Website Design usually focuses on choosing fonts, colors, imagery for your website. But more rarely do clients focus on the security aspect of their website. Safety should be one of the priorities of any website design! You do not want your website to have personal information leaked! 

A weak password is the number one killer of any website.

When having multiple accounts for many different websites it’s sometimes easier to use the same password/username for each account. That is a major security risk for your website which can create a massive vulnerability. Strong passwords include things like capital letters, lowercase letters, and symbols. If your password is less than 12 characters you should do a personal audit of all your accounts. 

When offered we also recommend using 2FA or 2 Factor Authentication, this usually requires an app installed on your cell phone or a less secure method is tied to SMS/text messaging. The app is only tied to the phone you are using while phone numbers could be cloned.

Comments can lead to security issues.

Moderating comments is especially necessary when trying to cultivate a community on your blog. The comment section can be a hotspot for damaging phishing attempts or other malicious activity. Suspicious comments usually have suspicious links to other websites that have no actual connection to the topic of conversation within the article. The comments could be trying to sell something, and generally randomly made-up looking emails and usernames could be red flags.

What is an SSL certificate and why is it important for website safety?

An SSL or Security Sockets Layer is a certificate provided by a governing body that keeps information on your website and about your visitors encrypted. This will protect your website from criminals trying to obtain information about your visitors that could lead to phishing attempts or other malicious activities. You’ll notice a website with an SSL certificate if the website URL starts with https:// rather than http://.

Don’t postpone your updates!

It can be time consuming but they are incredibly important. One of the ways malicious hackers crack into websites is through unpatched security holes inside of the plugins, themes, or CMS you’re running. WordPress being one of the most widely used CMS it is constantly being updated to protect against hacks. So it’s important to keep it and all other plugins and themes up to date as well to keep data thieves at bay.

Web hosts are your first line of defense and using an insecure one is harmful!

A cheaper web hosting company may not give you a lot of necessary features you need. Faster loading speeds or quality customer service. They may also piecemeal your security for the low prices they offer. 

We at Lancing Light LLC pride ourselves in taking your security seriously! We do regular site backups, we do the security updates for your WordPress installation, theme, and plugins. We also do maintenance if something goes wrong. We take the effort out of keeping your website safe. Please inquire us about our Hosting Package.

Keep your contact form protected.

A contact form is a must have for your users so you can keep contact with your following. It’s much more secure than posting your email or phone number on your website. It also outlines clearly what sort of messages you receive with simply laid out questions.

An under protected contact form leaves you vulnerable to spambots. Automated attacks against your website will then flood your email’s inbox. Fortunately, CAPTCHA is a highlight effective tool against spam. It’s important any form you have on your website has CAPTCHA enabled.

Safety first when it comes to your website.

You can easily overlook your website’s safety when you are excited to get going on your project or business venture. If you haven’t given serious thought to how your website is protected and how sensitive information could be left in the hands of cyber thieves, then please do contact us at Lancing Light LLC.