SSL Certs - Does it matter where you get it from

[Shepherd]

We've been using SSL certs from a big outfit (rhymes with go daddy) on the cheap for many years now.

What the deal with the other, much more expensive certs available?

We currently pay around $50/year, I see one out there for $1,500/year, how could it possibly be that much better?

[not2easy]

Shared SSL Certificates are cheaper than owned Certificates because they carry only technical requirements. The expensive Certs offer true identification along with other services such as verification and site (server) monitoring, maybe Privacy Policy integration. A variety of added services are offered that can add to the cost. The main difference is one is a generic, technical certificate and one offers ownership authentication and verification.

[Shepherd]

Thanks not2easy, what do you think the value add is for those additional services?

Also, I've been wondering about speed issues. I wonder if cheaper ssl certs might slow down a website.

[not2easy]

I think it depends on what you need it for. I have one domain where I use a shared certificate because it is only required for some specific data transfers and the domain is not indexed or open to the public. If I were trying to inspire customer confidence for an ecommerce site, I would move up the scale.

Sorry, I couldn't guess what level of additional services would be best or most useful for another domain or how much they might need or value that "extra". That needs to be decided based on the overall structure and methods and requirements of each site. Since people can pick and choose what add-ons apply to their needs, I think value add is up to the individual. ANY private Certificate is a step up from the cheap shared Certificates, because it is issued to a single individual or business.

It is quite possible that shared certificates could slow down page loading - depending on the number of shared resources. (Though I have no solid information to back that up.)

[Shepherd]

Thanks again for the feedback. Looks like we are going to make the change to see if there is any affect on conversion rate. I was looking at the godaddy ssl that we currently use, it is not a shared cert. That said, according to some studies show that is does not have the consumer confidence that the cert we will be changing to does.

I'll report back with what we find during the change.

[not2easy]

If you use FireFox browser with the Developer Toolbar, you can see basic security information that gets shared with your visitors' browsers.

[Planet13]

One thing to note is that some CERTs are not supported by certain mobile device browsers, so it is good to find out in advance how well the various browsers deal with a cert you might purchase.

[Shepherd]

Update.

Finally got the high end EV certificate issued and installed on server.

Speed seems to be good.

Still waiting on the trust badge (pending maleware scan).

Looking for higher conversion rates, should know in a few weeks whether or not the ssl cert makes a difference.

[Shepherd]

Ok, just got the trust badge live. It's been a bit of a challenge getting this thing set up, sure hoping it was worth it.

Should know within the next week or so if this type of ssl cert helps with conversion, will report back.

[Selen]

I think a 'trust badge' is actually confusing visitors and destroys your brand because visitors - instead of focusing and remembering your domain name - focus on a company name which is different than domain. Confusion = less brand recognition = less visitors via domain type-ins.