SSL Certificates

Starting on 9/1/2020 SSL/TLS certificates cannot be issued for longer than 13 months (397 days). Any SSL certificate bought after this date will have the new term length applied and those bought before will be grandfathered in. For more information check out this blog article that goes into more detail around the term change and GoDaddy’s response.

When your GoDaddy SSL certificate is issued, we send an email to let you know. What happens next depends on where your site is hosted and the options you choose when you buy the certificate.

If you chose web hosting, Website Builder or Online Store will take care of everything for you. If you host your website with another company or use our VPS or Dedicated Servers, learn more here. 

To install an SSL certificate on Parallels Plesk Panel, cPanel and Microsoft IIS, please look here.

SSL Certificates are SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates that authenticate websites and allow them to switch from HTTP to HTTPS encryption, protecting the exchange of valuable information visitors send to or receive from a website. 

When you’ve got an SSL certificate protecting your site, your customers can rest assured that the information they enter on any secured page is encrypted. GoDaddy makes it easy to install your certificate and protect sensitive customer data on your site.

For even more information on SSL certificates, check out this help article.

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, the SSL certificate displays information to verify the owner of a website and encrypting web traffic with SSL/TLS — including the public key, the issuer of the certificate and associated subdomains. And SSL, commonly known as TLS, is a protocol for encrypting Internet traffic and verifying server identity. All websites with an HTTPS web address uses SSL/TLS. 

It's very important that you have an SSL certificate on your site to instill user's trust: you need it to keep user data secure, verify ownership of your website, and to prevent attackers from creating a false version of your site.

Authentication 
SSL certificates verify clients that owns the domain. This prevents domain attacks and spoofs.

Encryption
SSL/TLS encryption is possible via the public-and-private key pairing that facilitates SSL certificates. Clients get the public key to open a TLS connection from the server's SSL certificate.

HTTPS 
SSL certificates are required for the HTTPS web address. HTTPS (the secure version of HTTP) appear on websites that have traffic encrypted by SSL/TLS. Plus, in addition to securing user data, HTTPS displays a credible "trust factor" from the perspective of the site visitor. 

There are three types of SSL certificates, GoDaddy offers them all. Each have with varying levels of security. Understanding what kind of SSL certificate is important when doing anything involving personal user data.

• Domain validated (DV) SSL certificate. DV certificates verify the owner of the site. The Certificate Authority sends an email to the website’s registered email address to verify its identity. No detailed information about the company is required, and the DV Certificate is the easiest to obtain and thus have a lowest level of trust. 
• Organizationally validated (OV) SSL certificate. The Certificate Authority is required to validate the organization, physical location address and the website’s domain name. The process takes about 2-3 days. OV certificates have a moderate level of trust, and are fine for public-facing websites with lower-level transactions.
• Extended validation (EV) SSL certificate. This is the SSL certificate with the highest level of security and is optimum for sites that deal with sensitive information. Before issuing an EV SSL certificate, the Certificate Authority thoroughly reviews the applicant; The review process entails examination of corporate documents, confirmation of identity, and verifies relevant information through a third-party database. 

All SSL-protected sites display the https:// prefix in the URL address bar. Sites protected with a GoDaddy Premium EV SSL certificate display a green browser bar to quickly assure visitors that the organization's legal and physical existence is verified according to strict industry standards.

When you buy a GoDaddy's Premium EV SSL certificate, it involves the most extensive vetting process. We verify the control of the domain and legitimacy of your company by validating the legal name, address, phone number and other business information. The process takes about 30 days, but we've got you covered during that time. GoDaddy EV SSL certificates come with a free Standard SSL to use during the vetting process, so you can keep your transactions secure while you wait.

For more information, see What are the advantages of a Premium Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificate for your business?

Answer these questions to help find the SSL certificate you need:

1. Where are you located? 

Our certificates are issued worldwide with a few exceptions. Check this list to see if you're covered.

2. Do you have a business or personal website?

Unless you sell things on your personal website, a Standard SSL certificate (DV) is fine. This is also true for informational business sites. eCommerce websites should use a single-domain Standard SSL certificate (DV) or Premium SSL certificate (EV).

3. Which type of web hosting server do you use?

Our SSL certificates work on most hosting and server configurations. To protect multiple domains on Microsoft’s Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2010 or Live® Communications Server, use a Multiple Domain UCC SSL.

4. How many different domains do you need to protect?

Wildcard SSL certificates cover multiple subdomains. For example, use a Wildcard to protect *.coolexample.com, which would cover shop.coolexample.com, www.coolexample.com and any other subdomains.

UCC SSL certificates will cover multiple domains, subdomains and websites. For example, you can secure www.coolexample.com, mail.coolexample.com, and www.awesomeexample.com.

5. Do you need an SSL certificate that supports Intel vPro technology for remote PC management? 

You’ll need our OV Deluxe certificate.

A GoDaddy Standard SSL (DV) usually takes 5 minutes or less. A GoDaddy Deluxe SSL (OV) takes 3-5 business days, because we’re validating not just domain ownership but also the existence of the organization or business on the SSL application.

For GoDaddy Premium (EV) certificates, there is an extensive vetting process that starts with an in-depth application. Before you start, pull together details about your business, such as registration number, incorporation or registration agent and any relevant jurisdiction information.

This depends on the software you use on your web server. Learn more.


To learn how to generate a CSR on Plesk Panel, cPanel and Microsoft IIS, please look here.

A Unified Communications Certificate (UCC) is an SSL certificate that secures multiple domain names as well as multiple host names within a domain name. A UCC SSL certificate lets you secure a primary domain name and up to 99 additional Subject Alternative Names (SANs) with a single SSL certificate. For example you can use a UCC to protect www.domains1.com, www.domains2.net and www.domains3.org.

UCCs are compatible with shared hosting and ideal for Microsoft® Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2010, and Microsoft Live® Communications Server. However, the site seal and certificate "Issued To" information will only list the primary domain name. Please note that any secondary hosting accounts will be listed in the certificate as well, so if you do not want sites to appear 'connected' to each other, you should not use this type of certificate.

Depending on how your website is configured, you might want to use something other than a single-domain SSL certificate.

• Wildcard SSL certificates cover all of a domain name’s subdomains. For example, you can secure *.coolexample.com, which would cover shop.coolexample.com, www.coolexample.com and any other subdomains.
• UCC SSL certificates can cover multiple subdomains, unique domain names and websites. For example, you can secure www.coolexample.com, mail.coolexample.com and www.awesomeexample.com.

Visit our Knowledge Base to learn more about SSL certificate setup, usage and management.