How to Make Your Website Secure (17 Ways)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s dive right into answering the question you want to know: \u201chow do I make my website secure?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use Public Key Cryptography to Your Advantage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n1. Install an SSL\/TLS Certificate That Secures Your Main Domain (and Any Subdomains)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Considering we\u2019re The SSL Store, it shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise that the top item on our list would be a website security certificate. However, our reason for doing so isn\u2019t purely biased; using a valid SSL\/TLS certificate on your website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Is an industry best practice for securing data in transit using public key encryption.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Improves your site\u2019s Google search engine ranking<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Aids compliance with industry data security and privacy laws and regulations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Supports your brand\u2019s reputation and standing with customers through digital trust.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
When data is transmitted in plaintext, it\u2019s vulnerable to man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks<\/a>. This means that bad guys can see and steal sensitive data (credit cards, bank account info, usernames and passwords, etc.) they can use to commit crimes. They can also inject malicious content and create a host of other issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This next item on the list of how to make your website secure goes hand-in-hand with the first\u2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Carefully Manage Your PKI Digital Assets Using Automation to Avoid Downtime<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Having an expired, revoked, or otherwise invalid SSL\/TLS certificate on your website or web app means you (and your company\u2019s customer support team) are in for a bad day. When a certificate isn\u2019t valid, your site, app, and customers will experience downtime or service outages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, here\u2019s the type of message your customers may see if your site is using an invalid SSL\/TLS certificate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/invalid-ssl-certificate-example-1024x509.jpg\")
Image caption: A screenshot of a website displaying an \u201cInvalid SSL certificate\u201d warning message.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n This is what it may look like (in Google Chrome) if your site uses an expired website security certificate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/your-connection-is-not-private-example-1024x532.png\")
Image caption: A screenshot we captured on BadSSL.com of the example expired certificate.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Downtime like this leaves customers with a bad impression of your company, damaging relationships and resulting in lost sales and revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Check out our other related articles to learn more about expired certificates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- This Is What Happens When Your SSL Certificate Expires<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Your Security Certificate Has Expired: Here\u2019s How to Fix It (3 Steps)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Use Automation to Simplify Your Certificate Management Tasks<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
If you want to make these tasks easier on yourself, consider using a certificate management automation tool. These tools are designed to make certificate management easier by giving you complete visibility of your network and the cryptographic assets that are spread throughout it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Want to know what certificates you have and where they\u2019re located? Done.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How about when they were issued or will expire? No trouble at all.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- What about knowing who is responsible for managing them? Easy as pie.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/trust-lifecycle-manager-dashboard-tools-1024x516-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nDigiCert Trust Lifecycle Manager Simplifies PKI & Digital Certificate Management<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
DigiCert Trust Lifecycle Manager is an all-in-one PKI & certificate lifecycle management (CLM) solution. Explore how this tool can help you keep a close eye on your PKI and avoid certificate outages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nLearn More<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Regularly Scan Your Website Using a Trusted Security Scanning Tool<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Ideally, you should use a daily website scanner to identify vulnerabilities and other exploit opportunities that must be addressed. Using a website scanning tool is something that can help you find and identify vulnerabilities and malware that may exist on your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SiteLock is a monitoring tool that enhances the security of your website by automatically scanning , detecting, and blocking cyber threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"SiteLock](\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sitelock-smart-scan-example.png\")
<\/figure>\nDon’t Like Malware or Other Vulnerabilities on Your Site? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We Don’t, Either.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Stay one step ahead of hackers by using SiteLock, a security solution that uses automation to scan and identify vulnerabilities to prevent future cyber attacks. Plans start as low as $9.37per month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nShop Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
A web application firewall is often considered an industry go-to for helping organizations protect their web apps against malicious actors and cyber attacks. Its job is to help you filter and monitor HTTP\/HTTPS traffic to identify any unusual activity to or from your website\/web apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A WAF can help you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Identify traffic surges and drops,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Watch where traffic is coming from, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Help you stop bad bot traffic in its tracks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
This can be useful in helping you identify and mitigate distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But don\u2019t think using a WAF alone is enough; using this tool should be part of a much larger cybersecurity strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not sure whether your site or web apps need a WAF? Ask yourself a few quick questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Do you collect customer\u2019s personal data through your web app?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Does your organization engage in ecommerce activities?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Do you want greater visibility of your traffic?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Do you want to be able to help identify and stop DDoS attacks?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
If the answer to any of these questions is \u201cyes,\u201d then you should be using a web application firewall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Monitor Your Website Logs (Automated Tools Can Help)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Website and web app monitoring is vital for every website\u2019s security. But we get it; monitoring logs for your digital properties is about as appealing as trimming your toenails. It\u2019s a task you don\u2019t really want<\/em> to do, but, well, somebody\u2019s got to do it<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Likewise, website logs provide a wealth of information relating to access requests, changes, errors, and security events and incidents. But the reality is that they generate an overwhelming amount of data that makes it virtually impossible to slog through manually. (Who has the time?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you can imagine, there\u2019s an ungodly amount of \u201cnoise\u201d generated by these tools. Thankfully, there are automated log analysis tools that can help you collect and make sense of all types of data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maintain Up-to-Date Website Security Tools and Plugins (Mainly For WordPress Site Admins)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Are you using WordPress for your site? If you\u2019re like the 43% of websites estimated by W3Techs<\/a>, then your answer is yes. If so, the following section\u2019s talking points will mainly apply to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. Ensure You\u2019re Using Your Host Client\u2019s Latest Software Version<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Regardless of which hosting management software you use (e.g., cPanel for shared hosting, Plesk, DirectAdmin), ensure that your server is running the latest version. If you\u2019re not, then you\u2019ll want to upgrade to the latest version<\/a> of your interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Applying system patches and updates enables a software developer to fix any vulnerabilities or issues that would cause you problems now and\/or down the road. So, as with any software, ensure you keep your software version as current as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re a cPanel user, for example, you can find out which version of the software you\u2019re using by scrolling down to the bottom of your dashboard once logged in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/where-to-find-certpanel-version-1024x703.png\")
Image caption: This is a screenshot we captured on a test site\u2019s cPanel dashboard, which showcases the cPanel software version number.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n 7. Install Plugins From Trusted (Reputable) Developers and Publishers<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re a WordPress site admin, you\u2019re likely well acquainted with WordPress plugins, themes, and other add-ons. Plugins can meet and simplify a wide assortment of needs and tasks, providing flexibility and customization opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the drawback is that installing these tools can increase your attack surface if they\u2019re not carefully managed and updated on the developer\u2019s side. (More on that in a moment.) Using poorly guarded and outdated website plugins creates vulnerabilities within your website\u2019s defenses that might not otherwise exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s for these reasons (and others) that, if you decide to use third-party plugins and themes, you should only choose ones from reputable developers\/publishers who update their products regularly. Be sure to read the reviews and do your research via other sources as well before making a decision about which plugin(s) to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
8. Keep All of Your Themes and Plugins Up to Date<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
WPScan reports<\/a> that 94% of the vulnerabilities in their database are plugins. Cross-site scripting (XSS) attackers have been known to use vulnerable plugins to inject malicious code<\/a> into WordPress sites. Depending on the severity, this type of attack can enable bad guys to take over your website completely<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For these reasons (and the ones we mentioned in the last two sections), you must keep your themes and plugins up to date. Doing so is both an industry best practice and a way to prevent threat actors from exploiting vulnerabilities on your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is really simple to do in WordPress. In the left-hand navigation bar on your WordPress dashboard, click on Plugins<\/strong> and it\u2019ll bring up a page listing all of your installed plugins (both active and deactivated). Here, you can manually update, activate, and deactivate your plugins, or enable auto-updates. NOTE:<\/strong> If a plugin has a vulnerability but no update yet, you won\u2019t see it here. This is another reason why it\u2019s crucial to do regular (daily) vulnerability scanning, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/wordpress-plugin-updates-1024x559.png\")
Image caption: A screenshot from the WordPress admin dashboard that shows what it looks like when some plugins require updates and others don\u2019t.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n For Themes, just look under the Updates<\/strong> option in the left-hand navigation bar and scroll down. If any themes need updating, it\u2019ll tell you there and will give you the option to update them in just two clicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/themes-up-to-date-1024x262.png\")
Image caption: A screenshot from the WordPress admin dashboard that shows what it looks like when your installed themes don\u2019t require any updates.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Secure Access to Your Admin Dashboard and Other Sensitive Resources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
9. Keep Tight Reins on Assigned Administrative Privileges and Access<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Alright, we\u2019re over halfway through the list of ways to answer the question: \u201chow do I make my website secure?\u201d Now, please repeat after me: Not everyone who wants access needs access.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just because an employee wants admin access to your website, database, or other related resources should have it. Access should only be granted at the most minimal level. This is the idea behind the principle of least privilege (PoLP, or what\u2019s also known as the least privilege model).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, access to your website\u2019s Admin dashboard should be restricted to only those individuals who need it in their roles. Access privileges should be granted based on individual employees\u2019 job responsibilities and the tasks they\u2019re expected to complete. That\u2019s it. Just give them the absolute minimum permissions they need to do their jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This means that a marketing specialist whose job is to write and publish blog posts likely doesn\u2019t need the same level of access as a web dev who needs to mess around with the website\u2019s root directory. The same idea applies to access to your server and other sensitive resources. Take great care to ensure you only assign admin rights to those whose roles require them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s a quick example of what it looks like when a user is assigned access privileges by role in a WordPress blog:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/user-roles-access-wordpress-1024x440.png\")
Image caption: A screenshot of the Users menu in a WordPress admin dashboard.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
- Your Security Certificate Has Expired: Here\u2019s How to Fix It (3 Steps)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n