An SSL Certificate used on a website serves two main purposes:
- Encrypt data when it is transferred (e.g. between a website and the visitor's computer)
- Verify certain credentials about the domain name (e.g. that the domain is supposed to be hosted on a particular server)
If a valid SSL certificate is installed for a domain name, then somebody visiting the website can use the "HTTPS" (secure) protocol, and the web browser will signify that the connection is secure by displaying a padlock icon or the word "Secure" in the address bar.
Precedence can install several types of SSL certificate on your domain name, depending on your requirements.
Here is an overview of the most popular choices:
| Free SSL (DV) Certificate | Commercial SSL (DV) Certificate with Dedicated IP | Commercial SSL (EV) Certificate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | $240/yr | $300/yr |
| Green bar showing company name | No | No | Yes |
| Browser compatibility | All recent | Recent and older | Recent and older |
| Windows XP support | No | Yes, because of dedicated IP | No |
| Warranty | None | $10K | $1.5M |
| Dynamic site seal for website | No | No | Yes |
Our Recommendations
For the majority of websites, the Free SSL (DV) Certificate is a perfect choice, because it doesn't cost anything, yet it provides the correct encryption protocols that web browsers and search engines look for to determine that the website is transmitting data securely.
For eCommerce websites or high-value brand websites, where the customer's perception of trust is critical, a Commercial SSL (EV) Certificate is the best choice, because it displays the green bar with the company name in the address bar, which customers are familiar with when using large, well-respected websites.
If your website specifically needs to maintain support for old browsers and operating systems, then the Commercial SSL (DV) Certificate with Dedicated IP would be the correct choice, because the dedicated IP address is required by Windows XP. Please be aware that your website will also need to be developed with this requirement in mind, because modern websites will not normally work correctly on web browsers this old.
Free Domain Validated (DV) SSL Certificate
We automatically install a free (Domain Validated) SSL certificate on every domain hosted with us, although older accounts may need this manually activated. This free SSL certificate is certified by the LetsEncrypt organisation and is trusted by all current web browsers. Normally, an SSL certificate also requires that a website have a dedicated IP address, but in order to provide this certificate at no cost, we use a technology called SNI that allows multiple SSL certificates to share a single IP address. This technology is supported by all current web browsers and operating systems — but it does not work in Windows XP running Internet Explorer, which represents on average about 0.5% of website visitors. (A visitor using an older web browser will receive a warning that the website is not secure.)
This option is perfectly suitable for the majority of websites, but if you want to support older web browsers, or you want to convey more trust to your visitors on an eCommerce website, other options are more suitable.
Commercial Domain Validated (DV) SSL Certificate with Dedicated IP Address
This SSL certificate is provided by a commercial certificate authority and includes a dedicated IP address, which means it works on older web browsers, too. Both of these elements cost money, so this type of certificate comes with an annual fee. It provides the same level of security and trust as the free SSL certificate above, although commercial SSL certificate providers typically also include some form of warranty or insurance that warrants the legitimacy and encryption level used by the certificate.
Commercial Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificate
This SSL certificate comes with additional credential checks (as well as verifying that the domain name points to the expected server IP address, it also verifies that the domain name is still owned by the company that purchased the SSL certificate — so if the domain expires and is registered by a malicious party, the SSL certificate will no longer report as secure.)
Web browsers will display additional trust information in the address bar, such as the company name and a green background colour, to indicate this type of SSL certificate to the visitor.
This is the most appropriate SSL certificate for an eCommerce website that expects to do a non-trivial amount of sales volume, where additional trust signals will result in a measurable increase in conversions.
It is also possible to acquire a dedicated IP address with this option for an additional fee.
Wildcard SSL Certificate
Normally, a single SSL Certificate will apply to a single hostname within a domain name, such as "www.example.com" or "shop.example.com".
For an extra fee, the commercial DV type SSL Certificates can be installed as a "wildcard" certificate, which means the certificate can be used for any hostname under your domain name, so it could cover "www.example.com", "intranet.example.com", "shop.example.com", and any number of others.
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