Free AutoSSL suits almost every site. Occasionally a paid certificate is genuinely required.
WHEN TO BUY ONE
A partner, regulator or payment processor specifically requires organisation-validated or extended-validation certification You need a certificate carrying a financial warranty You need a wildcard or multi-domain certificate with terms the free option does not cover
WHEN NOT TO BOTHER
For encryption strength. Free and paid certificates encrypt identically. For the padlock. Visitors see the same indicator. For browser trust. Both are trusted everywhere. For SEO. There is no ranking difference.
ORDERING
Client Area, or open a ticket describing the requirement. Validation for organisation and extended validation certificates involves checks on your legal entity and takes days rather than minutes, so allow time.
AFTER ISSUE
We install it on your account. Note the expiry date: paid certificates are typically annual and renewed manually, unlike AutoSSL which renews itself. A forgotten paid certificate expiring is a genuinely common cause of a site suddenly showing a security warning.
If you are unsure whether you need one, tell us what requirement you are trying to meet and we will advise honestly, including when the free certificate is sufficient.
