SSL certificates. Help to find a path in the dense forest

Hey.

Faced the problem of choosing an SSL certificate for your project. The topic turned out to be so extensive for me that I just don’t know which way to approach its solution and therefore I would like to ask knowledgeable habraktraktik to chew on me and colleagues on the habr-shop (with similar interest) about all the intricacies of SSL certificates.



“What is really with them?”

“Why is the difference in cost so big? What does it depend on? ”

“Should I rely solely on price, or are there serious technical aspects?”

“If I switch from one hosting provider to another, will the certificate expire?”



For example, my hoster offers several to choose from (price per year):



GeoTrust QuickSSL Premium Certificate - 5000 rubles

RapidSSL Certificate - 800 rubles

RapidSSL Wildcard Certificate - 8000 rubles

Thawte SSL123 Certificate - 3000 rubles

')

what for example and why?



Thank you in advance for your understanding and assistance.