Table of Contents
Every SSL certificate encrypts traffic between your visitor's browser and your server the same way — the differences between types come down to how much verification the certificate authority does before issuing it, and how many domains or subdomains it covers.
Domain Validation (DV)
The most common and cheapest type, DV certificates only confirm that you control the domain — usually through a DNS record or an email to an address on the domain. Issued within minutes, this is the right choice for most blogs, small business sites, and brochure sites.
Organisation Validation (OV)
OV certificates additionally verify that a real registered business exists behind the domain, checking against official business registries. Issuance takes a few days rather than minutes, and it's aimed at businesses that want a documented paper trail of verification, though it shows no different visual indicator in most modern browsers.
Extended Validation (EV)
EV certificates involve the most thorough vetting — legal, physical, and operational existence of the business is confirmed manually. Older browsers used to show the company name in green next to the address bar; most current browsers no longer display this distinctly, which has reduced EV's practical advantage over OV in recent years.
Single domain
Covers exactly one domain — yourdomain.com — and nothing else, including the www. version unless that's also listed. Simplest and cheapest option if you only run one site.
Wildcard
A wildcard certificate (written as *.yourdomain.com) covers the main domain plus every subdomain — shop.yourdomain.com, blog.yourdomain.com, mail.yourdomain.com — under one certificate, which is far more convenient if you run several subdomains.
Multi-domain (SAN)
A single SAN (Subject Alternative Name) certificate can cover several completely different domain names at once — useful for a business running multiple separate brand websites without needing to buy and renew a certificate for each one individually.
Which one do you actually need?
For most small businesses running a single WordPress site with maybe a www. version, a free DV certificate — like the ones automatically issued with most hosting plans — covers everything needed. Wildcard becomes worth the extra cost once you're managing several subdomains; OV or EV mainly suit larger organisations that want the formal verification paper trail for compliance reasons.
Key takeaway: The encryption strength is identical across DV, OV, and EV — the difference is entirely in identity verification, so don't assume a more expensive certificate makes your site more secure than a free one.