SSL Certificates are of three types,
- Extended Validation
- Organisation Validation
- Domain Validation
1. Extended Validation
This type of certificate is a must have for websites handling extremely sensitive information. It offers the highest level security and is very easy to identify. This certificate shows up with a padlock, https, business name and country in green in the address bar. It is to distinguish the website from all other spammers and counterfeits.
Extended Validation SSL are extremely expensive. In order to issue an EV SSL, the Certificate Authority (CA) needs to perform an enhanced review. The review includes examination of corporate documents, identity and that you are legally collecting data.
You may find these certificate usually used by banks and online payment gateways.
2. Organisation Validation
This certificate offers a medium level security. Here, the CA verifies the owner of the domain and if the organisation is operating legally.
It is easy to identify OV ssl certificate. The padlock and domain name or company name will appear in green. These are less expensive than EV ssl certificates.
3. Domain Validation
This domain validation (DV) ssl certificate only verifies who owns the website. It is almost inexpensive compared to the other two and is mostly offered free.
The CA verifies who owns the website via email or by the DNS. No further documents or company verification as such is required. You can easily identify the website with DV ssl by the padlock in the url bar.
A majority of websites use this ssl certificate. It is nearly inexpensive and some web hosts offer it free for lifetime with their hosting plans.
A DV ssl is not extended to subdomains.