What do I need to purchase an SSL certificate?
You will need your CSR and certain required documents depending on the certificate you purchase. You can get your CSR from your hosting provider or your system administrator. Once, you purchase the certificate and process your order. You will then need to send your necessary documents to the respective company. For Domain Validated Certificates you will receive an Approver or DCV email to prove you are the domain owner. For OV & EV certificates, you will need to provide the documentation requested.
How do I renew my certificate?
A renewal is just like buying a new SSL certificate. All you have to do is login to your account and purchase a new certificate or click renew on your expiring certificate. Please be aware that you will need to provide a CSR for the renewal. This can be the same CSR you used previously, but it is recommended that you generate a new one for security purposes.
I bought a multi-year certificate, why is it only valid for 1 year?
In September 2020, the Certificate Authority/Browser Forum voted to limit the validity period for an SSL certificate to 398 days. You can still buy coverage for 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- or 5-year certificates through multi-year subscription plans, however due to the new term limit the certificate can only be valid for 1 year. You can re-issue your certificate at any time to extend the expiration date as much as allowed until the purchased validity period is over. To maintain security on your sites, you will need to re-issue and re-install your SSL certificate at least once per year until the final expiration date.
What’s the difference between DV, OV & EV SSL certificates?
Domain Validation (DV)
DV or a Domain Validated Certificate is a certificate that only requires
you to verify that you are the owner of your domain. This occurs by
receiving an email that is sent to the WHOIS information or email
addresses belonging to that domain to verify that you own the rights to
use the domain. This happens immediately for fast issuance, but
sometimes lacks trust because almost anyone can get a DV certificate
issued. You can browse our DV products.
Organizational Validation (OV)
For Organization Validated (OV) Certificates, the issuing Certificate
Authority (CA) validates your organization information to make sure you
are an actual organization. They verify the Organization Name, Physical
Address, and Phone Number. This data must match with the WHOIS
information and also a public Government Information website or an
approved Third-Party Website before being issued. OV certificates add
more trust to a consumer because they are assured that they are doing
business with a real corporate entity. You can browse our OV products.
EV or Extended Validation Certificates (also known as “Green Bar” Certificates) are recognized and known as the most highly trusted type of SSL certificate. During the EV verification process, the issuing vendor or CA totally verifies that you are a legitimate business and in good standing above and beyond an OV verification process. Once this process is successfully completed and your EV SSL is issued, all of the browser indicators will be activated on your site to let your customers know that you can be trusted. The most important indicator that becomes active is the “Green Bar” in a user’s web browser. Research shows that people are aware of the green bar and view it as being trustworthy. EV certificates are the only certificates where potential ROI exists…because more trust means more confidence; which could mean they are more likely to buy from you. You can browse our EV products.
What documents are required for Extended Validation (EV) certificates?
In some cases where your company cannot be validated in “government authority” resources, you may be required to provide a Government Issued Business Credential, aka “Proof of Right” (POR); which is a doc that gives a company the right to do business in that name. Examples of acceptable documents include, but are not limited to:
- Articles of Incorporation/Certificate of Formation
- Business/Vendor/Reseller/Merchant License
- Charter Documents/Partnership Papers
- Registration of Trade or Assumed Name/Doing Business As/Fictitious Name Statement
- Registro Mercantil
What is a CSR?
A CSR or Certificate Signing Request is the encrypted text that must be generated from the server that which the certificate is going to be used on. It contains the information that will be included in your certificate such as your organization name, common name (domain name), locality, and country. A private key is also created at the same time you create the CSR. For more information.
How do I generate my CSR?
Most people contact their hosting company or System Administrator to generate the CSR. If you are aware of your server details; you can refer
I do not see my email address in the Approval/DCV Email field?
According to the issuing CAs and other security guidelines, we can only send the Approval Email to the email address on the WHOIS record or to one of the following email address:
- admin@domain.com
- administrator@domain.com
- webmaster@domain.com
- hostmaster@domain.com
- postmaster@domain.com
What is an EV certificate?
EV or Extended Validation Certificates (also known as “Green Bar” Certificates) are recognized and known as the most highly trusted type of SSL certificate. During the EV verification process, the issuing vendor or CA totally verifies that you are a legitimate business and in good standing. Once this process is successfully completed and your EV SSL is issued, all of the browser indicators will be activated on your site to let your customers know that you can be trusted. The most important indicator that becomes active is the “Green Bar” in a user’s web browser. Research shows that people are aware of the green bar and view it as being trustworthy. EV certificates are the only certificates where potential ROI exists…because more trust means more confidence which could mean they are more likely to buy from you. You can browse our EV products.
How can I get the “Green Bar” on my site?
You can get the Green Bar on your site by purchasing an Extended Validation (EV) certificate. These EV certs activate the Green Bar in the browser of your website to increase confidence and trust. You can browse our EV products.