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You’re a small business owner. You can’t afford the negative publicity surrounding a big data breach like Adobe, eBay, or LinkedIn. And the last thing you want is for some hacker to log in to your site and wreak havoc on your marketing plan. But how are you supposed to secure a website if you don’t have an IT degree?
Why is Web Security So Important?
Before you understand ‘how,’ it’s important to know ‘why.’ Your website is a crucial component of your online presence. If you get hacked, this can cause a reputation crisis that leaves your customers and clients with little faith in your ability to secure their data. Even more alarming, according to WebARX, your site may be at risk of being blacklisted if it is targeted and subsequently infected with malware or a virus. This can cause a sudden drop in traffic, which equals a drop in revenue.
Pros That Can Help
Fortunately, you do not have to be an information technology expert to secure your site. There are plenty of people out there who can help. If it’s in your budget, start by hiring a webmaster. This is an individual that may develop and monitor your website, and they can implement strategies to keep your data safe.
If you can’t afford a dedicated tech guru, look for a freelancer with experience in cybersecurity. As with all professionals, no two cybersecurity experts are alike. Each will have a different set of experiences, and you can find the right fit by reading reviews from people who have hired them in the past. A freelancer will be more affordable than a dedicated worker, and you can easily find a new service provider if they are unable to affordably secure your website when you need it.
Tips To Protect Your WordPress Site
If you are still considering handling your own website security, there are a few things you can do to keep yourself safe. These include:
- Limiting user login attempts. Limiting both user and administrator login attempts is a great way to keep your WP site safe. To do this, you can install a plug-in that prevents both human and automated spam bots from trying multiple passwords to access your information.
- Adding multi-factor authentication. Multi-factor authentication means that you use two or more steps to log in to your site. For example, you will need a password and then a PIN, which will be automatically sent to you from the site to the email address you have on record.
- Reducing access to essential employees. Only essential employees should have access to your WordPress Admin Dashboard. This reduces the number of people with access to the ability to change your website. A good rule of thumb is that only managers and your IT staff can access your digital data.
- Logout idle users. Idle users are people who have logged into your website but have walked away or changed tabs. Unfortunately, this poses a significant security risk, particularly when you have users that access your site from a public place, such as a library, or are using an unsecured network. As with most things on WordPress, there are multiple plug-ins that will help you log these users out after a period of no activity.
Having a secure website is one of the best things you can do for your business. Before you get started, do your research. Know what areas you need to secure and who can help you do it. Ultimately, your goal is to ensure that your and your users’ information is safe and uncompromised. How you make this happen depends on your site, but the tips above, including limiting user login attempts and reducing the number of people with access to your dashboard, can get you started.
And remember, you can automatically post your content with WordPress Scraper Plugin, instead of giving editors that you do not know the authority to post to your site.