SSL Certificates
Every site hosted with Propagate Hosting gets a free wildcard SSL certificate automatically — no setup, no charge, covers your domain and all its subdomains. For businesses that need a commercial warranty, nameserver-independent coverage, or full extended validation, we offer three premium options from GeoTrust.
Basic SSL Included Free — No Setup Required
All websites hosted on Propagate Hosting are automatically protected by a Let's Encrypt wildcard SSL certificate at no charge. It covers your root domain and all subdomains (e.g. shop.yoursite.com, blog.yoursite.com), activates within seconds of your domain pointing to us, and renews automatically every 90 days. It requires your domain to use our nameservers, which is the standard setup for sites hosted here. For personal sites, portfolios, blogs, and most small business sites, it's everything you need.
Premium SSL Certificates
Need a commercial warranty, nameserver-independent issuance, or full business identity verification? Our premium certificates are from GeoTrust — a globally trusted certificate authority. All three include domain validation by GeoTrust.
GeoTrust Simple SSL
Single-domain SSL from GeoTrust. No nameserver requirement.
- Validation Level: Domain (DV)
- Domains Covered: 1 domain
- Covers Subdomains
- Warranty: $10,000
- Issuance Time: Minutes
- Certificate Term: 1 year
- Business Identity Verified
- Requires Our Nameservers
GeoTrust RapidSSL Wildcard
Wildcard SSL covering all subdomains. $10,000 warranty. No nameserver requirement.
- Validation Level: Domain (DV)
- Domains Covered: Unlimited subdomains (*.domain.com)
- Covers Subdomains
- Warranty: $10,000
- Issuance Time: Minutes
- Certificate Term: 1 year
- Business Identity Verified
- Requires Our Nameservers
GeoTrust Extended SSL
Extended validation SSL with business identity verification. $1,500,000 warranty.
- Validation Level: Extended (EV)
- Domains Covered: 1 domain
- Covers Subdomains
- Warranty: $1,500,000
- Issuance Time: 1–5 business days
- Certificate Term: 1 year
- Business Identity Verified
- Requires Our Nameservers
SSL certificates are billed annually and are non-refundable once issued. If you're unsure which certificate is right for your needs, contact us before purchasing.
Free vs. Premium SSL — What's the Difference?
All SSL certificates encrypt traffic between your visitors and your server. The differences are the issuing authority, nameserver requirements, whether subdomains are covered, how your identity is verified, and what warranty backs you if something goes wrong.
Which SSL Certificate Do I Need?
The free Let's Encrypt wildcard certificate is right for you if:
- Your domain points to us using our nameservers (the standard setup for hosted sites)
- You're running a personal site, blog, portfolio, nonprofit, or small business site
- You don't have a compliance or enterprise procurement requirement for a paid commercial CA
- You want automatic 90-day renewals with zero configuration — handled entirely by us
This covers the vast majority of our customers. The free certificate covers your root domain and all subdomains. If you're not sure, start here — you can always add a paid certificate later.
Upgrade to GeoTrust Simple SSL if:
- You can't or don't want to use our nameservers, but still need a trusted SSL certificate
- A client, partner, or procurement policy requires a certificate from a commercial CA rather than Let's Encrypt
- You need a $10,000 commercial warranty for contractual or compliance reasons
- You're securing a single domain and don't need wildcard subdomain coverage
Simple SSL uses domain validation (DV) — the certificate authority verifies you own the domain, not your business identity. Issued in minutes.
Upgrade to GeoTrust RapidSSL Wildcard if:
- You need wildcard subdomain coverage (e.g.
shop.example.com,api.example.com) without using our nameservers - You want a single paid certificate that covers all present and future subdomains under one domain
- You have the same commercial CA or compliance requirements as Simple SSL, but also need wildcard coverage
- You're deploying a certificate across infrastructure that isn't hosted exclusively with us
Like Simple SSL, this uses domain validation and includes a $10,000 warranty. If your domain already uses our nameservers, the free Let's Encrypt wildcard covers subdomains at no charge.
Upgrade to GeoTrust Extended SSL if:
- Your site handles high-value transactions or sensitive data and you want the $1,500,000 underwritten warranty
- Your industry or compliance framework (PCI DSS, financial services, legal, healthcare) requires extended validation
- Your customers or enterprise buyers look for EV certificates as a trust signal
- Your organization wants its verified business name displayed as part of the certificate trust chain
Extended SSL is the highest class of SSL available. GeoTrust performs more stringent checks on your organization before issuance. Plan for 1–5 business days and have your business registration documents ready.
Not sure? We're happy to help you pick the right certificate.
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