Difference between SSL certificates...

[milehigh]

Can somebody tell me what the difference is between an SSL Cert from Thawte for $100-200 per year vs. one from namecheap or godaddy for $20 per year.

The application in this case would be a low volume e-commerce site...approximately 5 transactions per week.


If you have a site using a "cheap" SSL cert, can you post it here or PM me it?

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

As far as I know...it's compatibility with web browsers. Each browser has an accepted list of certificate issuers and if your cert isn't in that list, the user gets a nasty popup about unsigned certificate and is 90% sure to run in the opposite direction.

Bigger companies have been in the accepted list longer whereas newer companies are only in newer browsers. All SSL certificates of equal bit depth are identical in their ability to encrypt data.

 

[kamper]

And if your cheap cert isn't accepted by your users then it's pointless because you could make your own for free.

 

[milehigh]

The Namecheap StarterSSL claims 99% browser recognition.

Anybody here use them on your site?

 

[vegetation]

Biggest issue to look for is firefox compat. I think pretty much all but the most ghetto of ssl certs work fine with browsers in the past few years. There's zero reason why you want to maintain compat with someone running IE 3.0 anyhow, as someone that cheap who can't upgrade their machine isn't likely to buy anything from your store.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: milehigh
The Namecheap StarterSSL claims 99% browser recognition.

Anybody here use them on your site?

We sprung for the Thawte if for no other reason than having that logo on our site. Afterall, it's not just about making them safe, it's making them feel safe.