6 Steps To Create A Secure Website

Website security is vital because it protects your site from hackers that might steal your information. Tools like OAuth 2.0 make it much harder for bad actors to gain access to your privileged information.

Keeping your website secure will also help you attract new customers, retain old ones, and keep them returning for more. This can help you boost your sales and market share. Hence, you must establish a secure website so that no one can hack into it and steal valuable information about you or your business. 

Here are six steps to help you out creating a secure website: 

1. Select A Reputable Web Host 

It’s essential to ensure that you’re using a reputable web host because they’ll be responsible for managing your site throughout its lifespan. This way, you can rest assured that your site is correctly secured without worrying about technical issues. 

There are many factors to consider when choosing a host, such as reliability, security, website management, scalability, and accessibility. This means that you should ensure that the website hosting company has been around for some time and can provide you with all of these features at an affordable price. 

2. Identify Website Threats 

Once you have a web hosting provider in mind, it’s essential to identify which security threats they might face. Some common hazards include denial of service (DOS), malware, or phishing attacks. These are common types of attacks that can happen to any website and, if addressed, will make it easier for your site to operate correctly. 

You can do this by reading how other websites have been attacked. You may research their steps to protect themselves from those attacks too. This can help you understand how to defend your website against these attacks. 

3. Secure Your Server 

After knowing website threats, you must ensure a secure server. This doesn’t allow anyone to connect to it without authorization. This means that when someone types in the URL of your website, the site will prompt them for their username and password before they can access any content on your site. 

You may secure your web server by installing security patches on time so that hackers won’t be able to compromise your website. You can also monitor the server frequently to get alerts if there are any signs of weaknesses that make your site susceptible to attacks. 

4. Install An SSL Certificate 

Once you secure your web server, it’s time to install a secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate. This protects your website by encrypting all information between your browser and the server. With an SSL, no one can intercept your system even if the hacker’s using a malicious program on their computer.  

You can choose from many options when installing an SSL certificate on your website. You can purchase an SSL certificate directly from a certificate authority or through a third-party provider.  

If you go with the latter, make sure there’s no limit on how many certificates you can get per domain name. In addition, check if the providers allow auto-renewal so that when the original expiration date arrives, you don’t have to worry about renewing it manually every few months. 

5. Leverage A Firewall 

A firewall acts as a filter for all traffic entering and leaving your network. When someone attempts to connect to your server, it’ll automatically route their request through the firewall. This prevents unauthorized users from accessing your server and downloading sensitive data. 

When purchasing a new firewall for your website, ensure the provider offers built-in features. These may include in-depth inspection, anti-virus protection, and spam filtering. You should consider the visibility of your web applications as well by only allowing access to those who are relevant to the apps. This way, you can monitor any suspicious activity related to these apps and quickly take action if needed. 

6. Use A Secure Payment Gateway 

Another critical step to creating a secure website is to use a secure payment gateway. This can help ensure that the merchant processes all transactions safely and securely.  

You can do this by checking the security of the provider. So, ensure they comply with security standards like level-1 payment card industry data security standards (PCI DSS). This ensures that you can safeguard the transaction information of your consumers at all times.  

Key Takeaway 

Every site owner needs to know how to ensure the safety of their website and how to limit its exposure of it. This way, they can avoid cyber threats that might expose their data. 

The goal of this guide was to provide an overview of the security procedures you should follow to create a secure website. Once you follow these steps, you can prevent security breaches from happening on your site. This keeps your website trustworthy, which can help you generate more leads.