All You Need to Know About Wildcard SSL Certificates
A Wildcard SSL Certificate is the one that saves you time and effort by ensuring the security of a complex website with the installation of one single SSL Certificate.
Moreover, a Wildcard SSL Certificate will save you money that you would have to spend on buying multiple certificates.
If you’re still wondering what’s all the fuss about these Wildcard SSL Certificates and why you should choose this type of certificate among the other ones, keep on reading.
What is a Wildcard SSL Certificate?
A Wildcard SSL Certificate is a special type of SSL Certificate which was particularly designed to secure one main domain along with all the same level subdomains belonging to that domain.
How do Wildcard SSL Certificates work?
If your domain is awesome.com, then a Wildcard SSL Certificate issued for *.awesome.com will secure an unlimited number of first-level subdomains, such as:
- login.awesome.com
- account.awesome.com
- blog.awesome.com
- mail.awesome.com
Since the Wildcard SSL Certificate covers only the first-level subdomains, it’s issued based on the “naked” domain (e.g.: awesome.com), which is validated only if added separately as a Subject Alternative Name.
Any level 2 subdomains (e.g.: test.account.awesome.com) will not be covered under the same Wildcard SSL certificate because the asterisk sign “*” doesn’t match full stops. To secure level 2 subdomains, you must purchase a separate Wildcard SSL Certificate.
If you want to secure a sub-domain such as my.awesome.com and all its level 2 subdomains, then a Wildcard SSL Certificate issued for *.my.awesome.com will secure an unlimited number of second-level subdomains, such as:
- login.my.awesome.com
- account.my.awesome.com
- blog.my.awesome.com
- mail.my.awesome.com
Therefore, a Wildcard SSL Certificate saves you from the need of purchasing separate certificates for each subdomain. Besides their cost convenience, Wildcard SSL Certificates are very easy to work with.
You don’t need to reissue the certificate if you want to add new sub-domains because a Wildcard SSL Certificate will automatically cover and secure them.
For this reason, Wildcard SSL Certificates are considered an excellent solution for websites that have one main domain name and several sub-domains.
Also, if you have your main domain on one server, and the sub-domains spread across several different servers, you can still secure all these with one single Wildcard SSL Certificate.
The Certificate Authorities, which issue the Wildcard SSL Certificates, allow the same one SSL Certificate to be installed on an unlimited number of servers.
Types of Wildcard SSL Certificates
Wildcard SSL Certificates are available in two options:
- Domain Validation — the easiest to get, being issued within a few minutes after purchase.
- Business Validation — perfect for small, medium, and large organizations or companies. This certificate type is issued only to legally registered companies because the company name and address will be displayed when users click on the SSL Certificate to find more information about whom was the SSL Certificate issued to.
Are there any EV Wildcard SSL Certificates?
Extended Validation SSL Certificates are the perfect solution when you want to prove that your company and website are legitimate so that customers can fully trust your website when purchasing your products and services. Furthermore, EV certificates may help prevent phishing attacks.
Unfortunately, there aren’t any Wildcard SSL Certificates which offer Extended Validation, and there is no direct way to combine these two.
If you want to add an EV certificate to your subdomains, then you must buy individual EV SSL Certificates for each subdomain, or you can buy one single EV SAN Certificate (Extended Validation Multi-Domain Certificate) which will allow you to secure several pre-defined subdomains at a time.
Multi-domain SSL Certificates are distinct certificates which secure several domains and subdomains with one single SSL Certificate. The only thing that you need to know about Multi-domain SSL Certificates is that, by default, you are given just 3–4 available slots for your domains/subdomains. If you need to add more, you’ll have to pay an extra fee for each additional subdomain or domain.
Pros of Wildcard SSL Certificates
- Secure unlimited subdomains. Instead of buying multiple SSL Certificates for each subdomain, you buy one single SSL Certificate to secure all your subdomains altogether.
- Are easy to be managed. Wildcard SSL Certificates exempt you from the daunting and time-consuming task of deploying and renewing multiple individual SSL Certificates.
- They have a highly affordable price. Although they cost more than a One-Domain SSL Certificate, the Wildcard Certificates pay for themselves quickly because you can secure an unlimited number of subdomains with them.
Cons of Wildcard SSL Certificates
- Security. When using one Wildcard SSL Certificate on multiple servers, you must be very careful since you will use the same private key on all servers. It may take just one server to be compromised and the other servers will become vulnerable, too.
Are there any free Wildcard SSL Certificates?
Let’s Encrypt, an open-source CA, offers free Wildcard certificates, suitable for personal sites, blogs, online portfolios, and some small businesses. You can activate the free Let’s Encrypt Wildcard certificate via your hosting panel, or generate them through Certbot.
Alternatively, can get Trial SSL Certificates in order to secure only one single domain or subdomain. For securing multiple domains or subdomains with a Trial SSL Certificate, you should get several Trial SSL Certificates for each of them.
Please note that Trial SSL Certificates are issued for a very short period of time, such as 30 or 90 days, because their purpose is to secure your website when you are developing it, or to test how your website works with an SSL Certificate. This means that you will have to renew these trial certificates each month or trimester or get a regular 12 or 24 months SSL Certificate.
The most popular Wildcard SSL Certificates
Here are the most preferred Wildcard SSL Certificates on the market:
- Sectigo PositiveSSL Wildcard DV SSL
- Sectigo Essential Wildcard DV SSL
- Sectigo Premium Wildcard BV SSL
The first two certificates are ideal for small, medium and large websites where you have to secure one main domain and several sub-domains. They are good for blogs, small businesses, e-commerce websites, and even large enterprises. These two certificates are issued within a few minutes after buying them.
The third Wildcard SSL Certificate from above is perfect for all these same purposes. The only difference is that it’s issued in 1–3 days, and requires you to have a legally registered company, whose name and address will display when users will click on the SSL Certificate to see whom it was issued to. Each of these certificates come with a 256-bit certificate encryption, 2048-bit key encryption, and warranty.
What’s the difference between Positive Wildcard DV SSL and Essential Wildcard DV SSL?
The single difference is the name and the price. Sectigo always positions their “Positive” SSL Certificates as more affordable than their “Essential” SSL Certificates.
Why are Wildcard SSL Certificates more expensive than One-Domain SSL Certificates?
The reason why Wildcard SSL Certificates are more expensive than One-Domain SSL Certificates is that they save you time, money and effort.
Imagine that you have 10 sub-domains for which you need to install and configure 10 individual SSL Certificates. This may become a very difficult and time-consuming task.
Furthermore, once your certificates expire in one or two years, you would have to go through the same long process of purchasing and installing your 10 new, individual SSL Certificates.
Since a Wildcard SSL Certificate secures multiple subdomains at once and exempts you from the above actions, its price is higher than the price of a One-Domain SSL Certificate.
Final thoughts
A Wildcard SSL Certificate is an excellent solution for a complex multi-subdomain website.
Although these certificates are more expensive than One-Domain SSL Certificates, they save you time, effort and money, making the extra cost absolutely worth it.
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