There are many ways to secure your small business website, but some of the most common and effective ones are:
Install an SSL certificate. This is a digital certificate that encrypts the data between your website and your visitors, preventing hackers from intercepting or modifying it. SSL certificates also improve your website’s ranking on search engines and increase your visitors’ trust. You can buy an SSL certificate from a trusted provider or get a free one from services like Let’s Encrypt.
Use anti-malware software. This is a software that scans your website for any malicious code, files, or activities, and removes or blocks them. Anti-malware software can also protect your website from spam, phishing, and other online threats. You can use a reputable anti-malware service like Sucuri or Wordfence to secure your website.
Make your passwords uncrackable. This means using strong and unique passwords for your website login, hosting account, email, and any other online accounts related to your website. A strong password should be at least 12 characters long, include uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols, and avoid any common words or phrases. You can use a password manager like LastPass or 1Password to generate and store your passwords securely.
Keep your website up to date. This means updating your website software, plugins, themes, and any other components regularly. Outdated software can have security vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit to access or damage your website. You can use a tool like WP-CLI or Composer to automate the update process for your website.
Don’t help the hackers. This means being aware of phishing emails and other scams that try to trick you into revealing your website credentials, installing malware, or clicking on malicious links. You should always verify the sender and the content of any email before opening it or following any instructions. You should also avoid using public or unsecured Wi-Fi networks to access your website, as they can expose your data to hackers.
Manually accept on-site comments. This means moderating the comments that your website visitors leave on your website and approving or rejecting them manually. This can prevent spam comments, malicious links, or harmful content from appearing on your website and affecting your reputation or security. You can use a plugin like Akismet or Disqus to filter and manage your comments easily.
Run regular backups. This means creating and storing copies of your website files and database periodically, so that you can restore your website in case of a hack, a crash, or any other disaster. You can use a plugin like UpdraftPlus or BackupBuddy to back up your website automatically and securely.
Protect against cross-site scripting and injection attacks. These are common types of attacks that inject malicious code or commands into your website and execute them on your server or your visitors’ browsers. They can result in data theft, defacement, or redirection of your website. You can protect your website from these attacks by validating and sanitising your user input, using parameterised queries, and implementing Content Security Policy (CSP).
Implement web application firewalls. These are software or hardware devices that monitor and filter the incoming and outgoing traffic to your website and block any suspicious or malicious requests. They can prevent a variety of attacks, such as brute force, denial-of-service, or SQL injection. You can use a web application firewall like Cloudflare or SiteLock to secure your website.
These are some of the best practices to secure your website, but they are not exhaustive. Website security is a continuous process that requires constant vigilance and maintenance. You should always keep learning and improving your website security and seek professional help if you need it.
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