Web security issues can demolish a well-built business within a few minutes. The Internet can be a great way to market and grow your business, but when handled poorly, it can also be the reason for your business's destruction.
A successful cyber attack can harm three things of a business.
- Financial condition
- Reputation
- Give rise to legal issues
These three things are the main pillars of a business. And if even one of them is damaged, your brand may be on the verge of collapsing. This is one of the reasons why solving web security issues is essential.
To protect your company website from cyber attacks, below we've discussed some strategies to ensure web security standards, their importance, and how Strikingly helps you protect your website from potential web security issues for free.
Web Security–an Overview
What is web security? It refers to a business's measures to protect its website from cyber criminals. Implementing web security standards is essential to protect the company and user data.
There are many reasons cybercriminals can attack your company. It can be for your money, essential information, or to get your user's data (possibly a bank or other personal details) and take advantage of it.
Importance of Web Security
Web security solutions protects you and your users from malicious activities such as stealing money from bank accounts, unethically accessing private information, etc.
Here are six reasons why implementing web security solutions is essential.
1. Keeps Your Website Well-Functioning
Cyber attacks can make your website function extremely slow or even take it down, resulting in losing customers and sales. Implementing web security solutions to your site will decrease the chances of attacks and maintain the healthy functioning of your website.
Sites that don't work correctly or load slowly are as good as dead websites. Therefore, you should pay attention if your site faces these issues.
2. Improves Your SEO Rankings
To rank high on Google and reach out to millions of people worldwide, every website must benefit the user in Google or other search engines' eyes.
One of the things Google loves about websites is them living up to its web security standards. According to a recent report, Google loves websites with SSL certificates and rewards them with a boost in rankings.
Furthermore, if your website is not protected per Google's web security standards, its ranking can be significantly impacted. Websites without an SSL certificate are tagged as "Not secure," discouraging the users from buying from that website.
3. Protects Your Customers' Data
Image taken from Strikingly’s user’s website
Why is web security essential to protect your customers' data?
- Once your users enter their data on your website to make a purchase or perform any other action, as a reputable website, you must keep it safe from criminals.
- It can get you out of potential issues if one of your user's data gets leaked. Their data can get leaked from anywhere, but if they ever enter their details on your site, you will also become a part of the case. You won't be penalized if your website is protected, and you can get out of the situation efficiently.
4. Prevents Loss of Reputation and Trust
You never know what the hacker's intentions with your website are. One of the intentions can be to ruin your brand's reputation. Once your brand's reputation is shattered, you will experience a drastic loss in your sales and customers.
Even if the hacker didn't conduct an activity to ruin your business's reputation, people would still stop buying from you if the word got out. Ask yourself, would you ever buy from a website that has been hacked?
7 Tips to Secure Your Website from Cyber Crime
Like you have safety alarms and other security systems installed in your workplace, your website also needs that security system.
According to a report, the number of cyber-attacks has increased over time. To add to your convenience, we've listed below seven tips to protect your website from cyber-attacks.
1. Install an SSL Certificate
Image taken from Strikingly
An SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate is a chunk of code that ensures secure communication between you and your user.
When your website user sends information through your site, SSL encodes it from plaintext to chip text. You can say chip text is the secret code only the company can understand. That way, even if there's a security breach, the hacker won't be able to decrypt the information and use it for their benefit. Once the encrypted data reaches the company, only its workers can convert it into a usable form.
2. Use a Strong Password
The first mistake many people make with passwords is writing them down on a post-it note. This increases the risk of breach even if your password is strong. You never know how that post-it note might end up in the wrong hands.
The second thing about passwords is to make them strong. Hackers use numerous methods to get hold of a website's password. If its strength is weak enough, they become successful in its mission. Here are a few things your website password must contain:
- Capital letters
- Lowercase letters
- Numbers
- Random structures
- Special characters
Another thing you must remember is to keep your password long because the longer it is, the more complex and the more time it will consume to be cracked.
3. Keep Your Website Updated
Image taken from Strikingly’s user’s website
Hackers often go for easy targets and avoid big businesses because they are always up to date with every component of their website. You must update elements of your website, such as plugins, to prevent hackers from invading through them.
Every update in software comes with fixed functionality issues and the latest features to protect your website from the latest hacking methods. You can switch to auto-update to save time and prevent a delay in upgrading your website.
4. Prevent Corrupt File Uploads
If your website requires users to upload files, you need to know that hackers can upload a corrupt file to override your site's code and mess up your website. This will ruin your system and your other visitors' systems.
While every brand can't discontinue the file uploading feature from their website, there are some preventive measures to protect your site.
- Rename the files to stop the hackers from finding the files they uploaded.
- Determine a maximum file size to prevent cyber criminals from uploading a heavy file.
- Scan the file before utilizing it.
- Accept only one format suitable for the type of file your website asks for. For instance, if you require a picture from your user, you can only accept files in JPG format. This will prevent the entrance of corrupt files.
5. Limit the Number of People Who Can Access Your Website
Sometimes, you have to give access to your employees for some work on your website. But the more accounts have access to your website, the more chances for a hacker to get in using their credentials. Therefore, limiting their access to what they can do and which parts of the site they can reach out to is essential. This way, even if the hacker logs into your site through someone else's credentials, they will have restricted access to protect your site from extensive damage.
Moreover, if an employee only needed access for a limited time, delete their account as soon as they were done with their task.
6. Penetration Test
Now we know that one penetration costs a massive amount. But if you can afford it and feel like your website is in severe need, get it done. You need to identify your website's vulnerabilities before hackers take advantage of them.
7. Backup Your Data
With all the preventive measures, hacking a website is extremely difficult but not impossible. With the advancement of technology and security updates, hackers are also progressing with their methods. Therefore, even if your website is hacked and harmed, you won't have to start from scratch and lose critical data if your site is backed up.
How Does Strikingly Ensure Your Website is Secure?
Image taken from Strikingly
Strikingly cares about its users and their customers. Therefore, we have ways to ensure your Strikingly website is secure from cyber-attacks.
All Strikingly websites come with a pre-installed SSL certificate ensuring data transfer between you, and your user is encrypted and a boost in your site's SEO ranking. Furthermore, an SSL certificate is for all kinds of users (premium and free) without an additional cost.
Another way Strikingly helps you secure your website is by limiting access to your website for your employees. When you're inviting one of your employees to your site, there are five roles from which you can decide one for them.
- Admin
- Editor
- Store Manager
- Blogger
- Agent
- Publish Rights
Be careful with what role you assign to your employees.
Lastly, Strikingly is hands down one of the most uncomplicated website builders to use. Sign up today and create your website using gorgeous, responsive, adaptable templates.
