What is the difference between dedicated SSL and shared SSL?

Note: This article covers Melbourne IT DPS customers only.

A dedicated SSL certificate is purchased for a specific domain name and will only work with that one domain name. It is installed onto the server where the domains website resides and allows visitors to access the website securely via: https://your-domain-name.tld. Most businesses prefer using a dedicated SSL certificate, as it appears more professional to visitors.

A shared SSL certificate can be used by all domains running on the same server. For example, MIT have purchased and installed an SSL certificate on our cp1.ezyreg.com cPanel server. All websites hosted on that server can be accessed using the shared SSL certificate we've installed by visiting https://cp1.ezyreg.com/~username. So there is one SSL certificate installed on the server, and this is shared by all users hosting their domain names on that cPanel.

This essentially provides the same level of security and encryption as purchasing a dedicated SSL certificate - it is just shared in the sense that many domains utilise the same certificate. All of our Cloud and cPanel Hosting accounts support the use of shared SSL certificates.

For more information, please contact your Account Manager.