Website security has always been an issue, and it’s an even bigger issue today. Although it has long been known that no website will ever be completely ‘safe,’ there are still steps you can take to potentially decrease the risks to your site. For example, if you have visitors making transactions with your website or have an e-commerce website, your site is particularly vulnerable to hackers and malware. You need to be sure that your customers are safe whenever they transact with your website, and with a few key steps, you can reduce the risks. If you want to make your website safer, here are the best steps you can take to improve the security of your website.
- Keep your plugins and software updated
One of the best things you can do to enhance website security is to keep your plugins and software updated. An exceedingly high number of websites are compromised every single day due to software that is not updated. Bots and hackers continuously scan sites for an attack, and updates are critical to your website’s security and health. If you have plugin and software requests, take them seriously. These updates will often have repairs and enhancements for vulnerability and safety, and you should check your site for updates or add a plugin for update notifications.
- Add an SSL certificate and HTTPS
Your website will be much safer if you have a secure URL, and this is particularly true if visitors will send confidential or private details and information. HTTPS or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure is a special protocol, and it offers security for the net. It helps prevent interruptions and interceptions from happening whilst content is going through transit.
You will also need to have an SSL certificate for your site, especially if you ask visitors to sign up, register, or perform any kind of transaction, as confirmed by the experts in website security and development from Expre Digital Ltd. SSL or Secure Sockets Layer is a website protocol. It transfers the personal and private info of visitors between your site and database. The certificate will encrypt the data so others cannot read it whilst it is in transit.
- Opt for a smarter password
Granted, with so many databases, programmes, and websites, it can be a challenge to keep track of passwords, and many of us tend to use the same or similar passwords in almost every place. But as you may already know, this is a serious mistake. It pays to create a whole new password for each platform or channel you use, and it’s best to create something random, complex, and complicated. For instance, you can use a mix of 14 digits that consist of numbers and letters and make sure you store them offline or on a smartphone. It would be a good idea to stay away from using your info when you create your passwords, such as your birthday or similar.
Once three months are up, you should also make a new password. A smart password should have a minimum of 12 characters with a combination of symbols and numbers. It would also be a good idea to alternate between lowercase and uppercase characters.
You can do other things to enhance site security, and a security expert and specialist should be able to point you in the right direction.
Image attributed to Pixabay.com
