SSL certificates: DV, OV, EV, wildcard and SAN

How to choose an SSL certificate?

Start with the names that must be protected: the main domain, www variant, technical subdomains, shop, customer panel, webmail, API or several domains of one brand.

For many business websites, DV is enough for HTTPS and encryption. If formal company validation matters, consider OV or EV. For many subdomains or names, use wildcard or multi-domain SAN.

AutoSSL, ZeroSSL/Sectigo and Let's Encrypt

Hostilla.pl hosting can use SSL automation, including free DV certificates such as ZeroSSL/Sectigo or Let's Encrypt when DNS and validation conditions are correct.

Commercial certificates remain useful when organization validation, wildcard, SAN, many domains or predictable certificate management are required.

SSL for mail, webmail and BIMI

SSL/TLS protects not only websites. Secure IMAP, SMTP, POP3 and webmail connections depend on the certificate and host name. Business mail also needs SPF, DKIM, DMARC and domain reputation.

BIMI requires checking DNS, DMARC, SVG logo and VMC or CMC certificate rules. Hostilla.pl webmail may show BIMI icons, while external mail providers can apply their own requirements.

Checklist after HTTPS deployment

After installation, check the CA chain, expiration date, HTTP to HTTPS redirect, www and non-www variants, forms, static assets, mixed content, application cache and links generated by CMS or shop software.