These are the 5, most essential ways that you can use to improve your website’s security. Apply all of these ways, so you could have far fewer security problems than an average website owner. Better security means fewer problems and better business results.
Update everything!
You need to keep everything, CMS, plug-ins, add-ons, everything up to date. Most of the updates are not feature updates but maintenance and security updates. They fix different vulnerabilities, add patches and protect from an ever-increasing number of threats.
To update everything, you have two choices:
- Set everything to auto-update. This is the easy way, that won’t require you extra time. Most of the CMS and their plug-ins have the possibility to enable auto-update. It is very convenient, but sometimes, new bugs occur and might bother the normal site functionality.
- Update manually. You can get notified of updates and chose if it is the right time to update. The update might bother your site functionality for a short time, so that way, you can program the process for the time you want. And also, you can choose to update when you are sure that the new software won’t introduce new bugs.
Use strong passwords and 2-factor authentication (2-FA)
Don’t use “admin” as a user name and a basic password like “1234” or “12345678”. Those are not appropriate, not even for your home Wi-Fi router. Make it as hard as possible for hackers. Use long passwords, full of symbols, numbers, capital, and small letters. Evade using real words and try to randomize it as much as possible.
And when you get the best possible password, combine it with another authentication method. Use 2-factor authentication will make it really hard for hackers.
For the second authentication, you can use your mobile number, e-signature, a mobile app, or PC software. A great way is to use a USB flash drive with an e-signature that you keep offline and use when needed.
Encrypt everything
A great password will be good for nothing if it travels through the web in a plain text file. You need to ensure the whole communication. Use an SSL certificate for your site. It is useful both for your users and their privacy and for your backend. You, your writers, and other teammates must have a secure connection, so they don’t lead to a security bridge.
To connect to the administrative panel, you can use SSH for security.
Also, it will be a good idea to invest in a VPN for you and your teammates. The VPN will create an encrypted tunnel that will keep the communication safe.
Scan for vulnerabilities
There are many free and paid security scanners, websites, add-ons, and servers’ tools that you can regularly use to check your site. Usually, you simply write down your domain name on one of these sites, or install and run the add-on, and leave the work to the malware scanner. They can check for malicious software, check your SSL certificate, see suspicious files, and more.
Do the scanning procedure often. It is a great way to improve your website security.
You can find issues and later fix them without getting into problems.
Backup everything!
Even if you are doing everything right, there is still a chance that your site gets hacked. The hackers are good, and there are even organized groups of hackers that are up for hire. So what can you do? Keep a backup of everything. Regularly download a copy of your site, your databases, and content too. Keep them offline on cold storage like an external hard drive or flash drive if your site is light. The best thing you can do is to have at least 2 backups that you regularly update and keep in different locations. Imagine if they are together, and a natural disaster hits. You will be left with nothing.
Conclusion
These were our top 5 tips to improve website security. Each of them is incredibly important. Overseen security is a mistake that you can’t afford. You and our visitors must have top-notch security, so the business runs smoothly.