Is Your Website Secure?

Why Website Security Is Important

Website hacking and cyber-attacks have been a problem for business owners since the earliest days of the internet. Successful hacking attempts used to be more of a nuisance rather than a real security concern since they generally involved a website being defaced with an erroneous message or image. Since then, they have become much more serious in nature since hacked websites can be used to spread malware or to collect personal data from unsuspecting users. A hacked site can even have its server resources used to attack other websites.

As a small business owner, you might think a hacker wouldn’t bother cracking into your site since they would have more to gain by compromising the website of a larger firm. The reality is that process is very random. An individual hacker probably won’t go after you specifically. You’ll most likely be the target of an automated process using sophisticated hacking tools or “bots”.

That’s why there’s a few simple things you should do to protect yourself.

Keep Your Software Up to Date

The majority of current websites operate via a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress or Joomla. These software programs are what’s known as open-source. This means that they are free and have code that’s easily accessible to both legitimate end users as well as those with malicious intent.  Hackers are forever scanning this code to look for vulnerabilities that they can exploit.

One of the first things you should do to protect your website is to make sure that your content management system is up-to-date. In addition to the core application files, you should also make sure that all plugins, add-ons and themes/templates have been updated to their latest versions. Ensuring that you have the newest versions of your website software will minimize the vulnerability of your site. If your website uses WordPress and you’re not sure which version you’re using, you can quickly check this by logging into your WordPress dashboard and clicking the update icon in the top left corner next to your website name.

Install Security Applications

You can’t make your home impregnable to burglars, but you can make it a less likely target for thieves by adding an alarm and additional lighting. The same holds true for your website. There are a number of security applications that you can install that will make your site harder to hack.

There are a number of free add-ons that you can add to your WordPress website such as Sucuri Security  and Wordfence Security. These plugins perform a number of functions like malware scanning, blacklist monitoring and post-hack security actions. They’ll even send you automated notifications if anyone tries to hack into your site using brute-force attacks. They’ll also alert you if anyone logs into the admin area of your website without your knowledge. 

Database Backups

While not helping to prevent your site from being hacked, having a regular database backup plan in place will help you get your site back up and running if it has been compromised. Many hosting companies offer these as an add-on service, but they can also be set up using third-party software. They can be set to run at regular monthly, weekly or daily intervals. This can vary based on how often you update your site, but it’s probably best to have it set to a weekly interval at the very minimum. Many of our clients have daily backups since they take orders online and wouldn’t want to lose any potential sales.

It’s also a good idea to have your database backed up to an offsite location. This can be either locally on your hard drive, or via a cloud-based provider such as Amazon or Google Drive. This has the added benefit of being physically separate from your website, so you’ll have a copy of your data in a secure place if your website were to crash for another reason.

Conclusion

As discussed above, it’s impossible to make your website invulnerable to hackers. However, there are a few simple things you can do to make it a less attractive target. It’s definitely worth the effort, since cleaning up after you’ve been hacked is a headache best avoided.

Need Help With Your Site?

Just let us know if you’re interested in implementing the tips above, but you’re not quite sure how to do it. We’d be happy to discuss your site and see how we can improve your website security.

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