Once your business runs more than one website or subdomain, a single-name SSL certificate stops being enough. The two ways to cover multiple names with one certificate are wildcard and multi-domain SAN certificates. Picking the right one saves money and admin effort.
What a wildcard certificate covers
A wildcard issued for *.yourdomain.in secures every first-level subdomain of one domain: www, mail, shop, portal, crm and any subdomain you create later, without reissuing the certificate.
- Best for: one domain with many subdomains, or plans to add more.
- Limitation: it does not cover other domains, and it does not cover second-level names like a.b.yourdomain.in.
What a SAN certificate covers
A multi-domain SAN certificate lists specific names, which can belong to completely different domains: yourdomain.in, yourdomain.com, yourbrand.co.in and so on, typically up to 100 names.
- Best for: businesses with several distinct domains or country variants.
- Limitation: every name must be listed; adding a new one requires a reissue.
Quick decision guide
- Many subdomains, one domain — buy a wildcard.
- A handful of different domains — buy a SAN certificate.
- Multiple domains, each with many subdomains — consider a multi-domain wildcard, which combines both behaviours.
Validation levels still apply
Both types are available at DV level for fast issuance, and OV for organisation-validated trust. Pricing in INR scales with the number of names and validation level.
Tech Guru Club supplies wildcard and SAN certificates from leading authorities, installs them on your hosting, and tracks expiry through the client portal at app.techguru.co.in. Not sure which fits your setup? Open a ticket listing your domains and subdomains and we will recommend the most economical option.
