DigiCert, Inc is a privately held US company. They provide SSL certificates as a trusted third party. They verify the authenticity of secure websites on behalf of a web browser to stop online phishing scams. DigiCert is a founding member of the CA Forum and helped set the SSL industry standards. DigiCert also was one of the main companies that helped establish the Extended Validation SSL Certificate.
One of the neat facts about DigiCert is that they are the largest public Certificate Authorities that does not sell “domain validated” or instant SSL certificates. It primarily sells Organization Validation and Enhanced Validation (EV) SSL certificates. DigiCert also worked with Microsoft to develop subject alternate names in SSL certificates for use on the Microsoft Exchange Server.
DigiCert is also based out of Lehi, UT. Ken Bretschneider founded this company in 2003. He’s been a finalist in the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012. He left to head up People Water. Nicholas Hales is the CEO of DigiCert, which is majority owned by TA Associates, a private equity firm.
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The Good
- Issuing speed
- DigiCert stamp
- Unlimited reissues
- The internet of things
- Wildcard certificates
- Customer service
We liked DigiCerts single-name SSL certificates for small businesses. These provide encryption and authentication for single-domain websites. We liked the fact that, in addition to strong encryption and browser trust, they also include:
- Unlimited reissues and duplicate certificates.
- Unlimited server licenses.
- Alternate subject names.
The alternate subject names is a powerful feature of DigiCert's single-name SSL certfiicates. The alternate names let you take a website, such as www.yoursite.com and provide alternate names, such as yoursite.com, enhancing browser authentication.
Issuing Speed
We found that DigiCert has one of the fastest issuing turnaround times. With award winning, world-class 24/7 support, we found that DigiCert can get you your website certificate in little over an hour.
DigiCert Stamp
One of the most important features of DigiCert's products and services is the stamp that gets affixed to your website. Stamps are an important part of any SSL certificate product. In fact, according to DigiCert's research, 63% of people using a website will not purchase goods and services online unless they see some sort of extra security backed by an SSL. We also found that DigiCert has done some testing with their DigiCert stamp. Their testing indicated that:
- Unique page visitors on a website went up.
- A lower bounce rate with the stamp indicating where customers could check in and buy on a website.
- Increased conversions and decreased bounce rates.
Unlimited Reissues
This was an important feature of DigiCert, even though it was pretty much standard throughout the SSL-certificate industry. Other Certificate Authority SSL certificates are only for deployment on one web server. However, many businesses utilize more than one server. SSL companies without unlimited reissues make their customers buy a license for each server. DigCert's SSL certificate is better because it offers unlimited reissues.
The Internet of Things
With more and more internet connectivity, DigiCert has also upgraded its SSL certificates to manage the ever-growing market for Internet of things. One of the biggest markets that this sector of services feature is healthcare records. We have found that DigiCert is now one of the leading provider of SSL certificates for healthcare providers, with their wide range of machines that connect to healthcare servers for imaging and billing.
Wildcard Certificates
We found that DigiCert also carries wildcard certificates. If you want to secure all of your first-level subdomains, this makes it possible to have subdomains with the same level of security. If you own a website, you can then divide it into subdomains so that each level can correspond to a different brand or department. Therefore, one SSL certificate makes it easy to fit your e-commerce subdomains.
Customer Service
DigiCert is easy to install, easy to maintain, and comes with world-class 24/7 support.
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The Bad
We couldn't find many criticisms of DigiCert's products and services. Comodo and DigiCert have been the biggest "players" with the CA Forum, the organization that sets industry standards with SSL certificates.
We find that the prices with DigiCert is a little on the high end. We found that the prices for wildcard SSL certificates were substantially higher than some competing companies. We want more affordable single year certificates, even though you can save 23% if you purchase a multi-year wildcard certificate.