Website Security is, without doubt, one of the most searched keywords on search engines and one of the hottest topics of the 21st century. Whether you run a church, school, business, company, or whatever you deal with on a day-to-day basis, having an online presence is mandatory if you plan on finding success in this fast-paced digital economy.
Although some people may be content with a simple website that details what you deal with and your location, others like ecommerce stores depend on these sites to make money, which also brings about unwanted attention from hackers. That is why leading search engine companies are sensitizing all website owners to acquire reliable cybersecurity measures such as installing the right kind of SSL certs and beefing up site safety.
Many factors determine the kind of security that you should have in place. The first point to consider is the purpose of your website. For example, if your site involves financial transactions or the exchange of highly sensitive information, you need advanced security levels to ensure that hackers don’t access your sensitive information.
Your brand also matters because if you are a respected government agency or a Fortune 500 company, malicious actors will always view you as a golden goose and attempt attacks on you 24/7. However, this does not mean that small business owners should not be afraid, because according to the latest trends, more and more cyber-attacks are targeting small websites.
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5 Important Security Hacks Every Website Owner Should Implement
- Install security plugins
Just like you wear a mask to protect yourself from the dreaded Coronavirus, you need to protect your site by installing security plugins. Luckily, most content management systems offer their users security plugins primarily for free.
For example, if your site is on WordPress, you can use plugins like Wordfence, Sucuri, Bulletproof Security, and iThemes Security. Likewise, Joomla users can enjoy the protection offered by extensions such as RSFirewall, JHackGuard, and jomDefender. Magento users, on the other hand, can use MageFence, Watchlog Pro, and Amasty.
If your website runs on HTML pages instead of a CMS, some credible security plugins can be used to protect your site. SiteLock is a perfect reputable example known for closing site security loopholes and monitoring your site 24/7 to scan for viruses, identify vulnerabilities, and detect malware.
- Use HTTPS
Gone are the days when migrating to HTTPS seemed to be an optional venture for the elite few. Simply put, HTTP + SSL = HTTPS. Now, every website that runs on the internet needs to have an SSL certificate installed, or else all the leading search engines will flag down your website as Not Secure.
As much as your site visitors may love you, seeing such a warning whenever they want to access your site will make them run for their lives, thinking that you are a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The constant cybercrime headlines on the news have made modern internet users very conscious about their online safety.
HTTPS protocol involves using encryption to secure the information being exchanged between a web server and a client’s browser. This way, if site visitors give sensitive info like their credit card details or their health records, malicious actors will not access this information using man-in-the-middle attacks.
There is a plethora of cheap SSL certificates are available in the market. As a website owner, you need to select the perfect SSL certificate for your webshop, one that meets all your growing security needs at affordable prices. For ecommerce owners, we suggest going for a wildcard SSL certificate, as it secures an unlimited number of first-level subdomains under the chosen primary domain. You can peruse and decide to buy your preferred SSL certificate from various reliable CAs such as RapidSSL, AlphaSSL, GlobalSign, etc.
- Keep your website platform and software updated.
If you want to beat hackers, learn how they think. Hackers are always on the lookout for vulnerabilities in mainstream software and website platforms. This is why if you build your site on a content management system like WordPress, you must stay alert for any updates to the system and ensure that your site is always up-to-date. Whenever a new patch is released, it usually serves to fix a known vulnerability, and if you delay installing that patch to your site, a hacker may move swiftly before you do and strike you down. So always ensure that your website platform, software, scripts, apps, and all plugins are updated at all times to stay safe.
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