Right now, a well-equipped website is crucial for any budding enterprise. In this era, people use the website as a representation of the business, a marketing and sales tool, and also for interacting with the clientele. However, with such resources, a sense of responsibility comes into play and this has to do with website security which is one thing that most startups choose to overlook. It is without a doubt that cyber attacks are growing in number and small-sized businesses are fast being targeted more, due to an assumed lack of protection. In this post we shall see how to effectively protect your small business website while at the same time keeping your startup secure and credible.
Know Why You Need a Website Satisfaction
Before the specifics of strategies employed are outlined, it is paramount to first answer the question why website protection should be among the main objectives for every startup. A compromised site can have negative effects such as loss of customers, loss of revenue and lawsuits. When web security is secured, you only do not protect your own organization against fraud but also protect the interest of your customers too.
Develop the Appropriate Hosting Configuration
Any web hosting service selected has direct consequences for the security of your website. Choose a hosting service with additional layers of security, such as:
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates: These are used to encrypt the information shared between your website and your visitors so as to keep the information secure.
Automatic backup: A good and reputable host or institution should be playing a backup role in helping one redeem his or her website when it has been attacked or compromised.
Use of Firewalls, protection from DDoS: These functions help in minimizing the attacks as well as restricting the access of the unauthorized users.
Secure Your Website with HTTPS
HTTPS is the new standard for all sites on the internet today rather than a nice-to-have feature. The potential of HTTPS in improving the level of security of your website by encrypting information cannot be over-emphasized; it however improves your SEO ranking. It is no news that all secure websites are emphasized by Google, and HTTPS is one of the must-have visibility factors. Getting an SSL certificate is not such a hard task and it is usually included in the service plans offered by many hosting companies.
Strong Well Constructed Passwords along Two Factor Authentication
Password security is one of the things that is necessary for improving the security of the organization against any cyber threats. All employees should have strong and unrelated passwords for their accounts. Such passwords include:
Use a mixture of capital and small letters as well as numbers and symbols.
Do not create new accounts using the same security data.
Change passwords regularly.
Moreover, make sure you turn on the two-step verification on all the accounts connected to your site. This security mechanism is additional and it extends why the primary one is not a guarantee. The secondary verification can be achieved through sending a code to the mobile phone of the users.
Keep Software and Plug-ins Up To Date
One of the weaknesses that are commonly found in websites is that their software and plugins are outdated. Hence, it is crucial that these are always upgraded to the most current versions, from the content management system (CMS), themes, to the plugins. Software developers release the new versions of these software and repairs in the old ones to improve the systems. Create a plan to regularly check for update alerts and act swiftly.
Protect Your Website from Attacks
By monitoring your website closely, you can avoid or contain security attacks on it within the limits that are acceptable to you. There are security monitoring solutions which can help you scopes website looking for vulnerabilities, malware and any other security weak spot. One such solution is the Website Safety Checker that assesses your website and alerts you on your security preparedness.
Deploy a Web Application firewall (WAF)
WAF, as the name goes is a firewall installed between the user and the internet. It inspects and seeks to inspect HTTP traffic in and out of the web application mostly filtering out harmful connections such as nSQL injection or XSS. Thus a WAF is an attempt to secure one’s web presence rather than rely only on measures.
Grow your team’s abilities
Your employees are often the thinking and physical body resisting hostile attacks on the company’s cyber platform. It is paramount that such employees are trained over the area of expertise at a regular basis or even more so about the security measures on the website; how to detect and counter phishing activities, web practices etc. A proactive security culture has to be instilled within your startup.
Avoiding loss of data related to your website
Backing up installation on a regular basis is essential for purposes of restoration after losing data through a calamity or cyber attack. It is advisable that regular and automated backups of the websites files as well as that of the database are done so that restorative processes of the website are quicker and easier whenever the fallacies arise. Backup copies also need to be made and set aside and out of the main server for security purposes towards risks of double attacks.
Formulate an Incident Response Document
Notwithstanding your best efforts, it is still possible for your website to be compromised. This is generally when you need a plan for the management and control of security incidents to help you respond to the problem as quickly as possible. Make a list of the actions that should be taken in some sort of breach, including how to inform customers, how to evaluate the index of this damage and how to bring those services back.
Final Note
At a time when cyber threats are the order of the day, the security of websites for small businesses cannot be ignored. Starting from scratch and building credibility with a clientele does not warrant taking chances with the web portal of the business. By following these necessary guidelines, a safe atmosphere for the clients and employees of the company can be achieved and thus they can concentrate on developing and improving the business. A clear tactic is required when it comes to the safety of the site is concerned – and techniques for making the website enterprise-safe should be incorporated into the plans of the company itself. Do not let your guard down and don’t let them through either!
