If you don’t already have these five security features in place for your website, now is the time to get ’em!
SSL Certificate
This used to be considered a bonus only for ecommerce websites but is now pretty much mandatory. Without the little lock symbol next to your domain name your website’s traffic is going to suffer. Fortunately most hosts now offer free certificates that are pretty easy to configure. Be sure your URL always starts with httpS!
Latest Version of WordPress
I’m sure you’re sick of me saying this but that’s because it’s so important! Unfortunately there is a race between developers and hackers. The further you let your software fall behind, the bigger advantage bad actors have trying to break into your website.
Malware Scanning
What happens if something nefarious does get on your website and you don’t notice? Not all hacks are immediately apparent. Many hacks will lurk in the background damaging your ranking and reputation and/or racking up bills on your accounts. The longer a hack has been in place the harder it is to recover from. That’s why an automated scanner is so important. You’ll want to know as soon as possible without spending your time combing through your server.
Strong and Secure Passwords
This is another favorite topic of mine because all the security features in the world won’t help if someone figures out your password. You can learn more about passwords here.
DDoS protection
Be sure this is something your host takes care of. I’m happy to go into more detail if you’d like but this probably isn’t something you want to worry about. A good host will have systems in place so you shouldn’t even notice if an attack happens. Does your host?
Regular Backups
Here’s the hat trick of my favorite topics, but that’s because of how crucial it is. Security is just one reason backups are so useful. The short version is that it’s so much easier to restore from a good backup than to fix a hacked website. I cover backups in depth here.
Some other important security features include 2-factor authentication, login lockdowns, firewalls, and geo IP blocking but the five listed above are the most critical. As always I’m happy to discuss security, or anything else about websites, whenever you are. I hope you have a great 2023 and look forward to speaking with you soon.