Choose the Best SSL for Your Website

You’re ready to purchase the best SSL certificate for your e-commerce site, but there are so many options! How do you choose the right one for your own website?

In this article, we’ll examine SSL certificates for e-commerce sites so you can make the right decision for your website.

Why Do You Need SSLs?

In our recent article, we explained SSL certificates and why all websites can benefit from the extra security that SSL provides.

In a nutshell, SSLs encrypt all data sent to and from a website, making it safer to transmit passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal information. Websites with SSLs promote trust, both among your site visitors and with Google, which recognizes them as trusted and legitimate sites. SSL certificates for e-commerce sites can boost conversion rates and search engine rankings.

At the end of the day, between encryption and SEO, it’s really a good idea to install SSL certificates on all websites, even if it’s just a personal blog or website without any interactions.

For even more information on SSL certificates, be sure to check out our special guide.

Best SSL Certificates for E-commerce Sites

To get an SSL for your website, you need to purchase one from a provider (such as Namecheap). The provider serves as an intermediary between you and a Certificate Authority (Comodo, e.g.) that will verify your information. The CA will then issue the SSL certificate as a cryptographic key that you can download and install on your site.

To choose the best SSL certificate for your site, you’ll need to consider the types of data your users will send through your website (as well as the types of information they will have access to on your site). You’ll also need to base your choice on how many domains you will need to secure.

With so many options, making the right choice can be a little confusing. Let’s break it down.

SSL Validation Levels

The key to understanding the best SSL certificate for an e-commerce site is that there are three validation levels.

All SSL certificates come with basic encryption for your website. They will also change your site address to start with HTTPS rather than HTTP.

However, three levels of SSLs correspond to the amount of protection the certificate provides. As the level increases, the CA requires additional documentation confirming that you own the domain in question and that you are a legal representative of the company.

As a result, higher levels of validation provide additional customer confidence in your website. The three levels, in increasing levels of validation, are as follows:

• DV – Domain Validation (for blogs and personal sites)

• OV – Organization Validation (for small businesses, organizations, and educational institutions, with or without e-commerce)

• EV – Extended Validation (for large businesses, agencies, and any sites with e-commerce or high-risk data)

Websites will require different levels of security, so let’s take a deeper dive into each level. That way, you’ll better understand what’s included so you can make the best decision.

1. Best SSL Certificate for E-commerce Site

If you have a small website or blog and don’t sell products or ask for private customer data, Domain Validation (DV) certificates may be the best choice for you. These offer the lowest validation level. These certificates are best for websites with nothing more complicated than a contact form or comment box.

DV Certificates are also the quickest to install. They don’t require paperwork, and you can purchase and set one up in just a few minutes. Once you purchase a DV certificate, the CA verifies that you manage the domain name for the certificate and that Google Safe Browsing does not blacklist the site. The certificate validation process usually can be completed within 15 minutes.

2. SSL Certificates for Businesses & Organizations

Organization Validation (OV) certificates are ideal for small businesses and educational and nonprofit organizations that need a bit more non-transactional data from their customers.

OV certificates are ideal for websites with discussion forums or volunteer signups, or that request personal data such as addresses, biographical details, work schedules, or similar types of data. Small e-commerce websites that utilize PayPal or other third-party payment options can also benefit from an OV certificate.

For OV certificates, CAs must verify the company name, domain name, and other information using public databases. The issued certificate will contain the company name and the domain name for which the certificate was issued. Because of these additional checks, this is the minimum certificate recommended for e-commerce transactions as it provides the consumer with additional information about the business.

In addition to securing your site with encryption and an HTTPS address, with OV certificates, you can get a dynamic site seal to display to your customers —a visual mark of security that builds trust. 

To obtain an OV Certificate, the process is a bit more complicated than with DV certificates. In this case, you’ll need to follow the Domain Control Validation (DCV) process. The CA will verify the legal and physical existence of the company for which the certificate will be issued—a process that can take up to three business days.

High assurance OV certificates at Namecheap include InstantSSL, InstantSSL Pro, PremiumSSL, Unified Communications, PremiumSSL Wildcard, and Multi-Domain SSL.

3. Best SSL Certificates for Corporations and E-commerce Sites

Extended Validation (EV) certificates are best suited for governmental agencies, e-commerce websites, and corporations that handle high-risk data such as health records, banking data, or social security numbers. This level of assurance is also crucial for e-commerce sites and any other businesses that handle high-risk financial, medical, or other sensitive data.

EV certificates provide the highest level of validation and security. After purchasing an EV certificate, the applicant must submit the documents required by the Certificate Authority as part of the verification process, and verify the company’s legal and physical existence and its telephone number. This process can take up to ten business days to complete.

Namecheap offers EV SSL and EV Multi-Domain SSL certificates.

How Complex is Your Website?

Now that you’ve chosen the proper validation level for your certificate, you’ll also need to decide on the best SSL certificate for your e-commerce site. Don’t worry—this step is simple.

Let’s take a look at your options.

1. Single-Domain Certificates for Small Websites

As the name suggests, single-domain certificates are the best choice when you have just one website on a single domain (including both the www.mydomain.com and mydomain.com versions). These are the proper choice for blogs or small business websites that don’t use subdomains (such as mydomain.com and support.mydomain.com) or multiple root domains (mydomain.com and mydomain.uk as part of a single website) for different pages within the site.

2. Wildcard Certificates for Websites with Subdomains

Wildcard certificates are appropriate for large organizations that have each department as a subdomain. With a WildCard certificate, you protect both your primary domain name and all subdomains of the domain.
For example, a Wildcard certificate issued to *.mydomain.com can be used to secure any or all of the following hostnames:

• mydomain.com
• www.mydomain.com
• login.mydomain.com
• support.mydomain.com etc.
• secure.mydomain.com

With Wildcard certificates, you can ensure that all of your subdomains are protected, no matter how many your organization may have.

3. Multi-Domain Certificates For Large Organizations

Multi-domain certificates are used on websites with multiple domains, related or unrelated, or with similar domains registered in different countries.  

A Multi-domain SSL Certificate can secure your main domain as well as several SAN (Subject Alternative Name) domain names in one Certificate.
For example, you can secure all these domains with a single SAN Certificate:

•  www.namecheap.com
• www.nc.com
• www.namecheapgroup.com
• www.web-hosting.com

You could also secure international branches such as:

• mydomain.com
• mydomain.us
• mydomain.uk
• mydomain.ru

Finally, Multi-domain Certificates may also be used for Unified Communications (UC) to secure Microsoft Exchange 2010 Server, Office Communications Server 2007, or Mobile Device Manager.

Multi-domain SSL Certificates do not require several dedicated IP addresses for your hostnames.

What’s the Best SSL for Your E-commerce Site?

As you can see, there are a number of different criteria you will need to consider when choosing your SSL certificate for an e-commerce site.

If you’re still not sure which level of validation you need, here’s a final point to consider:

If you’re running a prominent business or requesting customer details on your website, especially credit card information, it’s a good idea to go with an EV Certificate. The added trust factor from the highest-assurance SSLs and green bar assurance can be quite valuable. It demonstrates to your customers that your site is legitimate and that you value their privacy. While EV certificates are more expensive than other options, this level of assurance should help you increase sales, improve conversions, and build a strong relationship with your customers.

And when you choose Namecheap as your SSL provider, you can rest easy knowing that all SSL Certificates are issued by Comodo, the top Certificate Authority worldwide, with over 100 million websites secured.