RapidSSL

The RapidSSL certificate is a Domain Validated (DV) SSL product issued under DigiCert's root, confirming only that the applicant controls the domain named on the certificate. It's positioned as a straightforward, low-cost entry-level certificate with no company registration or legal identity checks involved. It suits site owners who want basic encryption on a domain quickly, without the wait or paperwork of organisation-level validation.

What Does RapidSSL Cover?

A RapidSSL certificate secures the single domain named at order, or with the Wildcard variant, an unlimited number of first-level subdomains under that domain — covering SSL for subdomains such as mail. or shop. within one purchase. It encrypts data in transit between server and browser only; it does not scan the site for malware or vulnerabilities, and it makes no assessment of site content or reputation. Coverage has specific limits:

• The standard product covers one domain; multiple unrelated domains require a Multi-Domain/SAN certificate instead.
• A second-level subdomain under a Wildcard order (e.g. test.shop.example.com) falls outside a *.example.com certificate.
• No organisation or company name is displayed in the browser, since validation confirms domain control only.

Subdomains added to a Wildcard certificate after issuance are covered automatically, with no need to reissue or repurchase as a project grows.

Who Needs RapidSSL?

This certificate fits a personal blog or portfolio site, a small business landing page without an online store, an internal admin panel or staging environment, or a developer who wants a domain secured with minimal delay before deciding on a long-term certificate strategy. It also suits hosting resellers bundling low-cost DV SSL into shared hosting packages at volume, and agencies ordering certificates in bulk across many client domains where issuance speed and price matter more than the specific CA brand shown in browser details. It is not suited to a payment gateway, a checkout page handling card data directly, or a site where visitors need to see a verified company name — those cases call for OV or EV validation instead.

Key Features of RapidSSL

• Validation type: DV only, confirmed via DNS record, HTTP file, or email to a domain-listed address.
• Encryption: 2048-bit RSA keys, SHA-256 signature algorithm.
• Issuance: typically within minutes after DNS or file validation clears.
• Coverage: single domain, or Wildcard for unlimited first-level subdomains.
• Reissue: unlimited during the validity period, at no extra charge.
• Warranty: included, amount fixed by DigiCert's certificate terms.
• Browser support: recognised across all current major browsers, with no client-side root installation required, since DigiCert's root has long-standing default trust in browser and OS certificate stores.

RapidSSL does not offer ECC key generation on this line — only RSA — and does not include a Site Seal by default, keeping the product positioned firmly at the budget end of DigiCert's certificate range.

How to Get RapidSSL: 3 Steps

1. Generate a CSR (Certificate Signing Request) for the domain, or with an asterisk prefix for Wildcard coverage.
2. Submit the CSR and complete DNS, file, or email validation to confirm domain control.
3. Download the certificate and intermediate files once issued, and install them on your server or through your hosting control panel.

To buy RapidSSL, select it from the DV category in the order form, alongside other DV RapidSSL products, and compare single-domain and Wildcard options before confirming the order. As with any DV certificate, the domain can change hosting provider or server without invalidating the certificate itself, since validation is tied to domain control rather than a specific hosting account — only the private key and installation files need to move with the migration. Renewal should be completed before the expiry date to avoid a gap in encryption on the domain.