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Website Security: What You Need To Know

08/12/2020
John Crafts
Website Security

Website security is key to maintaining a strong web presence for your business. We live in a world where new vulnerabilities and methods of attack are being discovered every single day. Websites hold important and confidential information, so it is important to keep security in mind. The last thing you want is for your customer or business information in the wrong hands. You owe it to your customers to keep your website secure. You want every customer who visits your website to know that they are safe on your site. But how do you keep your website secure?

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Use a Strong Password Policy

If your website has a login functionality, it is important to practice a strong password policy. There are a few ways to do this, but the easiest would be to follow the below steps:

  1. Regularly change your password – i.e. it is important to change your password at least every quarter.
  2. Have a long and complicated password – i.e. it should be at least 12 characters long, and should use capital letters, numbers, and punctuation.
  3. Use a password manager – i.e. use LastPass to make sure that you don’t have to write your password down or even remember what your password is.

Keep Your Website Updated

If your website uses a platform (like WordPress), it is important to keep your website updated to ensure that all the latest patches to exploits are applied. Oftentimes, this includes the updating of your: website platform, the plugins/modules on your website, and your website’s theme. One perk about website hosting with Michigan Creative, we make sure your website and plugins are always up to date.

Use an SSL Certificate

An SSL certificate creates an encrypted connection between your web server and your website visitors. This makes it so that the data passed between your users and your website is secure from people intercepting that data. Additionally, most modern web browsers will display your website as “insecure” if you are not using an SSL certificate. Google also takes into account whether or not your website uses an SSL certificate when displaying search results. SSL certificates are another measure that the Michigan Creative web department utilizes for all website hosting clients to ensure they are secure and safe.

 Use Security Plugins/Modules

Most modern web platforms allow you to install plugins and modules. If you are using one of these platforms, it helps to install security plugins to ensure basic security methods are in place. Some plugins that may work for this include, file protecting directories and preventing suspicious traffic. The Michigan Creative team utilizes a variety of different plugins depending on the client’s overall objective of their website. 

Automatically Backup Your Website

Having automatic backups on your website is important when problems occur. It allows you to quickly bring your website back up in the event of a problem or hack. This is one reason the Michigan Creative team implements daily, weekly, and monthly backups made for your website to ensure that you are protected.

If interested in talking more about how you can keep your website secure or if you are unsure if your website is secure, give us a call. We’d love to talk with you about our website hosting and help you keep your website information safe and secure.

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