If you’re running a website, it’s essential to make sure that it’s as secure as possible. This means keeping your software up to date, using strong passwords, and ensuring that your hosting environment is secure.
In this day and age, people are very concerned about the websites they visit. Just one mistake or security lapse and their valuable data will be exposed to hackers online.
Website owners need to take caution when it comes to website security. The last thing you’d want is to have your customers suffer the consequences of poor web design.
Here are a few things to bear in mind.
Software Updates
One of the most important things you can do to keep your website secure is to keep your software up to date. This includes your content management system (CMS), your plugins and themes, and your operating system. Outdated software is one of the most common ways that hackers gain access to websites.
Platforms like WordPress, Wix and other web builders are very strict when it comes to software updates. They release these to patch out security flaws and to add new features.
If you’re using any plugins or add-ons on your website, make sure that those remain updated as well.
Use Strong Passwords
Another important security measure is to use strong passwords for all of your accounts. This includes your CMS login, your FTP account, and any other accounts associated with your website. A strong password should be at least 8 characters long and include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
It’s not something that everyone considers online. A strong password is your main protection against hackers. Ideally, you should update your passwords at least once every three months.
Conduct Penetration Tests
To put it simply, a penetration test is something that’s done to pinpoint the potential flaws in your website. It’s usually initiated by a third-party contractor.
A penetration test basically emulates a cyber attack as it happens on your website. It’s a safe and tried and tested way to find out which areas in your website security needs more improvement.
Hire Your Own Security Team
Having your own website security team isn’t a bad idea. In fact, it can be one of the best decisions you can make for your website.
Your own security team can prevent damages that cost thousands. If you’re worried about spending more money to hire people, just know that your money is going to go to the right places. Recovering from a security flaw is more expensive than hiring people for the job.
What’s great is that you can outsource people to manage your website’s security. With so many options to choose from, you’ll have your website protected by a good team in a short manner of time.
Pick The Right Host
Finally, you need to make sure that your hosting environment is secure. This means ensuring that your hosting provider has proper security measures in places, such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems. If you’re running your website on a shared hosting account, you also need to make sure that your account is properly secured.
That said, we firmly believe that having a dedicated server to run your website is a great investment. This doesn’t just give your website access to more resources. It also spares you the trouble of having to share the server with other websites that aren’t secure.
By taking these simple steps, you can help to ensure that your website is more secure and less likely to be hacked.
