Cyber attacks have become common these days. Every other day we hear the news of some site getting hacked. That is the reason why site security has become a top priority in the digital marketing field. Only if your website is secure you can fulfill all the purposes of creating it. So, website security is something that you should not overlook.
Securing your website on your own can be tricky. It may lead to confusion or weak protection. Therefore to help you out with your website security, we are going to list the top ten tips to secure your website.
Tip 1: Stay up to date
Outdated and insecure software are major reasons for security breaches of numerous websites around the world. So, if you want to keep your website safe and secure, update your website as soon as a new plugin or CMS version is released.
How does an up to date site enhance its security? Many updates that are released usually contain security updates. If your site is outdated, it is vulnerable to cyber attacks. In other words, it becomes easy for hackers to attack your site.
Most cyber attacks are automated, that is hackers use bots to scan sites and find exploitation opportunities. Therefore, it is not a good idea to update once in a month or week. That is because the bots are more likely to discover a vulnerability before you fix it.
So, how do I resolve this issue? Digital marketers and web security analysts usually recommend using a website firewall. This firewall will help you to patch the security issue as soon as updates are released.
Tip 2: Improve your network security
Most of the times, your employees in your office might be unintentionally providing an easy access route to your website servers. To avoid this issue you must tighten your network security. Here are some measures you can take:
Let the logins expire after a short period of inactivity.
Change the passwords regularly.
Do not write down the passwords anywhere.
Scan all the device plugged into the network each time they are added.
Doing all the above-mentioned things will tighten the loose ends. Never settle for only these things. Discuss more with the security experts and always try to add extra layers of safety.
Tip 3: Switch to HTTPS
HTTPS stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure. It is basically a secure version of HTTP, the protocol over which information is sent between a web browser and the site. So, the only difference between HTTPS and HTTP is that the former one has an “s” extra in the end. The “s” stands for secure here.
So, in simple words, in HTTPS websites all communications between your browser and the website are encrypted. Moreover, HTTPS is absolutely necessary for all online transactions.
There is one more reason to use HTTPS. That is SEO, an important part of digital marketing. HTTPS is a ranking factor. So, along with security, HTTPS also improves your online visibility. That is the reason why SEO agencies ask you to switch to secure sites.
Tip 4: Block access to important files and folders
You can set user permissions to block access to vital folders. Servers give you great control over the permissions. That is you can set the permission to read, write, or grant access for a given file. Grant these permissions carefully for the owner, a group of employees, and the public.
In most cases, the owner is granted both read and write access. Whereas, group and public users must have only read access. One of the biggest mistakes that the website owner tend to do is to set all the permission to 777. Well, there is a reason for this.
When website owners suffer some permission issues, they set all the permissions to 777 to fix the issue quickly. It does resolve the issue but compromises the security of your site. It is the most terrible thing to do because it gives literally everyone full access to all the folders. Obviously, this can be dangerous.
Tip 5: Use unique passwords
Today’s blog topic is website security, and how we can fail to mention this tip? You might have already heard this tip a hundred times. Let us understand more about this. According to an online password generation tool, the topmost commonly used password is – password. So, the tip of the day is don’t be lazy while keeping a password. Here are the things that you can do to make your password strong.
A strong password is a password, that is not easily predictable. So, do not use names, words or numbers that are related to you.
Do not use any alphanumeric that is connected to you. For example, your birthday, your bike number, your mobile model number, etc.
Use long passwords. Such passwords are very difficult to guess or steal.
Do not use one password for more than one accounts. If your hacked, you will be hit from all the sides.
Tip 6: Have website backup
We know that you do not what your website to be hacked. And we wish nobody’s website should be hacked. However, as a digital marketing agency, it is our duty to make you prepare for the worst. Here, your site getting hacked is the worst case scenario. So, how to be prepared for this worst case? Have a website backup.
Having website backups is crucial to recovering your website after your site is hacked. In simple words, backups will help you to recover damaged files. So, as a website owner, you should never say no to backups. You never know how things shape in the future. So, it is always to be on the safer side.
Tip 7: Keep your site clean
Cleanliness is a quality of a secure site. If you have a website, it is common to see several applications, plugins, and databases on it. These can be the alternative point of entry for hackers.
So, it is always good to delete all the files, applications, or databases that are useless for your site. In addition to that, also keep your file structure organized. It will help you to monitor changes and makes it easy to delete old files and folders.
Tip 8: Use firewalls
So, what exactly is a firewall? In the Internet world, a firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing traffic based on security rules. It helps you to create a barrier between a trusted internal network and the external network. So, if you have your own server, you must install a firewall. As it restricts unauthorized entries, it is the most basic thing to do to improve your website security.
Tip 9: Get your website security tools
Once you have taken all the measures, it is time to test your security arrangements. This can be easily done with the help of website security tools. This is commonly known as penetration testing or pen testing.
Today we have many paid and free tools to conduct the above-mentioned test. These tools work similar to bots programmed by hackers. That is they try to discover the vulnerabilities and notify you.
Tip 10: Hire a security expert
Do you have a busy schedule? Have no time to focus on security? If so, you can hire a security expert. It is always good to invest some money for preventing the attacks than spending a lot of money on recovering from the attack. Here are the things that a security expert can do for you.
Scan your site
Find vulnerabilities
Conduct security audits
Keep an eye on malicious activity
24/7 security