In today’s digital landscape, securing a website is paramount to protect user data, maintain trust, and comply with regulations. Unfortunately, cybersecurity attacks take place every day. As of June 2024, there have been 6,845,908,997 known records breached in 2,741 publicly disclosed incidents in the United States. And the most breached sectors were IT services and software, and healthcare. From damaged reputation, to lost revenue and legal ramifications, security breaches can severely impact your business.

Website security best practices

Obviously, protecting your website from cyberattacks has many benefits. So, taking proper steps to improve your site’s security protects your business and staff. Not only that, but it also providing peace of mind for your customers.

Here’s a guide on website security best practices that developers should implement to safeguard clients’ websites from vulnerabilities.

01. Utilize strong authentication protocols

Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for users and administrators to add an extra layer of security. Passwords should be complex and unique, and developers should consider enforcing policies around password length, special characters, and regular updates. Storing passwords securely with hashing algorithms (like bcrypt or Argon2) can prevent password leaks.

02. Regular update software and dependencies

Outdated software is one of the biggest website security vulnerabilities and best practices should be followed adamantly. Regularly update your web server, CMS, libraries, and frameworks. Automated security alerts, like those from GitHub or dependency management tools, can help identify and resolve vulnerabilities quickly.

03. Implement HTTPS (SSL/TLS) encryption

Transitioning your website from HTTP to HTTPS is crucial. HTTPS ensures that data transmitted between the user’s browser and your server is encrypted. Thus, safeguarding it from interception by malicious actors. SSL/TLS certificates provide this encryption, enhancing data integrity and security. Many browsers mark HTTP sites as “not secure,” making HTTPS essential for user trust and SEO.

04. Validate and sanitize user inputs

User inputs can be a major source of website security risks and best practices should be adhered to for SQL. Many attacks occur through SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS). Always validate and sanitize user inputs on both the client and server sides. Consider using prepared statements for database interactions and escaping special characters in input fields to prevent malicious code injection.

05. Implement access control mechanisms

Limit access to sensitive parts of the site and back-end functionalities by setting up role-based access controls (RBAC). Ensure that only authorized users can view or modify restricted content, and consider limiting admin access by IP address when possible.

06. Use content security policy (CSP) headers

Content Security Policy (CSP) headers restrict the sources from which content can be loaded, which can reduce the risk of XSS attacks. By specifying trusted sources for scripts, images, and styles, CSP helps prevent unauthorized scripts from executing on your site.

07. Secure APIs and use authentication tokens

For web applications with APIs, ensure that they are secured with HTTPS and require authentication tokens, such as JSON Web Tokens (JWT). Implementing rate limiting and throttling can also prevent abuse of the API by limiting the number of requests per user.

08. Perform regular security audits and penetration testing

Regular security audits and penetration tests can uncover potential vulnerabilities before attackers do. Penetration testing simulates real-world attacks to test your defenses, while audits check for weaknesses in the codebase, dependencies, and configurations.

09. Back-up data regularly

Backing up your data helps in recovery in case of a security incident, such as a ransomware attack. Regular, automated backups that are stored securely offsite ensure that your data can be restored to a recent state without major loss.

10. Implement secure coding practices

Secure coding principles—like minimizing code complexity, using security libraries, and avoiding hard-coded credentials—are essential for website security. Enforce these practices during code reviews to ensure a consistent, secure approach across the development team.

Final thoughts…

Securing a website is an ongoing process that requires vigilance and adherence to website security best practices. By implementing HTTPS, managing access control, conducting regular security checks, and following other best practices, developers can significantly enhance their website’s resilience against threats.

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Hazel Burgess

Hazel Burgess
FOUNDER/SEO DIRECTOR

Hazel is the Founder & SEO Director at Envisager Studio, a premier website design agency specializing in WordPress website design, development and internet marketing. In her spare time, she writes about search engine optimization, website design, and internet marketing.