What the words mean
SSL has a lot of jargon. Here is what the words mean, without the technical detail. If anything is still unclear, ring us: we are happy to explain.
- SSL certificate
- A digital certificate for your website. It lets visitors connect securely to your website, and gives them the padlock. A standard certificate verifies that you control the domain and encrypts the connection between the visitor and your server. It does not, on its own, vouch for the business or the content of the site.
- Certification authority (CA)
- The trusted company that checks you and issues the certificate, for example Sectigo, GeoTrust or RapidSSL. Browsers trust them, so they trust your certificate.
- CSR (certificate signing request)
- A short block of text your server creates. It carries your domain name and a public key, and we need it to make your certificate. Creating one only takes a minute: how to create a CSR.
- Private key
- The secret half of the pair, created at the same time as the CSR. It stays on your server and is never sent to us. Keep it safe.
- Domain name (common name)
- The website address the certificate is for, such as www.example.com. Technical people call it the common name.
- Validation
- The authority's check before it issues a certificate. For a domain-validated certificate you only prove you control the domain, by email, a DNS record or a small file on your website. How validation works.
- DV, OV and EV
- DV (domain validated) proves you control the domain. It is quick and enough for most websites. OV (organisation validated) also checks your business is real, and your verified company name is recorded in the certificate. EV (extended validation) has the most extensive identity checks on your organisation. Browsers no longer show EV with a special green bar, but the verified details are in the certificate for anyone who looks. OV and EV take longer, usually 2 to 3 working days.
- Wildcard certificate
- One certificate for your domain and every name one level below it, such as www.example.com, shop.example.com and mail.example.com.
- Multi-domain certificate (SANs)
- One certificate that covers several different names, even for different websites. Each extra name is called a SAN (subject alternative name).
- Reissue
- A fresh certificate for the same order. Reissues are free, as many as you need. You send a new CSR, complete validation and install the new certificate.
- Renewal
- Buying another 12 months when your order is ending. Renewals open 30 days before your order expires, and you keep the time you have left.
- Certificate expiry and order expiry
- Certificates are only issued for up to 200 days at a time, but your order lasts 12 months. So the certificate expires first, and you reissue. The order expires at the end of the 12 months, and you renew.
- Installing
- Putting the certificate on your web server so visitors get the padlock. Installation guide.