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Most small businesses don’t have an IT department at their beck and call, and even if you do, business owners and their employees still play a key role in staying on top of day-to-day tech needs, including web security. If the thought of maintaining your website’s security sounds scary, trust us, it doesn’t have to be! Once you get a handle on the basics, you’ll be prepared to protect your website from the biggest security threats that businesses face today.
Website security: Learning the ins and outs of your website
In order to understand security issues, you first need to be familiar with the ins and outs of how your website works. This is one reason why so many companies hire Emily Journey & Associates for their WordPress expertise. Their WordPress training courses are ideal for business owners and staff who want to know how to manage a WordPress website with confidence, including handling security protocols.
One thing you’ll learn is how to keep your WordPress site updated, which is an essential part of maintaining security. WordPress is an incredibly popular platform, and for good reasons, but hackers are continually finding ways to break into WordPress code. Updating your site regularly, including using the latest PHP version, themes and plugins, reduces the likelihood that hackers can gain access to your site.
Incorporating website security into a new site
If your business is new and you’re just setting up your website, or if you’ve decided to redesign an existing site, it’s even more important to become familiar with the options you have (and how choosing one option over another will impact your job of maintaining security). For example, the first decision to make is whether to hire a web designer or a web developer. A web designer focuses mainly on what you see, including functional decisions like the layout and information flow, along with design choices like color schemes and graphic design.
Web developers handle more of what goes on behind the scenes that makes your website work. Front-end developers write the code that translates a design into what you actually see. Back-end developers handle what’s called the server-side of web applications, managing the data and the processes that serve the data to the front-end components of a site.
Understanding these distinctions is critical because you want to be sure you’re hiring the right person for the type of project you have in mind. Another reason to be aware of this difference is that you’ll want to make sure security concerns are worked into the process of design and development from the very beginning.
Use the right antivirus software to keep your business website secure
Some security features will be built into your website, but relying on that alone isn’t enough to keep you protected. Along with protecting your website from hackers, you’ll want to take a broad approach to protect all of your company’s devices and software programs. This is especially important for businesses that collect customers’ data because the last thing you want is to lose clients due to a data breach. That’s why Business.com recommends taking what they call a “layered security approach.” This means looking at what measures you already have in place and adding anything that may be missing, such as comprehensive antivirus software or SSL encryption.
Develop website security policies
With all the effort you put into web development, software, and updates, don’t forget that people are still part of the solution. Every business needs security policies that all employees are trained in, and most importantly, that are enforced. This includes things we all know we should do, like setting strong passwords, along with less obvious measures. These steps might include limiting access to online information that only certain employees need or following Medium’s recommendation to for your WordPress site.
Remember, you don’t have to be a tech expert to run a small business! However, if you want to build a business that grows and succeeds, you do have to be willing to learn the basics. Thankfully, you don’t need an IT department to get the hang of these security measures that will keep your business protected.
Photo credit: Pixabay
“Naomi Johnson created lifebasedbusiness.net for small business owners, creatives, solopreneurs, boss babes and bros, and side hustlers who are committed to designing their careers to accommodate how they want to live, instead of the other way around. Through her site, Naomi offers practical advice and inspiration to help others adopt the life-based business mentality and change their lives in immensely positive, fulfilling ways.”