You’ve worked hard to build your website so it’s important to take the time to protect it with basic website security tips. No method will “guarantee” that your website will be not be able to be hacked but your can lessen your websites’ vulnerability. This not only protects your website but your customers’ data as well.
Use a Secure Web Host
Choose a web hosting company that is aware of threats and devoted to keeping your website secure. Your website hosting provider should provide regular data backup of your website, offers fast and reliable servers and stay up to date on security upgrades.
Install Security Plugins
If you have built your website using WordPress, you can find many security plugins available through your plugin dashboard. Many plugins are free and more advanced plugins have paid subscriptions:
- Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening
- Wordfence Security
- All In One WP Security & Firewall
- Jetpack
- BulletProof Security
- WPScan – WordPress Security Scanner
- VaultPress
- Shield Security
Keep Themes and Plugins Up To Date
Updates are vital to the security of your website. Make sure that your website theme, apps, scripts and plugins are up to date to keep your website from being vulnerable to potential hackers and bots.
You can check your updates by logging into your WordPress dashboard. In the top left corner next to your website name, look for the update icon and click the number to access your WordPress updates.
Add HTTPS and SSL
HTTPS establishes an encrypted link between the browser and the web server using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols. TLS is the new version of SSL.
Most website hosts provide free SSL certificates to secure confidential information on your website. SSL allows sensitive information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, and login credentials to be transmitted securely. Any customer information that is entered on a page will be encrypted so that it’s meaningless to any third party who might try to hack it.
Backup Your Website
You should backup your website regularly and maintain backups of all of your website files in case your site becomes inaccessible or your data is lost. Web host providers generaly provide backups of your website on their own servers, however, you should still backup your files on a regular basis. WordPress has many free and paid for plugins that can automatically back up your site. You can also back up your databases and content manually.
If you maintain your server and website, you can’t set up a website and just forget it. You need to be proactive when it comes to protecting your company’s and customer’s data.
