Website Security

Let’s start here…

SSL certificates

Did you know? An SSL certificate is essential for your site. Google Chrome and other Internet browsers, such as Google Chrome, are now marking sites without SSLs as “Not Secure,” warning visitors that their data might be at risk or theft.

What is an SSL certificate?

SSL Certificates protect sensitive information such as credit card info, usernames or passwords. They also keep data secure between servers. Even if you aren’t collecting payment info or other personal data from your visitors, you still need one.

How can I tell if my website has one or not?

You can tell if your domain has an SSL certificate because it will have an https:// in front of your domain name. The “s” after http stands for secure.

See that cute little lock icon next to my domain name? That means my site it secure. 😉

How to get an SSL certificate and activate it on your domain:

You may contact the company that designed your website and ask them to help you. Some hosting packages offer this as an add-on service with your package. Some offer it free depending on your account, others charge an additional fee for it. Once you purchase an SSL certificate, make sure you renew it. Don’t stop with the purchase. For it to work, you’ll then have to configure the certificate on your web host or on your own servers if you host it yourself.

For hosting, I fully trust WP Engine to host all of my personal and business sites, and would highly recommend them to any person or client. Not a developer or expert? That’s ok. They have great customer service via online chats or yes, you can even call a phone number and talk to a real human. Sign up for the best website hosting plan of your life with my Affiliate link now.

Website Backups

In addition to website security, you should have a “backup” plan in place.

One of the worst things is to lapse in billing if you don’t have automatic renewals set up to say, your domain name or hosting account, then one day your website is just gone. Yup. All that info, time, investment. Gone.

Most hosting accounts, like my WP Engine account, have a backup plan. If something goes wrong, you don’t update your website regularly, or it gets a bug or hacked, you’re covered.

You website developer may have a backup plan for you if you pay for regular website management, but it’s good to know for sure, so ask!

Security on your website

Do you have anything installed to block robots from logging into the backend of your site? Well, you should.

Here’s a list of my favorite plugins for WordPress websites and what they do…

Akismet Anti-Spam:

Used by millions, Akismet is quite possibly the best way in the world to protect your blog from spam. Your site is fully configured and being protected, even while you sleep.

Jetpack for WordPress:

Bringing you tons of great FREE features and some paid features, depending on what else you need. Offers simple website stats to show you how many people visit your site everyday and what they looked at, like your most popular posts, pages or products. You don’t need to be an analytics expert to understand the graphs and charts Jetpack shows you when you login to your website.

Jetpack has backup solutions for your self-hosted website, if you don’t put another backup plan in place. Jetpack also optimizes your website through faster image upload and page load speed.

Wordfence:

Wordfence is my favorite security plugin. It has been downloaded and used over 175 million times. It’s one of the most trusted website security plugin out there. It will help keep your site from being hacked and give you email updates when your website becomes vulnerable.

You may need a web designer or developer to help you configure it though after install. There’s a FREE version, which we have used on many of my clients sites, and there’s an upgraded premium version.

What makes my site vulnerable?

For starters, an outdated website is like stale dinner. Nobody likes it and neither do search engines. Updated websites get better rankings, engagement and stay secure. An outdated website looks stale, and Google thinks so too. Outdated websites not only mean content isn’t current, but like the versions, software, themes or plugins used to build your site are outdated too. This makes your site vulnerable. There’s no sense in having a site if you don’t update it! So get a hold of your web designer today.

Manage your website regularly, know it’s secure, have a backup plan in place, and for heaven’s sake, update your website today. Contact us for an estimate! We can help you design and maintain your website.

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