Table of contents
- Domain validation
- Organization validation
- Extended validation
- The best choice
- The different types of SSL certificates
SSL certificates are distinguished by its validation method when issued. The stricter the SSL certificate is set, the more characteristics the certificate is assigned by the authorities. In this article, you will learn more about the three choices of validation methods, which can be divided into domain, organization and extended validation.
Domain validation
When choosing domain validation, the certificate is issued with only the name of the domain name holder. This check is done based on the WHOIS data of the domain name. This type of certificate is mainly chosen, due to the absence of company data. It is considered ideal for situations where data needs to be sent securely, but the identity of the website is less important. Some examples for the use of this type of certificate can be found mainly with intranet software within an organization.
Organization validation
When choosing an organization validation, the certificate is issued with all company data. Visitors of a website, can see the company data of the domain name holder. This type of certificate is mainly chosen, to radiate a familiar feeling towards the visitor. Public websites most often use a certificate based on this method.
Extended validation
When choosing extended validation, the certificate is checked with all possible (company) data. Visitors to a website with this type of certificate will recognizably see the organization name in the address bar. This gives the most trusted feeling possible. Especially for web shops and financial institutions, this type of certificate is the most interesting to use.
The best choice
Now that we have gone over the different validation methods, you may naturally wonder which is the best choice for your website.Most websites on the Internet have chosen the organization validation method. This is because the certificate gives a trusted feeling to the visitor, with which company information can be viewed.
For this reason, we would absolutely recommend going for the organization validation method. Because we have access to public services, we can offer you as a customer a free SSL certificate, which provides the best secure connection possible.
The different types of SSL certificates
There are three different types of SSL certificates. These are single-, multi- and wildcard domain certificates. Each type of certificate has its own use case, which is explained below.
Single domain certificate
A single domain certificate can be applied to only one domain. The danger here is that an assumption is made that both "www" and "without www" are included. So unfortunately this is not true and if you want to use this, you will have to switch to a multi domain certificate.
Multi domain certificate
So to save costs, you can opt for a multi-domain certificate. This allows you to add multiple domains, running on the same server and sharing an IP address, to a certificate.
Wildcard domain certificate
It sometimes happens that someone wants to use, for example, anything that can appear before adomainname.co.uk in the address bar. For example:
- new.adomainname.com
- test.new.adomainname.com
- test-oud.nieuw.eendomeinnaam.nl
So instead of purchasing multiple single domain certificates, a wildcard domain certificate is chosen. This saves a lot of costs. However, this option is not available when an extended validation method is required.