9 Security Tips to Protect Your Website from Hackers and Data Breaches

Believe it or not - your website is a part of your online identity. Hackers can deface it and tarnish your image in front of the world. In a survey, it was found that people have less trust in websites they view as less secure and feel afraid to do any transactions. 

Here are some straightforward security tips that protect websites from hackers. Implementing these steps will beef-up the security of your website and protect it from malicious attacks. It will also ensure seamless operation of the site and the users will follow the website if they find it trusted.

Security Tips to Protect your Website 

1) Keep software up to date 

If you are wondering how to improve website security, the first step is updating all software. Outdated software creates a vulnerable gap in the security system. Hackers can take benefit of this vulnerability and infiltrate your website easily. For this reason, always check for software updates frequently and install security patches whenever possible. 

2) Watch out for SQL Injection 

It is a type of attack that targets the database of the website. Hackers can steal vital information from the website by doing this attack. Input filtering is one of the proven methods that can protect websites from hackers and SQL Injection attacks. In recent times, many top-rated websites became victims of SQL Injection attacks and lost their credibility in front of their customers.

3) Protect against XSS attacks 

In the cyber world, this attack is also known as cross-site scripting. This attack can infiltrate customer's computers through your website. Different browsers like Firefox and Chrome will automatically stop serving your website to the users. As a result, the traffic to your website will diminish instantly. It can severely tarnish the reputation of your website. Dangling markup injection and Encode data on output are two effective methods to protect websites from Malware and these types of attacks.

4) Protect against DDoS attacks 

DDoS attacks overwhelm your website with fake users and waste precious bandwidth of your server. DDoS attacks not only reduce the capability of a website but also causes frustration among genuine users. It can shut down your website unless you take preventive measures in advance. Setup a service denial response plan to protect websites from DDoS. 

5) Beware of suspicious links

Another way you can protect websites from hackers by spam emails. Never click any suspicious link if it comes from an unknown person. Most hackers send malware through fraudulent links. Therefore, spam filters are the best way to secure your server and protect websites from Malware. Before opening any link, verify its origin first. After ensuring the credibility of the sender, you can open the link.

6) Beware of error message 

Most of the error messages from the server expose the venerability it is encountering. Many people ignore these messages and increase the risk of cyberattacks. Never make this mistake and never discard any error message without reading. Fixing error codes of the website is one of the easiest ways you can protect a website from hackers. It also keeps your server in healthy condition and reduces downtime significantly.

7) Validate on both sides 

If you are wondering how to secure a website for free, then it is advised to install two-way authentications. Validations from both sides check every entry to the server twice. It is a simple method that can prevent 80% of cyberattacks. The two-way authentications process validates the authenticity of a genuine user beyond doubt. Implementing it does not cost any money and it keeps away hackers.

8) Make your password stronger 

Password is nothing more than a key to your website server. If you have a weak password, it means you are compromising security. Choosing passwords like 1234 or abcd is asking for trouble. Therefore always use an alpha-numeric password with upper case letters and symbols. 12 to 16 digit long passwords are the best way to protect websites from hackers. If possible, change the password every week.

9) Avoid file uploading 

Unless you have unlimited space on the server, never allow the file uploading feature. If you have a simple HTML website and are wondering how to secure an HTML website, then immediately turn off this feature. It will reduce disk space on the server.

10) Use HTTPS 

HTTPS is also known as SSL encryption. It encodes the communication between your website and its user. If you have an e-commerce website, HTTPS encryption is a must. The strong encryption system of SSL has proven itself over years. Till now, no hackers have been able to hack it. There are lots of SEO hosting providers who offer free SSL certificates with their basic plans. It is one of the ultimate ways you can protect websites from hackers.

Bonus Point

Use Security Tools to Protect your Site 

If you are not tech-savvy and wondering how to protect websites from hackers and viruses, the best way you can do it is by installing security tools. The simple interface of these tools lets you understand the threat level and suggest you the best prevention action against hackers. You can purchase some anti-virus software and firewalls to improve your network security.

Don’t Install Nulled Plugins and Themes 

Unnecessary plugins and themes also slow down your server. The hackers can also infiltrate your website through these plugins. Therefore, never install any unverified plugins or themes on your website. Unnecessary cluttering of plugins can also frustrate users. Keep it simple and protect the website from hackers.

Conclusion

Just wondering how to protect your website from hackers and other malicious attacks will not stop it. You need to take preventive steps in advance. Hackers are constantly exploring new ways to infiltrate websites. 

So, you also have to improve the security and protect websites from hackers. Your business may lose its credibility if your website got hacked. All users around the world never prefer to exchange information on an unsecured website. 

A secure website will establish your position in the cyber-world and let you do more business with customers and bring prosperity.