How to choose a domain name wild-card certificate? Comparison and recommendation of various popular products

for enterprises or webmasters with a large number of second-level domain names, deploying SSL certificates one by one is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also increases the cost of operation and maintenance. The emergence of the domain name wild-card certificate just solves this pain point. It can cover all second-level domain names under the main domain name at one time, greatly simplifying the certificate management process. However, there are many types of domain name wild-card certificates on the market, and the trust level, verification difficulty, and price span of different brands are large, which makes it difficult for many users to choose when purchasing. This article will sort out the core purchase dimensions of the domain name wild-card certificate, compare the characteristics of many popular products, and share deployment precautions to provide users with practical purchase guides.

What are the core dimensions of purchasing domain name wild-card certificates?

want to choose the appropriate domain name wild-card certificate, you need to clarify the core purchase criteria, these dimensions directly determine the security of the certificate, ease of use and cost performance.

1, certificate trust level

This is the core indicator of the domain name wild-card certificate, which is divided into three categories: domain name verification type DV, organization verification type OV and extended verification type EV. DV type only verifies domain name ownership, the fastest audit but the lowest trust level, suitable for individual webmasters or small sites; OV type will verify the real identity of the enterprise, the browser address bar will display the enterprise name, the trust degree is moderate, suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises; EV type audit is the most stringent, the enterprise qualification needs to be fully verified, the address bar will display the green enterprise name and lock label, the highest trust level, suitable for enterprises with extremely high security requirements such as finance and e-commerce.

2, authority credibility

the security of the domain name wild-card certificate directly depends on the credibility of the authority CA, the mainstream authority CA including DigiCert, GlobalSign, Let's Encrypt, etc. The certificate issued by the authority is trusted by all mainstream browsers, and there will be no situation where the certificate is not recognized; while the certificate of the niche authority may have compatibility problems, and even be marked as insecure by the browser, affecting the user access experience.

3, price and valid period

different types of domain name wild-card certificate price difference is large, DV type annual cost from tens of yuan to hundreds of yuan, OV type is more than thousands of yuan, EV type may be tens of thousands of yuan. At the same time, pay attention to the valid period of the certificate, the current mainstream certificate valid period is up to 1 year, some free certificate valid period is only 90 days, need to combine their own operation and maintenance capabilities to avoid increasing workload due to frequent renewal.

Comparative analysis of popular domain name wild-card certificate products

combine the above purchase dimensions, the following is a detailed comparison of several popular domain name wild-card certificates on the market to help users intuitively understand the characteristics of each product.

1, DigiCert OV domain name wild-card certificate

as a product of the world's top CA organization, DigiCert OV domain name wild-card certificate trust is full, supports all mainstream browsers and devices, the audit cycle is about 1-3 working days, and the enterprise name will be displayed in the browser address bar. At the same time, it provides free certificate management tools to facilitate batch management of second-level domain name certificates. Its price is about 3,000-5,000 yuan per year, suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises with high requirements for security and stability.

2, Let's Encrypt DV domain name wild-card certificate

this is a free domain wild-card certificate, operated by a non-profit organization, only needs to verify the ownership of the domain name, the review can be completed in a few minutes, the valid period is 90 days, and automatic renewal is supported. Although the trust level is only DV type, it is better at zero cost. It is suitable for personal webmasters, small blogs or test sites. However, you need to pay attention to the configuration of automatic renewal to avoid the site being inaccessible due to the expiration of the certificate.

3, GlobalSign EV domain name wild-card certificate

GlobalSign is an established authoritative CA organization, its EV domain name wild-card certificate review is strict, and it needs to fully verify the enterprise qualification. The cycle is about 5-7 working days. The browser address bar will display the green enterprise name, which can greatly enhance the user's trust. The certificate supports unlimited reissuance, and also provides 7 * 24-hour technical support. The price is about 8,000-12,000 yuan per year, which is suitable for large enterprises such as finance and e-commerce.

III. Domain name wild-card certificate deployment and maintenance precautions

select the domain name wild-card certificate, the correct deployment and operation can give full play to its value and avoid security bugs or usage failures.

1, domain planning

domain name wild-card certificate only covers all second-level domain names under the main domain name, and cannot cover third-level and above domain names. Therefore, before deployment, you need to comb the existing second-level domain name list to confirm whether it meets the coverage. At the same time, it should be noted that some domain name wild-card certificates support adding additional main domain names. If there is a need for cross-main domain names, you need to choose products that support multi-main domain names in advance.

2, certificate renewal and backup

Since the valid period of the domain name wild-card certificate is up to 1 year, it is necessary to set a renewal reminder in advance to avoid the site being marked as unsafe due to the expiration of the certificate. For free domain name wild-card certificates, ensure that the automatic renewal function is running normally; for paid certificates, you can contact the CA agency for renewal in advance. In addition, it is necessary to back up the certificate file regularly to avoid the loss of the certificate due to server failure and affect the normal operation of the site.

3, security monitoring and update

deployment of the domain name wild-card certificate, to regularly monitor the status of the certificate, with the help of server monitoring tools or management platform provided by the CA agency, timely detection of certificate abnormalities. At the same time, to pay attention to the CA agency's security announcements, if the certificate algorithm loopholes, need to be replaced with a more secure domain name wild-card certificate, to ensure the site's SSL security.

To sum up, the purchase of domain name wild-card certificates needs to combine core dimensions such as trust level, institutional credibility and budget, and choose DV, OV or EV products according to their own site types, while comparing the characteristics and prices of different brands. Deployment should do a good job of domain name planning, pay attention to renewal backup and security monitoring, in order to give full play to the value of domain name wild-card certificates to simplify management and improve security, and provide reliable protection for the stable operation of the site.