We’ll explore what a root domain name is and whether a RapidSSL wildcard certificate covers it

It’s a question we receive every so often from customers: Does a wildcard certificate cover a root domain? But before we can answer the question, it’s important to first understand what a root domain is, as well as what a wildcard certificate is and what it covers. And that’s why we’re here — we seek to answer these challenging questions about SSL/TLS certificates and their uses and help users make informed purchasing decisions.

So, let’s get right to it then.

What is a Root Domain Name?

In terms of a website, a root domain is the highest level of the domain name system. It’s the highest hierarchical level of your website that’s located right before the top level domain (TLD, i.e. .com, .net, .co.uk, .biz, etc.) in your website’s URL. It’s like the “apple” in “apple.com” or “rapidsslonline” in rapidsslonline.com.”

You get what we’re putting down?

So, this means that when you register your website — let’s say your website is yoursite.com — then you’re registering yoursite.com as a root domain. This would encompass subdomains and other web pages that spawn from it, including:

• www.yoursite.com
• yoursite.com/about
• email.yoursite.com
• blog.yoursite.com/news
• login.yoursite.com
• products.yoursite.com

With this understanding in mind, of course, it’s easy to understand that you likely want to jump straight into answering your original question. But before we can address whether a wildcard SSL certificate covers your root domain name, it’s important to first recap what a wildcard SSL certificate is and what it covers in general. (Don’t worry, it’ll be a quick refresher just to ensure we’re on the same page.)

What is a Wildcard SSL Certificate?

A wildcard SSL certificate is a type of SSL certificate that secures a root certificate and an unlimited number of subdomains on a single level — typically first-level subdomains. To do this, you’ll register your certificate for the following domain: *.yoursite.com.

In this example, the asterisk represents any type of subdomain on that level. This way, you don’t have the tedious task of writing out every specific subdomain.

Note: To secure second-level subdomains, you’ll need to purchase a separate wildcard SSL certificate.

Wildcard SSL certificates are typically issued with either domain validation (DV) or organization validation (OV). This means that the CA vets you or your organization before issuing a certificate, which helps you to better assert your identity and build trust with your customers.

With all of this in mind, let’s answer your original question:

So, Does a Wildcard Certificate Cover Your Root Domain?

In a word? Yes. A wildcard SSL certificate secures not only an unlimited number of single-level subdomains, but it also secures the root domain that they stem from as well! This means that any wildcard SSL certificate, including one from a trusted CA like RapidSSL, would cover your root domain.

For example, if you use a RapidSSL wildcard certificate from RapidSSLonline.com registered to *.yoursite.com, this means you can cover an unlimited number of subdomains! In fact, as one of the industry’s cheapest SSL certificates, it covers both the WWW and non-WWW version of your root level domain.

See for yourself why so many of our customers trust RapidSSL wildcard with covering their root domains and first-level subdomains.