Website security is essential to keep a website safe for its visitors and online. Poor access controls, server resource exploitation, and vulnerable code are the main security risks. Here are ten tested ways to protect your website against any possible security risks:
1. Install Security Applications
2. Use HTTPS/SSL (Secure Socket Layer)
SSL is a security protocol that creates an encrypted link between a web browser and a web server. With the help of this, you can transfer users’ information between the browser and your database without the data being read during transit and hence keeping it secure.
3. Keep your Site Updated
Hackers can scan multiple websites within minutes. They break in if they find even the slightest vulnerability in your website. Hence, failing to update or any delay to update your site and boom!- your website’s hacked.
4. Select Good Plugins/Themes
Use a plugin that regularly fixes any vulnerabilities on your site and releases updates from time to time. It should have active installations. While free plugins do the work, premium plugins do it ten times more efficiently for the hardcore security of your site. So while buying plugins, only go for plugins from reputed brands and developers.
5. Use Strong Passwords
Strong passwords are essential when it comes to server and admin website areas. It is also vital when it comes to its users. They should be encouraged to keep a strong password to secure their accounts. The password should have a minimum of eight characters, including one uppercase letter and one numerical one.
6. Back up Everything
Data breaching is a hectic job. But recovering is a lot easier when you have a backup So Manual backup is good, but sometimes if you fail to do it, it could cost you. Hence investing in automatic backup is an excellent idea for your website.
7. Beware Of SQL Injection
SQL injection is an attack on a website using URL parameters or a web form field to manipulate the database. This can be prevented easily by always using parameterized queries.
8. Validate both sides
Any website can catch simple failures, which who can bypass. But a more profound validation should be done server-side as its failure could lead to malicious or undesirable code/data being inserted into the website’s database.
9. Protect against XSS attacks
XSS is cross-site scripting injecting harmful JavaScript into your site pages that can steal information or change content. Content Security Policy(CSP) is one of the powerful tools in defending against such attacks. CSP is a header that tells the browser to limit how and what JavaScript is executed on the page.
10. Regular Security checks
Any website, big or small, can be hacked. Regular security checks will help you discover anything unsafe as well as any potential susceptibles. This will save you a lot of regrets in the long term.
Conclusion:
If you are an experienced web developer, implementing these methods won’t be difficult. But, if you are a business owner with a business/eCommerce website, these measures might be hard for you to implement. Therefore it is recommended to get these measures implemented through a web/eCommerce development company.