9 Effective Ways to Enhance Your Website Security

If you own a website with sizeable traffic, you are probably in the target range of online scammers.

The latest data reveals that in the year 2023, there were more than 2000 cyberattacks, which was a 72% increase in data breaches from 2021 to 2023.

The digital age has contributed immensely to the transformation of businesses, but it has also opened avenues for fraudsters to carry out sophisticated data theft, impersonation, and security breach attacks.

All these activities are planned to steal sensitive information that can cause insurmountable damage to a company’s brand image, customer retention, financial standing, etc. Therefore, you must upgrade your website security efforts to minimize the chances of being targeted and subjected to such online attacks. This is why you need website maintenance services.

Professional website maintenance teams have highly skilled manpower, the latest tech, and other resources that can make your websites extremely challenging to break into, giving you peace of mind and a sense of security. Alternatively, website owners can also take proactive steps to make their website less susceptible to security breaches and attacks following some evergreen tips.

If you want to handle your website’s security independently, implementing the following methods can give you phenomenal results.

Essential Steps to Strengthen Your Website Security

You can safeguard all crucial data and customer information by taking essential steps toward strengthening your site’s security. Here are nine best practices that’ll help you keep your website out of danger.

1. Keep All Your Software Updated Timely

It may sound trivial, but it can prevent even the biggest cyber attacks. Hackers always look for vulnerabilities to break into websites, often found in outdated software and plug-ins. If your website is still using any outdated software version, it becomes easier for hackers to gain access to your website.

The only way to protect yourself from such attacks is by regularly checking your software and looking for recent update launches.

Updated software and plug-ins typically have enhanced security features, making it challenging to break into. One of the best ways to stay notified of software updates is by setting alerts from software vendors for new security enhancement features.

2. Use Strong Passwords and Change Them Routinely

Whether you own a small, midsize, or large organization, everyone is advised to use strong passwords for enhanced security. Since cybercriminals use sophisticated tech and are hyper-vigilant online, they often use brute force to crack through passwords.

About 30% of users have encountered data breaches because of a weak password.

If businesses use common passwords that involve the owner’s name, birthday, children’s name, etc., it becomes easier for scammers to try different password combinations using these details and identify the precise password.

The only way to prevent such attacks is by keeping complex and uncommon passwords that are hard to decode. You must also routinely change it to reduce the possibilities of potential security breaches further.

3. Customize Your Admin Path

Customizing the admin path is one of the best ways to secure your website. Most hackers use automation to spot websites with standard admin paths, like ‘website.com/admin,’ and try to gain access to the main site’s admin panel.

If you change the path to something unique, cybercriminals may have difficulty figuring out your website’s admin page and securing your digital storefront.

You can customize the path by creating a random, entirely unrelated admin path like ‘website.com/fkd9di’ or anything tough to locate and initiate attacks.

If it sounds complex, consider availing of professional website maintenance services and let website security experts handle the grueling task. Alternatively, you can ask your hosting service provider if they offer similar services or easy no-code features to change the admin path.

4. Invest in SSL Encryptions

You must have heard how SSL-enabled websites are more secure than others, and it is true.

For the uninitiated, a Secure Socket Layer, a.k.a. SSL, creates an encrypted link between a web browser and a server. It ensures secure data exchange between websites and visitors, protecting sensitive information from both sides.

Whether you have a small candle business, a midsize staffing agency, or a large tech enterprise, every business requires an SSL-protected website.

SSL becomes more important for websites that facilitate the online selling of products or services, requiring online payment. Installing SSL on your website is the bare minimum safety guideline you can follow.

Many hosting providers offer SSL as part of their packages, but you always have the option to buy it separately if they don’t provide it within a standard package. It will protect your website and your visitors to a great extent.

5. Implement Regular Security Monitoring and Tracking

Regardless of the size and industry of your business, you must invest in regular monitoring and tracking of website activities. It will keep you informed of any abnormal activity or traffic source identified on your website, prompting you to take timely measures.

Cybercriminals often make repeated attempts to break into their targeted websites, so website owners cannot rely on irregular monitoring. You can either hire reliable security experts for regular website maintenance services or install premium security software.

Make it a habit to scan your website regularly to identify potential threats or abnormalities and take immediate action. Based on your monitoring reports, you can keep a check on malware detection, file change detection, PAN scanning, security event log monitoring, penetration testing, and other relevant aspects.

6. Limit Website User Access to Sensitive Files

Numerous employees work on a business website, making it necessary to give them access for proper functioning. However, owners must realize that not everyone requires access to every website data.

For example, professionals working on designing and implementing a new landing page, adding gamification features, setting opt-in popups, etc., don’t require access to sensitive data like customers’ bank details, health records (in case of medical-centric websites), and other details that shouldn’t be disclosed to anyone.

Hence, it becomes crucial to keep a check on who has access to which website data and apply relevant restrictions.

7. Choose a Relevant Hosting Company

Since a website runs on hosting, its quality can significantly influence your website’s security and functioning. The right hosting provider will assist you with fast loading speed, good uptime, easy set-up, quick upgrade to handle more traffic, SSL certificate, and much more to keep the website going.

If you don’t want to hire any external members to look after your website security, the least you can do is host your website on a reliable hosting service.

Top hosting service providers look after numerous aspects like automatic backup, deploying new security features, strengthening domain privacy, protecting server firewalls, conducting malware detection scans, etc., and keeping website owners worry-free. So, check whether your hosting provider offers these features and take advantage of them for the best results.

8. Educate Employees on Cybersecurity

Your employees are the first line of defense against cyber attacks, so you must educate them on effective ways to handle such situations.

Give them the necessary training and tools to tackle cyber threats and prevent suspicious activities. Educate them more on topics like phishing attempts, adhering to security protocols, setting strong passwords, conducting regular security scans, etc., so they become more vigilant and proactive in protecting your website from potential threats.

Trained employees can better mitigate the risk of human-based vulnerabilities that would have otherwise been overlooked while fostering a security-conscious culture where every team member understands their role in safeguarding the business’s digital assets and sensitive information.

Regular refresher training is a must for educating employees and keeping them updated, so ensure your employees are prepared to fight the digital security front. Alternatively, you can hire website maintenance services that look after your site’s security.

9. Implement Backup and Disaster Recovery Strategies

Lastly, every business must set a strong backup and disaster recovery plan for uncertain scenarios. When you have a reliable backup and recovery plan, your business can resume operations even after a successful cyber-attack or system failure.

For this, you must take data backup either manually or through automation via a plug-in or software. Schedule a mandatory data backup policy that must be practiced daily.

This simple yet incredibly effective method can save your business countless hours, effort, and financial strain, helping you resume your operations effortlessly. When backing up data, don’t just focus on media and textual data, but also backup critical systems, configurations, and other website data that minimizes the impact of potential security breaches.

Secure Your Website Against All Cyber Threats

The rising pace of businesses going digital has both pros and cons. Its bright side includes instant access to a wider audience for most businesses, while the downside includes potential exposure to cybercriminals. Even if your business website isn’t large enough and doesn’t attract traffic in millions, it can still be on the watch list of online scammers.

Businesses that avoid this potential threat are most vulnerable to financial losses, brand image disruption, and a severe hit to their bottom line.

If you want to avoid any of these threats, you must make additional efforts to strengthen your website’s security. Secure your website by implementing the tips discussed in this article.

In case you need help enhancing your site’s security, B3NET Inc. is here to assist! Our experienced web developers will help you create a functional, professional website and implement best practices to protect it from cybercriminals.

Contact us today!