Your website mirrors your business on the internet. It helps you showcase your products and services to potential buyers across the globe. Apparently, creating a small business website is not enough, and you got to emphasize its security too.
Reports show that every 11 seconds, a business falls victim to a ransomware attack. In addition, global ransomware costs are expected to spike up to $20 billion this year. So, how will your website be fair against these odds?
Well, website safety needs to be taken care of from the very start, which is why we are going over seven tips that can help you create a secure website from scratch. Let’s look at them:
7 tips for creating a robust business website from scratch
Choose a secure host
A hosting service is the very foundation of a business. An unsecured hosting platform will get compromised after which, knocking your website down cold won’t be a big issue for a hacker.
So, before you go for fancy security tools, you must check out the reviews and ratings of your hosting provider.
Ask them about the measures they undertake to protect their servers from hackers. Moreover, ask them to keep backing up the data, just in case things go south.
Install an SSL certificate
Once you get down with your hosting provider, it is time to ensure that no hacker can intercept and manipulate what you share with your customers and vice versa.
An SSL or Secured Socket Layer certificate is a security technology that uses Public Key Infrastructure to encrypt the data transfer between a client and a server.
SSL also facilitates HTTPS encryption which is a necessary requirement according to Google and Payment Card Industry guidelines.
The certificate plays a crucial role in keeping your customers satisfied too. SSL encrypted websites get a gray padlock ahead of their URL, which shows the connection between the customer and the website is strong.
SSL comes in two variants, namely a regular SSL and a wildcard SSL.
A regular certificate works well for small businesses having a static website as it can protect only a single domain or subdomain at a given time.
On the other hand, a wildcard SSL can protect both primary and unlimited subdomains to level 1. Therefore, it is best for eCommerce stores and businesses that wish to expand their business in the future.
Wondering where to buy an SSL?
Comodo is one such reputed CA that provides the best yet cheap SSL certificates with 5-star ratings and positive reviews.
So, buy Comodo SSL certificate today and secure your website from hackers and MITM attacks.
Use strong passwords
Passwords help maintain the website’s integrity. They are the first line of defence and need to be chosen carefully.
A good password is at least 12-16 characters long and is a blend of numbers, upper/lower case letters, and special symbols.
Moreover, avoid using the same password for each of your accounts. For example, please don’t use your Facebook password as your admin password and avoid using any recognized names in it.
Maintain strong password hygiene, and your website security will be in good shape.
Keep your plugins updated.
Plugins, much like software, need to be updated from time to time. Some plugins are vital to a website’s security, so their update is crucial to its success.
You must regularly check your plugins for updates as hackers can easily breach outdated plugins and can act as a medium to inject malware.
Before choosing a plugin for your website, check how often it is updated, what its reviews are, and how the users rated it.
Such things will help you make an appropriate choice when it comes to plugins.
Restrict website access
Nobody except you and your co-founder should have complete access to your website.
Access for developers, freelancers and, designers should be restricted to the point of their work.
They should not be allowed to access every file after logging in, which is why you must create multiple levels of access.
Allot those areas of access to concerned individuals and let them operate in their specific areas.
That way, if something goes wrong, you can quickly identify where the problem has occurred and who should be summoned.
Take expert’s assistance.
Not all of us are tech-savvy. But, all we want to have is a secure website that can run smoothly.
But a website’s smooth functioning depends upon how well it is developed and designed.
If your website misbehaves, immediately call a web development agency as only they can tell where the problem is.
Sometimes, It is better to hire remote developers to help instead of trying to do everything on your own.
Time for a site audit
A developer’s work does not get completed after the website completion.
Before launching your website, you must ask your developers to audit your site multiple times and look for any flaws that arise.
Under the site audit, you must ensure that your CMS and plugins are updated to their latest versions, the site gets loaded within 3 seconds and, there are no bugs that need fixing.
Moreover, ensure that your security protocols, such as an SSL certificate and firewall, are working appropriately.
After checking everything, you can finally launch your website for your customers.
To Conclude
In 2021, creating a secure website is a necessity if one wants to grow their online business. A secure website does not only mean that you have equipped it with advanced tools. Instead, it is about how well you respond to their upgradation.
Even the best tools cannot save your website from getting hacked if you do not take care of their updates from time to time.
Your website is like your own shop. Much like business expenses (office renovation), your website also needs renovation with time. However, a website does not ask you to spend a healthy amount; it only asks for timely updates.
So, follow these seven tips and create a robust website from scratch.