Overview: Building a secure site isn’t as terrifying  as losing your website to scams

Every 39 seconds in the US, we learn that a hacker attack occurs – affecting one in three Americans. It could be a simple email from a friendly username to a call from the IRS to a website devised to conceal all personal credentials. We know that phishing attacks can happen anytime, anywhere, and to anyone. You don’t want all the hard work you’ve put into your website or brand to be in vain. Considering this, we shouldn’t leave any door open for the hacker to creep in because as a website owner, there’s nothing more terrifying than seeing your work entirely wiped out. What can be done?

There are steps you can take to prevent hacking. For instance, adding Two-Factor Authentication during the login process is easy to set up. In this blog, we’ll be addressing in detail how you can build a secure site to avoid phishing attacks.

3 Steps to Protect Your Website Against Scams: 

When it comes to scams or phishing attacks, there are some essential steps you should take to prevent them once and for all. Moreover, there are also measures to mitigate the damage if you’ve already fallen prey to scams. Let’s discuss some of the most effective techniques.

 1. Updating your password frequently: 

This isn’t you – this is us all. We write simple passwords so we don’t forget them. But the usual 123456 simply doesn’t work anymore – in fact, it’s probably the most vulnerable alongside the good ole’ abc password. These types of passwords are so vulnerable that many websites don’t accept them, or anything similar to them, anymore.

Ideally, no one should ever get access to your login credentials, or other users, if you’re a team sharing the same WordPress website. However, this isn’t always the case. The problem is that many people don’t bother to undergo the trouble of updating their passwords regularly. This becomes a plus point for the hacker when there’s a leak in login credentials. While running a website, remind your team to update their passwords every so often. And if you struggle to remember the new credentials (like us – sigh), consider writing it in your phone’s Notepad or using a password manager.

In WordPress, some plugins remind the users to enforce password updates. Adopt this habit of changing your password from time to time so if your information gets stolen by any chance, you’re already one step ahead.

 2. Setting up two-factor authentication (2FA): 

If you’re still not using Two-Step Authentication for online accounts, we urge you to do so right away! You’re missing out on an excellent security measure. With 2FA set up against the website, you’ll be asked to enter a one-time code sent on your mail or another option you choose from the offered list.

You’ll find many websites offer 2FA, and there are many tools to help you arrange this extra security – but some website users deem it risky due to its technical nature. In such cases, reach out to the tech pros to lift you out of the hacking nightmare.

 3. Keeping your website and plugins up-to-date: 

Using various extensions and plugins offers many benefits, but doing so also introduces some risk factors. One of the leading causes of website infections is its vulnerability – mainly in the content managing system. Since these tools are open-source software programs for all the users, regardless of the brand/product, their codes are easily accessible – both for the serious and good-intentioned developers/entrepreneurs and malicious hackers.

Hackers may pore over these codes, stepping into the security vulnerabilities that allow them to take control of your website by exploiting all the hard work – exposing script weaknesses.  

To protect your website and stay a step away from the hacker, ensure that your plugins, apps, and content management system are up-to-date. It’s even easier with WordPress – when you log in and reach the dashboard, look at the top left corner for the update option. Click there to access your WordPress updates – and stay safe.

3 Steps to Build A Secure Website: 

Now that we’ve shared some tips on protecting your website against scams, this part will focus on building a secure website.

An online presence gives valuable visibility to your business, a secure website instills confidence in customers to make good purchases, and a website that runs easily generates brand awareness and convenient interactions, eventually boosting sales.The 3 following steps will help you build a secure website so everything else we just mentioned can work well.

Step #1: Choose a Capable Host: 

While starting a website, you may come across several hosting options. Each has its advantage in improving your website. However, the degree of security largely depends upon the features such as Web Application Firewall (WAF) or denial-of-service protection.

A capable and established website host such as GoDaddy or Bluehost is counted among a few of the most secure website hosts in the market. Alongside this, WAF is a significant component as it averts attempts to breach your website. While Structured Query Language SQL or cross-site scripting may leave a loose end, making the information exposed to the attacks, WAF monitors such issues.

 Step #2: Set Up Automatic Backups: 

We know how much effort it takes to invest in your website, but when the servers fail, it destroys your hard work.  Backups are excellent solutions to revive your core website material and expedite the relaunch.

While searching to find the underlying issue that initiates the crash, shield your business from other time-intensive recoveries or redundant work – all with a secure backup system.

You always have the option of keeping your data in a secure location such as a central service to avoid the potential threats, but an automatic backup of your content and layout will always keep you starting from scratch.

Step #3: Add an SSL Certificate: 

When it comes to building a secure website and preventing phishing attacks, Secure Socket Layers turn out to be one of the best all-time weapons. This certificate tells the visitors that the website is the authenticated version. On top of that, it also enables you to use HTTPS with the benefit of encrypting the data.

In Summary: 

Phishing attacks and hackers lurk everywhere and want to intrude on your privacy; there are plenty of ways to protect yourself from them, though. What’s important is your knowledge of what steps to take. Remember that your consumer depends on you to keep their information confidential. If you need a secure website for your business, contact us online or call us at (877) 469 – 8659 to learn more about our website hosting services.