Wildcard Certificate
A wildcard certificate is a type of SSL/TLS certificate that secures a main domain and all its subdomains with a single certificate, using an asterisk (*) as a wildcard character in the domain name (e.g., *.example.com). It simplifies certificate management by eliminating the need for individual certificates for each subdomain, while providing encryption and authentication for web traffic. This is commonly used in environments with multiple subdomains, such as web applications, APIs, or internal services.
Developers should use wildcard certificates when managing multiple subdomains under a single domain, as it reduces administrative overhead and costs compared to purchasing separate certificates for each subdomain. It is particularly useful for scalable web applications, development environments, or corporate intranets where subdomains are dynamically created or frequently updated. However, it should be avoided if security policies require isolation between subdomains, as a compromise of one subdomain could affect others.