Did you know that business websites, just like yours, fall victim to hackers and security issues every 14 seconds? Every type of website is vulnerable to hackers and can result in minor website issues to Google blocking your domain — No website is too small to be hacked!
Security issues can make customers afraid to stay on your website and go to your competitor. Once a website is hacked, it can be time-consuming and expensive to repair. Many businesses have to start from scratch with a brand new website costing them unnecessary money and disruptions to their marketing and growth.
Here are tips on how to secure your website to help keep your business reputation and customers safe.
1. Run Website Backups
Just like a backup of any file, a website backup takes a snapshot of your website. When a security issue on your website has been identified, website backups help you resolve problems more quickly by allowing you to restore your website to when that backup was created. It can also minimize service interruptions and revenue loss. Fixing your website without backups can take weeks or months. In some cases, the damage can be irreparable. Having a backup is often the difference between getting your website back up quickly vs spending thousands of dollars to rebuild.
How often you should perform website backups will depend on your unique needs. The more backups you save, the more current your files are if you need to activate them. We recommend saving backups on a daily basis and keeping your backup files separate from your main website (so not on the same server space). You should also perform a website backup before installing or updating any website software.
What We Do: At Eviva Media, we automatically perform daily backups for our clients on a separate server. With this added layer of protection, you have peace of mind knowing that a backup can be implemented within a few minutes!
2. SSL Certificates Keep Your Website Secure
Websites that have a correctly installed SSL certificate feature a small security icon that looks like a padlock in the left corner of their URL field and has an “HTTPS” in their domain name.
The core function of an SSL certificate is to protect sensitive data. The SSL certificate also verifies and confirms your website identity. This reassures potential customers that you are not a fake website trying to steal their information. As a bonus, Google will give you a better ranking if you have an SSL certificate correctly installed on your website.
What We Do: At Eviva Media, we include SSL certificates with every single website at no additional cost. It’s crucial that you have a correctly installed SSL certificate for both website performance as well as protecting your website investment.
3. Limiting Admin Access
There are several levels of access you can give to your team to your website, with admin access giving your employees permission to view and change anything on the website. The most catastrophic website hacking happens when an admin account is compromised. To limit the chances of that happening, restrict admin password access to a select number of people. Only give admin access if it is absolutely necessary.
What We Do: At Eviva Media, typically, we are the ones to maintain admin access. We have special client logins that allow you to access whatever you may need without compromising the security of your website.
4. Use Strong Website Passwords
Creating a strong admin password makes it more difficult for hackers to access your website. Hackers use special software to find sensitive information, such as your login email associated with your website. When a hacker finds an email associated with a website account, the software tries to guess the password. These types of software are capable of trying thousands of passwords per second!
Helpful tips for creating a strong password:
- Your passwords should contain a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. There are free websites that will help you generate strong passwords.
- Protect your website security by not using the same password twice or storing it on your computer. Write down your password on paper and keep it in a safe place. Management apps like LastPass can help keep your stored passwords secure.
Unique passwords are critical for your website security. This, combined with limiting who has admin access, can prevent the possibility of an unauthorized user gaining access to your website information.
What We Do: At Eviva Media, we use unique passwords and software that keeps your passwords secure, even between our team members! We also monitor and limit login attempts to recognize when hackers are trying to use software to break into your website.
5. Keep Your Website Updated
Just like any technology, websites have regular software updates and patches. These updates contain necessary website security upgrades against potential attacks. Update your website every week to prevent security breaches. When updates don’t happen, it creates a hole that a hacker could use to break into your website.
When building your website, it’s also important to use plugins and tools that are reputable and known for staying up to date. The last thing you want to do is purchase a plugin or tool and have the developer stop supporting it, causing you to have to rebuild!
What We Do: At Eviva Media, we include all of the updates necessary to keep your website secure in every website package. At a minimum, we are updating software weekly, and if there are important updates that happen in between, we will go in and make that happen. We also do a lot of research when selecting plugins or tools and are very selective with what we will add to a website.
Need Help with Website Security?
Your website is the foundation of your business online and your reputation with your customers. Breaches in website security can significantly damage your business and are preventable! Eviva Media has different levels based on your business needs, but all include the necessary updates to keep your website running smoothly.
We also offer the guarantee that if your website is compromised, we’ll get it up and running at NO additional cost to you! We’re that confident in our capabilities. Contact Eviva Media to learn more about available website security services to protect your business.
