some lower-end certificates—such as DV and a few OVs—covering up to $10,000 in damages and some higher-end products offering up to $1,750,000 in coverage.
General rules of thumb
If you’re running a blog or personal non-ecommerce website, a Domain Validation (DV) SSL certificate is probably sufficient. They’re fast, no frills and provide basic encryption with domain-only validation.
If proving your organization is legit matters, but EV is outside your budget, an Organization Validation (OV) SSL certificate might be a good fit. It provides a bit more authentication and comes with a clickable dynamic site seal, so visitors can feel more confident it’s really you on the other end. For e-commerce sites, OV should be the absolute minimum.
If you’re a national or global brand, want to maximize confidence and conversions, and clearly show customers their security is one of your top priorities, an Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificate is the way to go. The authentication process is the most extensive, so it takes a little longer, but the payoff is it comes with the most detailed certificate information to put visitors completely at ease. One Tec-ED study even showed EV is proven to increase conversions.
Still not sure which SSL Certificate to choose? We’re here to help.
