Wildcard SSL Certificate: Ultimate Protection for All Your Subdomains

A Wildcard SSL Certificate is a type of SSL certificate that secures your main domain and an unlimited number of subdomains at one level. For example, a certificate for *.example.com would secure example.com, blog.example.com, shop.example.com, and any other subdomain at that level.

The Multi-Domain WildCard SSL Certificate offers a cost-effective and flexible solution for securing multiple separate domains and all their first level subdomains with a single certificate.

Any new subdomain you add is automatically covered by your existing certificate. No additional purchases or reissues are required.

Definition

If you want to secure multiple wildcard domains and multiple levels of subdomains under one certificate, look no further than Multi-Domain Wildcard SSL certificates. It combines the features of two different SSL certificate types: Multi-Domain (SAN) certificates and Wildcard SSL certificates, offering a powerful and flexible security solution.

Multi-Domain Wildcard Certificates can secure both fully-qualified domain names and multiple wildcard domains within their SAN entries.

How Multi-Domain Wildcard SSL Certificates Work

Multi-Domain Wildcard SSL certificates work by allowing you to specify multiple domains in the Subject Alternative Name (SAN) extension and use wildcard notation (asterisk *) to cover unlimited subdomains for each specified domain.

For example, use Multi-Domain Wildcard SSL to Secure:

• Common Name: yourdomain.com
• SAN 1: *.youdomain.com
• SAN 2: *.mail.yourdomain.com
• SAN 3: *.example.com

The wildcard character (*) represents any single level of subdomain. For multi-level subdomains, you would need to add specific wildcard SAN entries (e.g., *.mail.yourdomain.com to cover dev.mail.yourdomain.com).

Key Technical Requirements

1. Common Name (CN) Requirement:

The Certificate Signing Request (CSR) must have a non-wildcard domain (FQDN) as the Common Name. The wildcard versions need to be included as SANs.

2. Domain Coverage:

Multi-Domain Wildcard SSL certificate allows you to secure and encrypt:

• FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Names)
• Wildcard domains
• Multi-level Wildcard subdomains (e.g., *.mail.yourdomain.com)

While wildcard entries cover all subdomains at a specific level, they don’t automatically secure:

• The non-www versions of wildcard domains
• The wildcard version of the Common Name (unless specifically requested as a SAN)
• Multi-level subdomains beyond the specified wildcard level

Protect up to 250 domains and an unlimited number of subdomains. When you purchase Multi-Domain Wildcard SSL from FLEXBOX CLOUD, you will receive 2 FREE SAN wildcard domains.

A regular SSL certificate secures a single domain or subdomain (FQDN), while a Wildcard Certificate secures a main domain and unlimited first-level subdomains. With regular SSL, you'd need separate certificates for each subdomain, which increases costs and management complexity.

No, a standard Wildcard Certificate secures one level of subdomains. For example, *.example.com covers blog.example.com but not support.blog.example.com. For multi-level coverage, you would need a Multi-Domain Wildcard SSL or multiple Wildcard certificates.