Website Security: Protect Your Site from Getting Hacked

A cyberattack occurs every 39 seconds. 43% of small businesses are targeted by cyberattacks, and 60% of those close within 6 months after an attack. Website security is critical for your business survival.

Why Do Hackers Target Websites?

• Personal data — Customer information, emails, passwords
• Payment info — Credit card numbers
• SEO spam — Inject malicious links into your site
• Botnet — Use your site for DDoS attacks
• Ransom — Lock your site and demand payment
• Competitor sabotage — Take your site offline

Essential Security Measures

1. SSL Certificate (HTTPS)

SSL encrypts data between your website and visitors.

Why it's mandatory:

• Google marks non-HTTPS sites as "Not Secure"
• SEO ranking factor
• Builds user trust
• Prevents data interception

How to get it:

• Let's Encrypt — Free SSL
• Cloudflare — Free SSL + CDN
• Your hosting provider — Most offer built-in SSL

2. Strong Password Policy

• Minimum 12 characters
• Uppercase, lowercase, numbers, special characters
• Two-factor authentication (2FA)
• Use a password manager
• Change default passwords

3. Regular Updates

• CMS updates (WordPress, Drupal)
• Plugin/theme updates
• Server software updates
• Framework updates
• Security patches

4. Backup Strategy

• Automatic daily backups
• Store backups in a separate location
• Test restoration from backups
• Back up both files and databases

Common Attack Types and Prevention

SQL Injection

Injecting malicious code into database queries.

Prevention:

• Use parameterized queries
• Use an ORM
• Sanitize user inputs

XSS (Cross-Site Scripting)

Injecting malicious JavaScript into web pages.

Prevention:

• Encode user inputs
• Content Security Policy (CSP) headers
• HttpOnly cookie flags

DDoS Attack

Overwhelming your site with excessive traffic.

Prevention:

• Use a CDN (Cloudflare)
• Implement rate limiting
• Web Application Firewall (WAF)

Brute Force

Cracking passwords through trial and error.

Prevention:

• Account lockout mechanism
• Rate limiting
• CAPTCHA
• Two-factor authentication

Security Checklist

Basic (Required for Everyone):

• SSL certificate active
• Strong admin password
• Regular backups
• Software updates
• File permissions properly configured

Intermediate:

• Web Application Firewall
• Two-factor authentication
• Security scanning tools
• Access log monitoring
• Rate limiting

Advanced:

• Penetration testing
• Intrusion detection system
• Security headers fully configured
• Zero trust architecture
• Incident response plan

Security Tools

| Tool | Use | Price | |------|-----|-------| | Cloudflare | CDN + WAF + DDoS protection | Free tier | | Sucuri | Malware scanning + WAF | Paid | | Wordfence | WordPress security | Freemium | | Let's Encrypt | Free SSL | Free | | OWASP ZAP | Security scanning | Free |

Conclusion

Website security isn't a "nice to have" — it's mandatory. An attack can destroy years of work in minutes. Investing in security from the start is far cheaper than crisis management later.

If you'd like a secure, professional website built, get in touch: info@cagribilgehan.com. Check out my projects: cagribilgehan.com