SSL Certificates

easyrider7 · 12-29-2011, 07:20 PM

I need to get a standard dedicated SSL certificate and am wondering what the best one in terms of cost, customer service, how well it works, and minimization of hassle (I'm not a technical person).

I know that with a promo code that you can get an SSL certificate from Godaddy for around $12 for the first year. But some of the reviews on them have been extremely bad (ie. very difficult to activate for a newbie and very poor customer service).

I am also considering Hostgator which is a lot more expensive, although they are considered almost legendary for their customer service. Furthermore, this is my hosting company so it might be easier to get it with them so that they will give me overall support, which I won't get if I have hosting with one company and the SSL certificate with another company.

Does anyone have any recent experiences regarding these companies (and any others) which they can share?

Jesus Perez · 12-29-2011, 09:05 PM

I've used GoDaddy's $12.99 certs for 5+ years with a large healthcare company that must remain HIPAA compliant and it works perfectly. As for "newbie friendly", there isn't a single SSL Cert I've setup that is newbie friendly. But there's an easy solution to that, just ask your host to install it for you. It doesn't get much easier than that.

Keep in mind with the $12.99 certs that you need to specify www.domain.com or domain.com. For example, if you buy it for www.domain.com, then domain.com will not be secure...only the www.domain.com variation will be secure. More expensive certs include the www and non-www.

Also, GoDaddy is going nuts with price increases on SSL Certs. So if you can, buy multiple years to lock in the price as long as possible. I suspect it's only going uphill from here.

As for experience, I've used GeoTrust, GoDaddy and Verisign in the past. I wrote instructions on getting the GoDaddy SSL promo pricing a little while back.

Pinky Painter · 12-30-2011, 05:27 AM

I'll recommend you look for the company that specifically work for SSL, as it is more trusted. VeriSign SSL is most popular but the pricing is also very high. Alternatively, you can look for VeriSign's sister company, GeoTrust, it is also a trusted SSL and the pricing is more competitive.

If you find both SSL are still expensive, you can consider Comodo SSL. It is cheaper.

12-29-2011, 07:20 PM	#1
easyrider7 Active Warrior Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: New Zealand Posts: 80 Thanks: 3 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	SSL Certificates I need to get a standard dedicated SSL certificate and am wondering what the best one in terms of cost, customer service, how well it works, and minimization of hassle (I'm not a technical person). I know that with a promo code that you can get an SSL certificate from Godaddy for around $12 for the first year. But some of the reviews on them have been extremely bad (ie. very difficult to activate for a newbie and very poor customer service). I am also considering Hostgator which is a lot more expensive, although they are considered almost legendary for their customer service. Furthermore, this is my hosting company so it might be easier to get it with them so that they will give me overall support, which I won't get if I have hosting with one company and the SSL certificate with another company. Does anyone have any recent experiences regarding these companies (and any others) which they can share?

12-29-2011, 09:05 PM	#2
Jesus Perez Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: South Florida Posts: 3,106 Blog Entries: 8 Thanks: 352 Thanked 1,007 Times in 502 Posts Social Networking	Re: SSL Certificates I've used GoDaddy's $12.99 certs for 5+ years with a large healthcare company that must remain HIPAA compliant and it works perfectly. As for "newbie friendly", there isn't a single SSL Cert I've setup that is newbie friendly. But there's an easy solution to that, just ask your host to install it for you. It doesn't get much easier than that. Keep in mind with the $12.99 certs that you need to specify www.domain.com or domain.com. For example, if you buy it for www.domain.com, then domain.com will not be secure...only the www.domain.com variation will be secure. More expensive certs include the www and non-www. Also, GoDaddy is going nuts with price increases on SSL Certs. So if you can, buy multiple years to lock in the price as long as possible. I suspect it's only going uphill from here. As for experience, I've used GeoTrust, GoDaddy and Verisign in the past. I wrote instructions on getting the GoDaddy SSL promo pricing a little while back.

12-30-2011, 05:27 AM	#3
Pinky Painter Active Warrior Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 35 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: SSL Certificates I'll recommend you look for the company that specifically work for SSL, as it is more trusted. VeriSign SSL is most popular but the pricing is also very high. Alternatively, you can look for VeriSign's sister company, GeoTrust, it is also a trusted SSL and the pricing is more competitive. If you find both SSL are still expensive, you can consider Comodo SSL. It is cheaper.