Being a small business owner comes with a lot of responsibilities. You need to keep costs low, scale up quickly and reinforce your bottom line, all at the same time. When there's a cyberattack, you stand to receive both financial and reputational damage, but you can protect your website from the majority of attacks just by making a few tweaks.
1. Get an SSL certificate
An SSL certificate is absolutely necessary in today's digital ecosystem. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encrypts information transmitted between your website and the customer's computer. This ensures that all transactions are safe from hackers and data thieves.
An SSL certificate also verifies the identity of the website owner. When customers see "https" in place of "http", they know that they are on a secure site and any information transmitted is encrypted for safety. This also gives customers confidence in the business owner and promotes brand loyalty.
2. Choose your hosting provider wisely
Ensuring that your website is as secure as possible means choosing a reliable web host. Website hosting companies give you server space to store all your website data. You can't go wrong with a shared or a VPS hosting plan since they offer a balance between performance, security, and affordability. Pick a host that's reliable, and fits your use case. This will go a long way in securing your website.
You should also consider a provider that offers an SLA (Service Level Agreement) and uptime guarantee. If you're confused by seeing all the options, consider checking a website hosting review.
3. Keep your software up-to-date
This is one of the easiest yet often ignored ways to prevent data breaches. Update your website software as and when they're available to protect your digital assets from cybercriminals. If you're using multiple software with your CMS like WordPress plugins, you should install patches regularly. Apart from this, keep an eye on redundant files and old data and remove them when you're not using them.
4. Create regular backups
Creating regular website backups is an important way to mitigate the risk of losing your data. You need to iron out loopholes in the contract with your web host so that regular backups don't become a hassle due to storage space. The best way to backup your website is to set up a routine of automatic backups and define the content types to avoid downtime.
5. Use security software
Malicious code such as viruses and spyware are more rampant than ever before. If your website is not secured against these threats, your online presence can be compromised very easily. Regular scans will help you detect and remove any malicious code before it can cause too much damage.
Using an end-to-end security program is similar to having an insurance policy for your website and data. You should choose a security software that scans for malware regularly, offers a web application firewall (WAF), DDoS protection, and compliance.
With all the recent developments in cyberattacks, securing a small business website can look like a daunting task. However, by following the above steps, you can protect your website from most threats and save money.