SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer. An SSL certificate protects your customers in two ways. Firstly, it creates a secure connection between your web server and the customer’s web browser, and secondly it verifies your credentials to your customer, reassuring them that they can trust you. If you use your site for ecommerce, require logging on, or process sensitive information, then an SSL Certificate is crucial to allow customers to use your site with confidence.
Once you have an SSL Certificate installed, a padlock 
will appear in the browser when viewing your site. This confirms to the customer that the site is verified and encrypted, and is essential for ecommerce.
There are different levels of encryption available, including 40bit, 128bit and 256bit.
You will need to have a website that you wish to install the certificate on, and access to a control panel that will allow you to install it. Firstserv can install the certificate for you on standard Windows or Linux platforms, for £50.00 admin fee.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the form showing the other details that will need to be provided (name, contact details etc).
Firstserv sells the following certificates:
| SSL123 | 1 year standard | 2 year standard | Wildcard | 1 year renewal | |
| Verisign | - | $399 Secure Site | $698.25 | $399 Secure Site | |
| Thawte | $149 | $249 SSL web | $448 | $199 SSL web | |
| Geotrust | - | $399 True BusinessID | $399 | ||
| Comodo | £522.47 |
Contact our technical sales team now to discuss your SSL requirements – call 0800 138 9277 or email sales@firstserv.com
You need a different standard certificate for every subdomain and domain - for example, you would need one SSL certificate for www.firstserv.com and another for www2.firstserv.com. A wildcard is for *.domain.com, for example you could get a wildcard SSL for *.firstserv.com, which would cover www.firstserv.com and www2.firstserv.com. If you need more than about 4 or 5 certificates it can be cheaper to get one wildcard instead.
We tend to find that Thawte offer the best mix of value for money, reputation and features. They are also easy to deal with and we have a lot of experience in SSL applications and installations.
In most cases the $249 SSL web product will be most suitable. Renewals are only $199 per year thereafter, and you are able to use the Thawte site seal on your pages.
Essentially they all offer the same levels of encryption. i.e. 128 bit encryption is the same for all brands. The differences are more subtle, as follows:
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GeoTrust is not chained: devices that don't properly validate the entire chain may work better with this one. For example, ActiveSync can work better with unchained certificates than chained certificates.
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Verisign certificates come with a free daily malware scan that alerts you if any such software is found on your site.
Additional information:
Only Verisign code signing certificates work with WinQual
VeriSign SSL package is also associated with other trust products, such as the VeriSign checkmark and “seal-in-search” (which is where the VeriSign checkmark appears next to your products in shopping search engines like The Find)
The level of encryption will be no different between a cheap certificate or a more expensive one, but the reputation and trustworthiness of the signing authority affect how useful the certificate will be in increasing customer’s trust of your site.
For further instructions on how to apply for an SSL Certificate, please follow the link below to our knowledgebase article
