SSL

What is SSL Certificate?

SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer it ensures that data travelling between you and the website is secured and that if someone was to try and steal that data would be very difficult for them to do so.

When is it essential?

When you are paying for goods online it is absolutely essential to ensure that your customers are protected, even if they are paying through a payment gateways it is usually best to have SSL anyway.

What are the different types?

Standard

This is your general certificate you will mostly use. It will work with only one domain and one subdomain.

Wildcard

This will allow you use the certificate on any sub domain on your domain.

Multi

We do not recommend this one but it allows multiple sites on one certificate.

Then under those the level of validation is as follows:

• Domain Validated - This is basically where the certificate authority will validate that a contact at the domain approves the request. But this is the lowest level of validation and is quite easy to obtain, generally via e-mail or telephone.
• Company Validated - This is where they will basically do a more extended validation process, ensuring that business credentials and the address of the request matches the business trading information.
• Extended Validation - This is the highest level of certificate currently offered and can take days to be approved, with a rigorous validation process ensuring that a wide variety of checks are made.

Also please note that the company and extended validation are considerably more expensive than the domain validated as there is more processes behind them.