SSL Certificates
Enable secure web (HTTPS) transactions for your site
Commercial Certificates
We no longer recommend customers use commercial certificates, and instead suggest using free Let's Encrypt certificates or similar automated services.
Users of our hosting accounts can use a free, domain-validated SSL certificate from Let's Encrypt. This can be enabled using the customer control panel.
If you have a server with our Managed Hosting service, simply get in touch and we will set up automatic certificates for you via Let's Encrypt.
Customers with virtual or dedicated servers should check the Let's Encrypt documentation and forum for assistance on configuring automated certificate issuing and renewal.
If you have a domain using our DNS servers, our DNS API can be used with DNS-01 validation to retrieve both wildcard and regular certificates for public or non-public services.
SSL certificates are needed if you want to host a secure (HTTPS) website, and we can provide a number of different types of commercial certificates:
- Domain Validated
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A Domain Validated SSL certificate is the simplest option, with the most rapid turnaround. These certificates authenticate a single server, for example www.yourdomain.com, which also covers yourdomain.com.
- Wildcard
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If you have many servers that require certificates, a Wildcard certificate may be more cost-effective. This certificate validates as many servers within your domain as you want, with the proviso that the * represents only one level of domain name, so a wildcard certificate for *.yourdomain.com works for foobar.yourdomain.com but not foo.bar.yourdomain.com.
- Multi-Domain
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If you have a few services on different domains then a Multi-Domain certificate may be the best option. This certificate validates any three domains, with extra domains being also available on the same certificate for an extra charge.
Certificate Lifetimes
As decided in April 2025 by the Certification Authority Browser Forum, all newly-issued SSL certificate lifetimes have been capped at 200 days since March 15th, 2026.
This is due to be reduced further to 100 days in 2027, and eventually to 47 days in 2029.
This change improves security by directing users towards automated certificate tools, increasing key rotation frequency and reducing the window for exploitation of compromised certificates, as well as other security improvements.
For customers for whom this is not practical, manually issued certificates are still available.
Certificate Pricing
Certificates are priced per certificate issued, and have a six month lifetime.
| Domain Validated | £25 |
|---|---|
| Wildcard | £120 |
| Multi-domain certificate (includes 3 domains) | £45 |
| ┗ Additional domain | + £25 |
Prices are quoted exclusive of VAT.
To order a certificate, please email us. Other options are also available on request.
Hosting accounts
Standard HTTPS hosting is included as a no-cost option in all our hosting accounts.
Managed Hosting
We can set up automatic free SSL certificates for customers with Managed Hosting services.
Domain Registrations
Register your own name for your web site and email. All major Top Level Domains (TLDs) are available.