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How does a professional web designer lay your website security fears to rest in the day and age of cyberattacks? This article breaks down how to secure your website from hackers.
Website security is a top concern for businesses of all sizes. From my interaction with small business owners, many don’t even trust online payment systems, and that is the reason why they run online businesses alrighty, but take all payments offline.
As more companies handle sensitive customer data and online transactions, the risk of cyberattacks continues to grow. In fact, according to Station X, 81% of organizations faced malware threats in 2024, highlighting the widespread and persistent nature of cybersecurity challenges.
For you as a business owner, safeguarding your website against these threats is essential—not only to protect customer data but also to maintain trust and prevent costly downtime or data breaches.
This is why at EnspireFX Websites, we take these concerns seriously and implement best practices to ensure our client websites are secure and resilient against attacks. This is also to say that if many of these security measures are lacking in your website, then your website is likely vulnerable and you should be more worried.
Website Security for small businesses
So all that said, here’s how we do it:
1. HTTPS with SSL Certificates
Every business website should use HTTPS to encrypt data exchanged between the server and the user. We ensure that all our clients’ websites are protected with SSL certificates, which provide encryption for sensitive data like login credentials, personal information, and payment details. HTTPS is also crucial for search engine optimization (SEO), improving rankings and user trust.
2. Strong Authentication
Weak passwords and unsecured admin logins are common entry points for hackers. We mitigate this by implementing strong password policies and enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) for administrative users. These extra layers of protection make it more difficult for unauthorized users to gain access to the website.
3. Security Updates
We ensure that the content management systems (CMS), plugins, and themes we use are regularly updated. Many website security vulnerabilities are found in outdated software, so keeping everything up to date is a fundamental step in preventing potential attacks. We also vet all third-party tools and plugins to ensure they are from trusted sources and have good security reputations.
4. Web Application Firewall (WAF)
A Web Application Firewall (WAF) protects websites by filtering out malicious traffic and blocking attacks such as SQL injection or cross-site scripting (XSS).
Setting up a WAF for our client sites, often using platforms like Cloudflare, which also provides additional protection against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks is a must for all our projects.
5. Automatic Backups
Regular website backups are a must in case of a breach, malware infection, or accidental data loss. We configure automatic and secure offsite backups for all our client websites. This ensures that the website can be quickly restored if something goes wrong, minimizing downtime and disruption.
6. Admin Access and Permissions
For our enterprise clients, there may be other members of the client team who requre access to the website backend. We therefore ensure that only essential team members have admin privileges.
We limit the number of people with full access and use role-based permissions to restrict what others can do within the website. This reduces the risk of insider threats and human error leading to vulnerabilities.
7. Secure Hosting Providers
Choosing a reliable and secure hosting provider is crucial. At EnspireFX, we only work with trusted hosting partners that offer built-in security features such as firewalls, malware scanning, and DDoS protection. Our hosting providers also regularly conduct security audits and provide round-the-clock support, ensuring that any issues can be quickly addressed.
We recommend our hosting partner StellerHost for its reliable and cost-effective packages.
8. Monitoring and Regular Scans
We use industry-leading security monitoring tools to conduct real-time scanning of our websites. These tools alert us to potential vulnerabilities or suspicious activity, allowing us to take immediate action. Services like Sucuri and Wordfence provide an extra layer of protection, ensuring our clients’ websites stay safe.
9. Sanitize Form Fields, CAPTCHA
Hackers often exploit unprotected input fields, like forms or search bars, to inject malicious code. We secure these fields by sanitizing inputs and validating user data before it’s processed. To prevent automated bots from abusing these forms, we also integrate CAPTCHA systems.
10. Directory Indexing, Hotlinking
Leaving directory indexing enabled can give attackers insight into a website’s structure and potential vulnerabilities. We disable directory browsing and also prevent hotlinking, which is when external websites use your site’s resources without permission, increasing your server load and bandwidth usage.
11. File Uploads
File uploads can be a significant security risk if not properly managed. At EnspireFX, we limit file uploads to only what is necessary and validate all uploaded files. This prevents malicious files from being executed or stored on the server.
12. Content Security Policy (CSP)
To protect against cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, we implement Content Security Policies (CSP) on all our websites. CSPs allow us to control which external resources (scripts, stylesheets, images) can be loaded, ensuring that only trusted sources are used.
13. Session Management
The final thing we do to alley all client website security worries is to prevent session hijacking or unauthorized access by setting up secure session management practices, such as session timeouts and secure cookie settings. This ensures that user sessions are automatically ended after periods of inactivity, protecting both the business and its customers.
Website Security Needs
If 81% of organizations faced malware threats in 2024, then your website’s security is more important than ever. At EnspireFX Websites, we prioritize security in every website we design. From SSL encryption to regular updates and firewall protection, we take every precaution to ensure our clients’ websites are safe from cyberattacks.
If you’re a business owner concerned about the security of your website, you can trust EnspireFX to deliver a secure, high-performing site that keeps your business safe online. Contact us today to learn how we can help protect your website and give you peace of mind.
