Your online businesses’ cyber-security relies on the choice of SSL certificate that you make and stick to. This choice is essential because it affects the scalability of your IT infrastructure as your business grows.
If you purchase the right kind of certificate, you can inspire trust among your customers and add new domains and subdomains effortlessly.
On the other hand, if you make the wrong choice, you may face hurdles in creating new websites for your business’s growing needs.
The good thing is that you need to choose between only two options – wildcard SSL certificates and SAN SSL certificates. If you know the factors that should be considered before making a choice, you can easily choose the right one among them as per your needs.
And in this article, we’re going to tell you precisely about those factors which should be considered before choosing your certificate. Let’s begin with an introduction to SSL certificates.
Types of SSL certificates
There is no dearth of the kinds of SSL certificates available in the market. Broadly speaking, we can categorize SSL certificates into three types based on the number of domains they stand to protect.
- Single-domain SSL certificates: A standard single-domain SSL certificate is liable to protect only one domain. You can’t even protect a subdomain with single-domain SSL certificates.
- Wildcard SSL certificates: These certificates protect a root domain and all of its subdomains, provided that the subdomain domain is not created under any other subdomain of the root domain. It should be immediately below the root domain only.
- Multi-domain (SAN) SSL certificates: If you need to secure multiple domains and subdomains, you must go for a multi-domain SSL certificate.
Due to their limited protection of just one-domain, single-domain SSL certificates are rarely used by any business nowadays.
Most enterprises have to choose between cheap wildcard SSL and cheap SAN SSL certificates. How can you choose between both of them? That’s precisely the subject of the next section.
Factors to weigh while selecting your perfect SSL certificate
You must take into consideration the following four factors, before you set out to buy your most suited SSL certificate.
#1. The number of domains and subdomains you want to protect
The first thing that you should consider, of course, is the number of domains and subdomains that you want to protect with your certificate. This one particular factor plays a significant role in determining what type of certificate you should choose between wildcard and SAN SSL certificates.
While a wildcard certificate protects only one domain and all its subdomains, a SAN certificate can cover all your domains and their subdomains.
So in case you’ve got multiple domains for your business, purchasing a wildcard certificate for both of them won’t make sense from scalability as well as an affordability perspective.
On the other hand, if you have just one domain, then it won’t make sense to get a SAN certificate (unless, of course, you plan to expand the number of your business domains soon).
#2. The nature of data you’ll be storing
The nature of data you’ll be storing is the next vital factor to consider while purchasing an SSL certificate. For instance, if you’re going to keep your customers’ financial data, you need to inspire even more trust in them.
And to encourage even more confidence, you may want to purchase an extended validation (EV) SSL certificate that shows the name of your organization when clicking the green padlock icon.
This kind of certificate is generally used by banks, financial institutions, major corporations, and other similar entities. However, EV SSL certificates don’t come in wildcard variants.
Only single domain and SAN certificates are issued as EV SSL. So if you decide to choose them, the wildcard option is already out of the window.
#3. The age of your business
In case you’re planning to get an EV SSL certificate, your business’s age also plays a role in determining what you get. For buying an EV SSL certificate, your business should have completed at least three years of operation.
In case you fail to fulfil this minimum requirement, you cannot consider applying for an EV certificate.
In that case, you need to choose between a DV and OV SSL certificate, both of which come in wildcard and SAN variants.
Now, you can’t do anything to change your business’s age in documents, but it’s essential to know about it because it plays a role in determining your SSL choice.
#4. Your budget
The third consideration is that of budget. Everything costs money, and there’s no point in having an SSL certificate that spoils your business’s budget. SAN SSL certificates usually cost more than wildcard certificates, and there’s a good chance that you may not want to pay that much during the initial phase of your business.
However, at the same time, it’s also worth mentioning that nowadays, many cheap SAN SSL certificates have hit the market.
So if you can afford to purchase any such certificate for your business at any point in time, it doesn’t hurt anyone (even during your business’s initial phase).
Conclusion: Which type of certificate to choose?
The answer depends to a large extent on your requirements. If you’re a new business in industries other than finance and healthcare, you’ll be good to go with a wildcard certificate.
Even if you’re in the finance or healthcare sector, you’ll still need to settle with a wildcard certificate until your business has a vintage of at least three years. In all other cases, you can go with a SAN SSL certificate.
So that was an introduction to some of the factors you should consider before buying a wildcard or SAN certificate. Just keep these things in mind; you’ll never make the wrong choice while selecting your certificate.
On the other hand, if you still have any doubts or questions in your mind regarding the selection of SSL certificates, then please share them in the comments, and we’ll try to answer them as soon as possible.
