Whether you run a small business, blog or a vast organizational website, your website is at risk of attack by cyber criminals. You need to make sure that your customers’ data is safe. Users and visitors don’t want their personal data to fall into the wrong hands.
Hacker attacks on computers happen every 39 seconds in the U.S, affecting at least one in three Americans every year, according to a study by a mechanical engineer, Michel Cukier. That’s why you must know how to keep your website safe from bad guys. Fortunately, there are basic best practices that you can follow to beef up security on your website. If you decided to learn how to create a website from scratch, here are seven ways you can improve your website security.
1. Install Security Certificates and User’s HTTPS Protocol
Installing SSL certificates is crucial for getting more traffic and a decent ranking on Google and is a major security measure for your website. It helps guarantee secure connections between your website and browsers used by your website visitors. These certificates are crucial for data authentication and encryption.
Without it, your visitors get a warning that their connection is not private, meaning you may not get as many visitors as you would when you have SSL certificates. These certificates encode details between visitors and your website. As a result, third parties cannot read the user’s login information, credit card number and other details.
2. Keep Your Website Up To Date
Hackers often target security flaws in popular web software. You need to update your software to fill the security holes. Have the latest versions of all plugins and software on your website. As software wears off, it creates loopholes that increase vulnerability. As a result, an outdated website is likely more exposed to breaches, which can lead to information leakages. Hackers also stay updated with their malicious code, making them more likely to be successful when targeting outdated websites. Have regular security updates by checking for new software and plugin versions. You can also enable the auto-update features that allow installation of newer versions of software as they come.
3. Have a Strong Password Policy
The only barrier between your website and hackers is your password. If hackers can access your admin’s login information, they can get everything they need, including your email list, adding or deleting content and changing payment methods. An admin password should have no less than 14 characters. Mix numerals, alphabets and special characters to create an unbeatable password.
Avoid using common words, especially those related to your website name or keywords. You should also avoid using your personal information as a password, such as your birth year, phone number or vehicle number. If your system has passphrases, use them instead of passwords.
4. Backup Your Website
Staying on top of your security measures doesn’t guarantee that your website won’t get attacked. That’s why you may want to have a backup plan to protect you from losing all the data in case you become a victim of cyber criminals. While web host providers offer backups of their own servers, you should still have a backup program that continuously backs up your files. Create an offsite backup program to back up files away from your website server. You can also use a redundant backup that offers an extra layer of protection by storing your data in different locations.
5. Create a Powerful Anti-Malware Program on Your Website
Malware is the most commonly used trick by criminals to access your website. One destructive malware that can cause collateral damage to your site is ransomware. When ransomware codes land on your website, they initiate a brutal attack that can cost your business lots of money.
This attack usually encrypts your website and locks you out, preventing you from doing anything to stop the attack until you pay a ransom. Installing highly powerful anti-malware programs can help detect and remove malware. They shield you from any form of attack and notify you of any vulnerabilities. Fortunately, hosting providers offer these features.
6. Avoid Errors that Make You Vulnerable to Third-Party
Minor, innocent errors can easily land you in trouble if you’re not careful. Reckless activities that expose data can threaten website security. If you have employees, you may want to train them on cyber security and teach them the importance of taking care of company data. They should avoid clicking on suspicious links sent to their desktops and practice extreme caution when using the public internet. Accessing your website from open or public spaces can expose your login information to third parties. It’s also common for people to log in to their websites in a cyber café and forget to log out. You can work with a cybersecurity consulting firm to set up a security protocol and proper training for your staff.
7. Avoid Hosting Multiple Websites on a Single Server
It’s tempting to host multiple websites on a single server as they will be easier to manage. While this will also save you money, website experts do not recommend this practice. A server with a single content management system (CMS) provides a single theme and several plug-ins that can be easily targeted. A successful breach on a single website can spread the infection to all other websites hosted on the same server. That means you stand to lose all the websites.