As a digital marketing rule, website security should be a top priority if you want people to interact with your brand online. This is because people tend to steer clear of websites without a secure domain due to the risk of picking up a nasty computer virus.
Having an online presence goes hand in hand with making sure your website is able to prevent hackers and cyber criminals from accessing sensitive information.
But as technology advances in leaps and bounds it can become challenging for website owners to keep all their information secure on the internet.
This is a serious business because without proper security systems in place your website risks the spread and escalation of malware and attacks on other networks. The worst part is once attacks like these spread, it becomes very difficult to find the origin.
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How to Know If A Website Is Secure
The most obvious way to know if a website is secure is the presence of the lock symbol and the letters “HTTPS” (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure) in the website’s URL.
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) refers to the secure HTTP protocol over which data is sent between the website you are visiting and your browser. This means all interaction and communication between your browser and the website is encrypted.
There are a few other easy ways to tell if a website is safe. When browsing through new website go through a mental check list…
- Is the website owned by an established, reliable, well-known brand or individual?
- Does the site provide information of value?
- Does the website look strange or “broken”?
- Do any of the website’s URL links look like spam?
How To Make Sure Your Website Is Secure?
As we mentioned website security plays an important role is having a quality website on digital channels. Here are a few things you can do to make your website as secure as possible.
Register Your Domain Name
Having a registered domain name is the first step toward creating a website that’s safe from hackers and viruses. Simply put, your domain name is your website name. It is the internet address where people can find you or your brand online. Having a registered domain name means you can personalize that address. This will help to build your website’s reputation as professional and trustworthy.
Renew Your Domain Name
If you don’t renew your domain name your website will go offline. This will cause major damage to your brand and leave the domain name at open to hackers. Fortunately there’s an easy fix. When purchasing your domain name, choose a payment option that automatically renews the name until you give the go ahead to cancel. This can be done monthly or annually depending on the hosting company you use.
Encrypt Your Website
The best way to keep your website safe is by using the secured version of HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). HTTPS (HTTP Secured) adds an additional layer of security and encryption to your website which protects the data and any sensitive information that is passed between server and browser.
Set All Your Pages To HTTPS
In addition to encrypting your website you also need to make sure that all the pages on your site are set to use the secure version of HTTP and not the standard version. You can do this by properly configuring your server, using redirects and through testing.
Update Old Passwords
If you’ve been using the same password since you were 16 years old, it’s time for a update. When choosing a password for your website, try to make it a little complex. You can do this by mixing up the characters with upper and lower case letters, a few numbers and symbols. This will make it difficult to hack. Pro Tip – always avoid using the same password for different accounts. This way if one of your accounts is compromised, the rest will still be safe.
Use 2-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication helps to increase the security of your website by using a method in which a computer user is granted access to a website only after presenting two or more pieces of information to an authentication system. This information is only available only to you, such as a password, key fob or a randomly generated access code.
Conclusion
A secure website also helps to establish credibility and creates a professional online presence for your brand. What’s more is that Google officially recommends securing websites with HTTPS. This means that a secure website is a must in order for your website to rank well is online searches and general SEO health.
The importance of web security can’t be stressed enough. Whether you’re a digital marketer for a global brand or a blogger / influencer, you owe it to your digital audience to make sure their information is kept safe.
