A Beginner’s Guide to Creating a Secure Business Website

Given the utility of your website, you would not like the idea that any cybercriminal would make mischief with your website. As we have progressed with technology, our IT systems have become more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Research has suggested that small businesses suffered the major brunt of these attacks. You would need to prioritize data security for your website when you create your website. We will discuss some of the guidelines to follow while creating a secure site.

Choosing a content management system (CMS)

The first step in building a website is to select a CMS. You need not be a web designing whiz kid to understand which CMS is suitable for your website. Most CMS upgrade periodically and provide adequate security to your site. However, you should research and find out whether the CMS has any inherent vulnerabilities or not. What is the cyclicity of updates? You must also visit various chat forums and communities and enquire about the problems faced by anyone and the response time to solve the problem. Also, check the customer service facilities and the lead time to respond to a ticket.

Most websites are created using the major CMS like Joomla and WordPress. Almost 35% of all websites are built on WordPress. The other major CMS are Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento. You may finalize a CMS depending on the features and functionalities offered and the security features provided by them.

Selecting the themes and plug-ins

While free themes could ease your budget, the flip side is that updates are very few and far between. Also, there could be quite a few exposures that could affect your website. It is always suggested to opt for a theme that is free from any vulnerabilities and has frequent updates.

Also, it would be best if you opted for minimal plug-ins and only install those that are necessary for your website. Excessive plug-ins could be a drain on resources and make your site function slowly. You also find out the frequency of updates and reviews by current users of these plug-ins.

You must always download the updates of the themes and the plug-ins as soon as they are available. These updates plug the gaps that could be there in the earlier versions. They also bring in new and better features for your website.

Select a suitable hosting package

You will need to host your website at a secure web host. While most of the hosting service providers will lure you through low prices and unlimited storage space, website security should rule supreme for you. First, you need to decide whether shared hosting would suffice for you or you need a dedicated hosting service.

While shared hosting would seem to be an excellent option for a start-up, a faulty website on the same server could ruin your website also. The defective site could drain out the resources of the data center. It would hurt your website too. Moreover, if the other websites do not have requisite security cover, any cyberattack on those websites could have a ripple effect on you also.

While finalizing a deal with a web host, do discuss with them about the data security infrastructure in place. The data center should be ISO certified and should undertake periodic IT audits through a third party. You may also request the web host to offer penetration testing on your website while on their web servers.

Use SSL certificates

How can a discussion on website security be without mentioning about SSL certificates? It is essential to ensure you opt for the HTTPS protocol. It ensures that the data passing between the server and the browser will be encrypted. No third-party will be able to understand the ongoing dialogue. If you are thinking of buying cheap SSL certificate then, you can think of purchasing SSL certificate from SSL2BUY that will be within your budget.

Most renowned web browsers are depicting which websites are secure or not by showing a padlock in the address bar. It means that the site is secure, and visitors can visit the website without fear. Moreover, if you have an e-commerce website dealing with the payment, you will need to adhere to the PCI-DSS norms, which are very stringent. It will compulsorily require you to implement security procedures for your website.

Imbibe strong IT practices

You must also deploy active IT measures within your company. It starts by having a robust password policy. Ensure that your IT team has an effective password policy that encompasses the latest best practices. Also, you must restrict your team members from accessing the website back-end. Unless necessary, only the developers should be able to make changes at the back end. It would be best if you periodically had an overview of the audit logs for the changes done at the back end.

You must have a strong policy regarding data backup. It always helps to keep a backup of the website every week or fortnight. Testing is also essential for a new website. You must undertake a proper penetration testing to ensure foolproof security for your website.

Conclusion

When you are creating a new website, you will need to first finalize which all information you want on the site. If you gather visitor information, you must incorporate a robust security arrangement to prevent the data from falling into the wrong hands. Also, periodically update the system software to plug any weaknesses in the website.