How much does an SSL certificate cost?

You can choose either a free Let's Encrypt certificate or purchase a paid Sectigo certificate in your panel. Both options offer the same level of security, but there may be some circumstances where a paid certificate is the better option.

Let's Encrypt is a Certificate Authority (CA) that offers free SSL certificates. This project was pioneered to make encrypted connections the default standard throughout the Internet. 

Although these certificates are just as secure as current paid certificates, they should only be used by smaller sites that do not exchange sensitive information, such as blogs, forums, and personal sites.

Let's Encrypt certificates lack the organization's information, which means visitors are unable to validate the certificate by viewing it. Additionally, they are potentially vulnerable to phishing attacks. For example, a malicious user could create a similar site with a certificate to create a forged copy of your online store. For these reasons, Let's Encrypt certificates are not recommended for eCommerce sites that process payment information. See the following articles for more information:

• Let's Encrypt SSL certificate overview
• Adding a free Let's Encrypt certificate 

Professionally-signed certificates ensure the same security as Let's Encrypt, but also validate additional organizational information about who is purchasing the certificate, such as their name, city, state, and country. The organization's name is also included in the certificate, adding an additional layer of trust so that visitors can ensure the website and company are reputable.

If you have a customer-facing site or, more importantly, a site that handles sensitive information such as passwords and credit card data, a paid Sectigo certificate is highly recommended.

See this article to learn more about how to purchase a professionally-signed certificate.

You can use either a Let's Encrypt or professionally-signed Sectigo certificate for your eCommerce website since they both use the same level of encryption.

The only difference is that a paid Sectigo certificate includes the organization's information. This additional validation can appear more trusting to customers, which is why this type is recommended for eCommerce sites.

A Unique IP address is not required to use an SSL certificate. However, if you plan to use an eCommerce application, it's strongly recommended that you add one to provide maximum compatibility with older Internet browsers.

See the Unique IP article for more information.