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How to choose an SSL certificate for your website in Ghana

An SSL (strictly, TLS) certificate is what puts the padlock in the browser and encrypts everything between your visitors and your website. They all encrypt equally well — the differences are in what is checked about you, and how many names one certificate covers.

Prime Info Tech SolutionsPublished 9 October 20265-minute read

In short: a domain-validated (DV) certificate is right for most websites. Choose organisation validation (OV) when people need to know which company is behind the site, and extended validation (EV) for banks, payments and sign-in pages. Pick wildcard or multi-domain only if you have several names to cover.

1. How much is checked: DV, OV or EV

Domain validated (DV)

The certificate authority only checks that you control the domain — by email to an approved address, a DNS record, or a file on the website. Issued in minutes. Ideal for company websites, blogs and internal tools.

Organisation validated (OV)

The authority also verifies that your organisation exists and is entitled to the name, using official records. In Ghana that means your registration with the Office of the Registrar of Companies matches the name on the order. The verified name appears inside the certificate. Takes one to three working days.

Extended validation (EV)

The strictest checks on the organisation, its address and the person requesting the certificate. Browsers no longer show a green bar for EV, but the verified details are visible in the certificate, and many banks and payment providers still require it as policy. Allow one to five working days.

2. How many names: single, wildcard or multi-domain

  • Single domain — one name, usually with and without "www" (for example www.example.com.gh and example.com.gh).
  • Wildcard — every subdomain at one level: *.example.com.gh covers portal., mail., app. and so on.
  • Multi-domain (SAN/UCC) — several different names on one certificate, such as example.com.gh, example.com and example-bank.com. Also used for Microsoft Exchange.

3. Certificates now last much less than a year

The browser makers and certificate authorities have agreed to shorten certificate lifetimes in steps: from 15 March 2026 a certificate can be valid for at most 200 days, falling to 100 days in March 2027 and 47 days in March 2029. Shorter lifetimes limit the damage if a certificate's key is ever stolen.

What this means for you:

  • A "one-year" or "two-year" purchase is now a subscription: you pay once and the certificate is reissued during the term at no extra cost.
  • Renewal can no longer be a once-a-year task someone remembers. Automate it, or have your provider track and install each reissue.
  • Expired certificates are the most common cause of "Your connection is not private" warnings — and of lost customer trust.

4. Quick recommendations

  1. Company website or blog: DV, single domain.
  2. Several subdomains (portal, mail, app): DV wildcard.
  3. Government, hospital or corporate site where identity matters: OV.
  4. Banks, payment pages, customer sign-in: EV or OV, plus strong security around it.
  5. Microsoft Exchange or several brands: multi-domain (UCC/SAN).

5. Installing it properly

A certificate only protects visitors if the server is set up well: the complete certificate chain installed, old protocols (TLS 1.0 and 1.1) switched off, and all traffic redirected to HTTPS. A free test such as SSL Labs grades your setup — aim for A or A+.

We sell DV, OV, EV, wildcard and multi-domain certificates priced in cedis, and can generate the request, complete validation and install it for you. See SSL certificates