Websites can be intimidating things. When you spend so much time and effort creating one, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to properly securing it. Fortunately, it’s not as complicated as you might think. Read on to learn 5 easy ways to get started with website security.
Table of Contents
1. Buy SSL certificate
SSL security is one of the most vital ways to secure your site these days. These tiny digital certificates encrypt the connections of anyone who visits your website, ensuring any sensitive information they send is kept safe from third parties. Beyond that, it’s all but a requirement if you want your website to work on major web browsers. If you want your website to load for your users, get yourself an SSL ASAP.
2. Get a WAF
Short for web application firewall, a WAF is basically a wall that oversees the traffic that travels to and from your site, filtering out anything that seems suspicious. This will help block any malicious requests to your site and protect it from cyber attacks like cross-site scripting and SQL injections.
3. Make sure everything is up to date
One of the easiest things you can do to keep your site safe is to update the software you use regularly. This is everything from the content management system you use to any plugins or widgets on your site. If you don’t update these regularly, they can serve as an easy, exploitable backdoor to your site for hackers.
4. Use strong passwords & implement MFA
123456 and PASSWORD are no longer good passwords (spoiler: they never were). You’ve probably heard it a thousand times before, but we’ll say it again: you need long, complex passwords with a mix of upper case and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. The kind of thing you’d never remember – which is why you should get a password manager to keep track of everything. Implement multi-factor authentication, at the very least 2FA, to ensure your site is even more impenetrable to malicious actors. There are many free solutions available online.
Conclusion
Good website security is not as complicated as it might seem from the outside. By following a few simple steps and having common sense, you should be able to make your site safe and secure.
