You can stop hackers in their tracks and protect your business with solid website security measures. What are those website security tips, though? What can you do to ward off your site against hackers? If you’re hard-pressed for answers, we got you covered.
In this article, you’ll learn seven ways to secure your website and your customers’ information so you can rest a bit easier at the end of the day.
- Website Security Tips to Protect Against Hackers
- 1. Use Strong and Secure Passwords
- 2. Keep your Website Updated
- 3. Limit Access to your Website
- 4. Purchase an SSL Certificate
- 5. Backup your Website
- 6. Prepare for Attacks on your Website
- 7. Hire a Web Developer
- Get Help Fighting Off Web Security Threats and Hackers with Design Start
Website Security Tips to Protect Against Hackers
1. Use Strong and Secure Passwords
The first website security tip is one of the oldest in the books – use strong and secured passwords. Password123 is not a secure password. Neither are any other names or phrases that someone can guess or figure out through research. Ensure the password you create to access your website is not easy to guess and is not used for any other accounts you have.
If you have difficulties remembering passwords, store your passwords in a secure location, such as a password management tool, and get rid of the sticky notes with your log-in details.
To prevent someone from figuring out your passwords, change them often even if you haven’t gotten hacked. Generally, Design Start recommends updating your password every one to three months. Don’t wait until something bad happens to act. A random password generator makes it easy to update your log-in details.
2. Keep your Website Updated
Website updates help eliminate security vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit, so you must stay on top of them. The content management system (CMS), plugins, services, or other tools you use can all pose security risks if they aren’t maintained.
Whether you use WordPress, Joomla, Magento, or other CMS out there, you’ll want to make sure you’re the most updated version. Sometimes, you should also wait a few weeks after the update is available so you avoid the bugs that come with a new launch. The key point is to ensure your website is updated.
3. Limit Access to your Website
Having too many cooks in the kitchen is never a good thing and this without a doubt, applies to your website. Every person you allow on your website is another opportunity to get hacked, especially if the people with access aren’t using a secure password or are unknowingly compromised.
Only share your log-in details with people who need them, and modify user permissions for different users if you can. Not everyone needs full control of your website, so keep that in mind when allowing access.
4. Purchase an SSL Certificate
An SSL certificate protects the personal information that users enter on your websites such as email addresses or credit card details. It ensures that this critical data remains encrypted, doesn’t get corrupted, and is going to the right place as it moves from someone’s browser to the server.
You can get an SSL certificate from providers like SiteGround or Comodo, and follow their steps for installing it.
5. Backup your Website
Backups make your life so much easier. If you have a security issue on your website, like someone hacking it and making unwanted changes, you can use the backup to fix things quickly. Your web host may automatically back up your website, and if you use a CMS, you can likely use a plugin for this purpose.
Do not store all your eggs in one basket – and this means storing your backups in multiple locations. Also, check your backups periodically to ensure they are working.
6. Prepare for Attacks on your Website
If financial institutions with bank-grade security can get hacked, you most likely will. No matter how many precautions you take, hackers are going to hack. While the following scenarios may or may not occur, you should prepare for them.
Hackers may attempt to infect your site with malware, which may result in stolen data and a lack of trust from your customers. Utilize anti-malware software to get ahead of the infection. Call this an insurance plan for your website, if you will. Look for malicious code because of cross-site scripting (XXS) weakness.
A web developer can use a tool to remove any malicious and/or add code that reduces your vulnerabilities. Some hackers may use bots to send so much traffic to your website that it gets overloaded and either works at a snail’s pace or crashes.
A good web host is the first line of defense and will have protection against these distributed denials of services (DDoS) attacks. If not, companies like Cloudflare offer services to keep the bots at bay.
7. Hire a Web Developer
And now, our last website security tip – hire a web developer. Whether you want to have someone on your staff or would prefer to hire a web design agency to manage your security, it’s a good idea to have a dedicated web developer on your team.
Your developer would be completed focused on maintaining your website. They can catch small issues before they become big problems and take preventative measures, and keep you and your customers’ data safe. A developer will handle the technical aspects of your security and your website so you can focus on growing your business.
Get Help Fighting Off Web Security Threats and Hackers with Design Start
If you need help implementing the above website security tips on your website, Design Start can help. When you partner with Design Start, we take care of you, so you can focus on what you do best – your business.
Get started today by all +65-9824-5850 or contact us online today!, and we can help you maintain your website to protect your business, brand, and website reputation.
- Website Security Tips to Protect Against Hackers
- 1. Use Strong and Secure Passwords
- 2. Keep your Website Updated
- 3. Limit Access to your Website
- 4. Purchase an SSL Certificate
- 5. Backup your Website
- 6. Prepare for Attacks on your Website
- 7. Hire a Web Developer
- Get Help Fighting Off Web Security Threats and Hackers with Design Start