What is a Wildcard Certificate primarily used for?

A Wildcard Certificate is designed to secure multiple subdomains under a single primary domain. This type of certificate is particularly useful for organizations that have various subdomains, such as mail.example.com, shop.example.com, and blog.example.com, allowing them to be secured with one certificate instead of obtaining separate certificates for each subdomain. By using a Wildcard Certificate, an organization can simplify management and reduce costs, as it eliminates the need for multiple individual certificates while still maintaining a secure environment across all designated subdomains.

The effectiveness of a Wildcard Certificate lies in its ability to provide security across various services hosted on subdomains, making it a practical solution for dynamic business environments where subdomains might frequently change or expand. It is important to note that the Wildcard Certificate does not cover different domains or subdomains at different levels, such as a certificate for *.example.com will not work for any subdomains of subsidiaries like example.org or example.net. Hence, this specialized use case is where Wildcard Certificates shine, catering specifically to those needing broad yet controlled domain security.