Not all SSL certificates are the same and each type is different in some way. In this short article we will highlight some the key features of SSL encryption, dedicated SSL, shared SSL, wildcard SSL and free SSL certificates.

When choosing a SSL for your online business it is worth while taking a little time to consider and research what type of SSL certificate you require and what you can afford.

There are many different types of certificates and they vary in price. The main types of SSL are dedicated, shared, wildcard and free. With lots of suppliers of SSL’s online it pays to shop around.

Dedicated SSL Certificates

Dedicated SSL’s are assigned specifically to the domain name of your website. So in order to obtain a dedicated certificate you have to have your own unique domain ending, for example, in.com or.co.uk. Prices of domain names vary but there are plenty of domain registrars online. With a dedicated certificate it is not shared with any another domain name, and these do not usually provide SSL protection for website sub-domains other than www.

A Dedicated SSL is one of the most expensive SSL’s to purchase.

Shared SSL certificates

Unlike the dedicated certificates, where you have your own domain name and your own unique certificate, shared SSL certificates are exactly what they sound like: Shared.

You will normally find shared SSL’s are supplied by web hosts for their customers to use. They tend to have a generic name and as such your domain wont be displayed when this type of shared SSL is in use. Web hosts do tend to offer these for free.

You can also attach your website to someone elses SSL certificate. However, this does mean that when a visitor to your website wants to check the authenticity of your site the SSL of your website and the name on the certificate will not match. Who ever owns and purchased the certificate will have his or her details shown. In most modern browsers this will normally cause the browser to show an error page warning the person not to continue.