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In today’s times, where cyberattacks and data breaches constantly make headlines, securing your website is no longer optional – it’s critical. With a robust security strategy, you can safeguard sensitive user data, prevent unauthorized access to your website’s backend, and cultivate a strong sense of trust with your visitors.
Here at Digital Consulting, we prioritize the safety of our clients and their website users. That’s why we’ve compiled this comprehensive guide to equip you with the best security practices to keep your website – and your visitors’ information – safe and sound.
For a quick outline, here are some of the best security measures we are going to cover:
Keep Software Updated
- Strong Passwords
- Secure User Authentication
- Protect Against Brute Force Attacks
- Active SSL Certificate
- Input Validation and Sanitization
- Implement WAF (Web Application Firewalls)
- Regular Backups
- Use Secure Hosting
- Regular Security Audits and Monitoring
- Educate Employees and Users
Keep Software Updated: Regularly update your website’s content management system (CMS), plugins, themes, and any other software components. Keeping software up-to-date is essential to shield yourself from cyberattacks. Stay informed about security patches and updates released by the software providers and apply them promptly.
A good practice for this is doing monthly updates. We offer a website retainer service that is perfect for this!
Strong Password Policies: Implement a strong password policy to safeguard your user accounts. Make sure users to create passwords that are a mix of letters & numbers, complex, and unique. You can use a random password generator to create strong passwords. Consider implementing password complexity requirements, password expiration, and account lockouts after multiple failed login attempts.
Secure User Authentication: Implement secure authentication mechanisms to ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive areas of your website. Use secure protocols, such as HTTPS, for transmitting login credentials. Consider implementing two-factor (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA) for an extra layer of security.
Protect Against Brute Force Attacks: Brute force attacks involve automated attempts to guess usernames and passwords. Protect your website against these attacks by implementing measures such as account lockouts after a certain number of failed login attempts, CAPTCHA verification, and IP blocking for repeated login failures.
Another great tip for protecting user accounts is to make sure you don’t use obvious usernames such as admin, the website name, etc.
Input Validation and Sanitization: Implement strict input validation and sanitization techniques to prevent common vulnerabilities such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. Validate and sanitize all user inputs, including form submissions and URL parameters, to ensure they are safe and free from malicious code.
In simpler terms, Imagine your website has a form where people enter their name and email. To keep your website safe, it’s like having a security guard check the information. Input validation is like the guard making sure the information is what they expect. For example, the guard (validator) would check if a name is filled in and not just empty spaces. Sanitization is another guard who cleans the information. They take out any weird symbols or unusual characters that someone might try to sneak in. This helps prevent sneaky tricks hackers use to try and steal information or mess up your website.
Installing a security plugin is a good way to keep things safe!
Active SSL Certificate: Always check that you have an active and working SSL certificate on your website. Most hosting providers offer free SSLs as part of the package. If you’re unsure, ask your host or a developer to check if the SSL is active. If it’s not, visitors will get an alarming ‘This website is not secure’ warning, therefore, most likely causing them to bounce and move to the next one.
Implement Web Application Firewalls (WAF): A Web Application Firewall acts as a protective barrier between your website and potential attackers. It can help detect and block malicious traffic, filter out common attacks, and provide an additional layer of security for your website.
Regular Data Backups: Don’t underestimate the power of a good backup! Regularly creating copies of your website’s data, including files, databases, and content, and storing them securely off-site is a critical security practice. Why? Because in the unfortunate event of a security breach, data loss due to hardware failure, or even accidental deletion, having recent backups allows you to quickly restore your website to a clean, functional state. You know the saying, “Better safe than sorry!” Yep, that’s the practice we want to implement here.
Use Secure Hosting: Choose a reputable hosting provider that prioritizes security and offers robust measures to protect your website. Look for features such as server-side security configurations, regular security audits, intrusion detection systems, and strong access controls. Choosing a cheaper hosting provider doesn’t always mean you chose the best option. Do your homework and make sure you check reviews as well.
Regular Security Audits and Monitoring: Perform regular security audits and vulnerability assessments to identify any weaknesses or vulnerabilities in your website’s infrastructure and code. Implement a website monitoring system that alerts you to any suspicious activity, such as unauthorized login attempts or file modifications. Popular security monitoring plugins include Sucuri, Wordfence, and iThemes Security.
Educate Users: If multiple employees or users log in to your website frequently, educate them about security best practices. Provide guidance about the basics such as creating strong passwords, avoiding suspicious links and downloads, and being cautious while sharing personal information online. Provide clear guidelines and resources to help them understand how to protect their accounts and data.
Summary
Implementing robust security measures for your website is crucial to protect user data, maintain trust, and safeguard your online presence. By following these security best practices, you can minimize the risk of attacks, vulnerabilities, and data breaches. A word of advice, if you’re going to hire someone to do some work on your website, create a special user account specifically for them to use. Rather not give your main Administration login credentials. By doing so, you can protect your website by logging in and removing their access at any time if needed.
Stay proactive, keep your website updated, and prioritize security at every stage of development and maintenance to ensure a safe and secure online experience for your users.