Domain Names Secured Free with Your SSL Certificate

Some Trustico® SSL Certificate products automatically secure the apex or www subdomain alongside the one you order, at no extra charge.

The free addition applies to the bare domain name and its www subdomain, and to the apex that sits beneath a wildcard.

This page sets out which names are added on Certificate as a Service (CaaS) subscriptions and on traditional licenses, so you know exactly what an order covers before you place it.

Ordering Your Domain Name Correctly

One decision matters more than any other on a single site license, and it is whether you enter example.com or www.example.com when ordering.

Entering the bare domain name, meaning example.com with no prefix, is the safest choice on Certificate as a Service (CaaS) subscriptions and on traditional licenses alike. It is the only version that receives a free addition in every case.

An added name never counts toward the chargeable licensed domains total on a Certificate as a Service (CaaS) subscription, and never counts as a chargeable Subject Alternative Name (SAN) on a traditional license.

Certificate as a Service (CaaS) Subscriptions

A Certificate as a Service (CaaS) subscription licenses a set number of domain names. Your Automatic Certificate Management Environment (ACME) client then requests SSL Certificates against those licensed names.

Each request may cover any or all of the licensed names. Most customers issue a single SSL Certificate carrying every licensed name, because that mirrors how a traditional license behaves, though you are equally free to issue one covering a single name.

Requesting an SSL Certificate with a different set of licensed names works much like a reissue on a traditional license. Explore Certificate as a Service 🔗

Where a qualifying name is added free, it is licensed alongside the name you ordered when the subscription is created, and it does not count toward your chargeable licensed domains total.

Single Site Subscriptions

Ordering the bare domain name licenses the matching www subdomain free. An order for example.com licenses both example.com and www.example.com from the moment your Certificate as a Service (CaaS) subscription is created.

Ordering any other subdomain, such as shop.example.com or mail.example.com, licenses exactly that name. The free addition applies to the bare domain name and its www subdomain only, so nothing further is included.

Wildcard Subscriptions

Every wildcard licensed includes its apex free. An order for *.example.com licenses every subdomain of example.com and licenses example.com itself.

The same applies at any depth. An order for *.test.example.com licenses every subdomain beneath test.example.com and licenses test.example.com itself.

This applies to each wildcard on your Certificate as a Service (CaaS) subscription, including every wildcard licensed under a wildcard Multi Domain subscription. Learn About Wildcard SSL Certificates 🔗

Multi Domain Subscriptions

On a Multi Domain Certificate as a Service (CaaS) subscription securing Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDN), every name licensed is exactly the name entered when ordering. No www subdomain or other related name is added free.

Each name you want covered must therefore be one of the chargeable licensed domains on your Certificate as a Service (CaaS) subscription. Learn About Multi Domain SSL Certificates 🔗

Traditional Licenses

A traditional license fixes the names it covers at the moment the SSL Certificate is issued. Changing those names later means requesting a reissue. Learn About Requesting a Reissue 🔗

The free addition is applied whichever way round you order, which is the one place these licenses behave differently from a Certificate as a Service (CaaS) subscription.

Single Site Licenses

A single site license includes the other version of the name you ordered, whichever of the two that was.

An order for example.com covers both example.com and www.example.com, and an order for www.example.com equally covers both. Either version may be ordered and the issued SSL Certificate secures both names.

Ordering another subdomain, such as shop.example.com, may also cover www.shop.example.com. That behavior is neither guaranteed nor specifically supported, so where you need both names, enter each of them rather than relying on the addition.

Wildcard Licenses

A wildcard license secures every subdomain of the ordered name and covers the apex as well. An order for *.example.com secures shop.example.com, mail.example.com and every other subdomain, together with example.com.

This applies at any depth, so an order for *.test.example.com also secures test.example.com. The apex is always added, whatever the level of the wildcard.

Where the Certificate Authority (CA) does not add that name itself, Trustico® adds it during processing at our own cost, so the coverage is the same either way.

Wildcard Multi Domain Licenses

Every wildcard entered is accompanied by its apex as an additional secured name, included by Trustico® as a guaranteed bonus at no charge.

The included apex uses the same validation method as the wildcard it accompanies, and is validated alongside it. An order securing *.example.com and *.example.net therefore covers example.com and example.net as well, without those counting as chargeable Subject Alternative Names (SAN).

Multi Domain Licenses

On a Multi Domain license securing Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDN), every secured name is exactly the name entered when ordering. A www subdomain is not added free.

Where both example.com and www.example.com are wanted, both must be entered as secured names.

Adding Names After Purchase

Where a single site Certificate as a Service (CaaS) subscription licenses a bare domain name, the matching www subdomain qualifies for addition at no charge if it was not licensed at setup.

Contact our support team where an eligible domain name appears to be missing from your license. Our staff will investigate the cause and correct it manually where that proves to be the case.

Once the name is licensed, your Automatic Certificate Management Environment (ACME) client can request an SSL Certificate covering it.

Traditional licenses work differently. Adding a name there is a manual action carried out by our staff, and it subsequently requires a reissue, because the names are contained within the issued SSL Certificate itself.