What are SSL certificates?
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates, also referred to as TLS certificates, protect your servers and websites and thus ensure the trust of your customers. Using SSL certificates, confidential data is encrypted during transmission via the SSL or TLS (Transport Layer Security) protocol.
SSL certificates also contain trusted information on the certificate owner and hence confirm the identity of a website's or server's operator. An SSL certificate is issued by a trusted organisation – known as a certification authority (CA) – in a similar way to an identity card. Depending on the certificate type (Gold EV, Gold, Silver), different characteristics of the certificate owner are checked.
What are the benefits of SSL certificates?
SSL certificates increase the level of trust that your customers and partners place in your company’s website or web applications. A trusted CA such as SwissSign certifies the authenticity of your website by conducting a reliable check of your domain and other company information. In doing so, it ensures that you are also trusted by operating systems and browsers.
SSL certificates guarantee your customers and partners both privacy and data protection by allowing for secure encrypted access. SSL certificates offer protection against phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks. They also increase the visibility of your website, as the Google ranking rates websites with SSL/TLS encryption much higher than websites without SSL.
How can I find an appropriate SSL certificate?
The primary question when selecting the right certificate is the level of trust that the website or web application should provide the visitor. The higher the level of trust and security required, the more detailed the process for the verification of the owner’s identity and the information subsequently provided in the certificate.
Choice of validation level
A differentiation is made between three main certificate types for the identification check:
- The domain-validated (DV) certificate: SwissSign SSL Silver certificate
- The organisation-validated (OV) certificate: SwissSign SSL Gold certificate
- The extended-validation (EV) certificate: SwissSign SSL Gold EV certificate
Definition of the number of domains to be certified
For the protection of several domains or several sub-domains the Multi-Domain certificate is suitable. For an unlimited number of websites that are sub-domains of only one defined domain name, the Wildcard certificate is the right choice. More info
SSL Gold EV
The Extended Validation SSL certificates offering the highest level of trust and security
SSL Gold
The high-quality SSL certificate for your company
SSL Gold Wildcard
SSL Gold encryption for an unlimited amount of subdomains
SSL Silver Wildcard
SSL Silver encryption for an unlimited amount of subdomains
SSL Silver
Domain validated, cost-efficient basic protection with rapid issuance
