Web security is an issue in the headlines and on the minds of people running businesses in the modern marketplace. With public data breaches creating huge concerns, customers are desperate to know that the websites they trust their information to are going to be responsible stewards. If you are looking for tips to keep your own site secure, read on.
SSL Certificate?
A Secure Sockets Layer (or SSL) certificate is a security measure used to ensure the transfer of data between a website and a visitor is confidential. It does so by encrypting the data, making it useless to any parties that want to intercept it. This mode of web browsing is called HTTPS, and is essential for sites trafficking in personal information. If your website has a sensitive information component, such as a checkout in which customers will send you financial information to pay for goods or services, you’ll need to make sure your certificate is adequate.
Up to Date Software
As new security vulnerabilities are discovered by the hacking community, software companies work on repairing those vulnerabilities. But all the updates in the world will do you no good if they remain uninstalled. You need to be sure you are regularly updating all the relevant software for your website, keeping the latest patches in place to fend off opportunistic attacks. You’ll want to schedule this maintenance for times when traffic is light so you can take down any components that need taking down during the update, and perhaps schedule in a little time to troubleshoot any new issues that arise.
Curated Links
 
Image via Flickr by Free Grunge Textures - www.freestock.ca
Sometimes, the security problems facing a website aren’t the fault of the site at all, at least not directly. Sometimes the problem is the other websites linked to your own; after all, about half of internet sites today are not properly secured. While you are obviously not responsible for the security of those sites, if a client uses the links on your page to travel to a compromised site, they will likely remember whose page they traveled from as well. Make sure you regularly check the links you have on your pages to see if they are still functional and if they sites they take you to remain trustworthy.
Time to Develop
Getting all the proper security features in place before you launch a new web venture takes time, and pushing the schedule forward in order to get content out is just asking to be the target of security breaches. A lot of websites recommend a two week cushion in order to make sure that everything is functioning optimally, but you may need more, depending on the kind of project you are working on. As a general rule, the more traffic you expect the site to get, the more time you should spend testing. Be sure to schedule in maintenance and regular tests as well.
Keeping a website safe and secure is a crucial component of running it. With simple considerations like those above, you’ll be ahead of the game when it comes to safeguarding the information entrusted into your care.
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