7 Ways to Boost the Security of Your Online Store

An online store doesn’t have to worry about shoplifting or burglary, but you and your customers could still be vulnerable to other crimes.

Common crimes affecting ecommerce businesses include credit card fraud, SQL injection attacks, and website cloning. Here are 7 ways to boost the security of your online store. 

Use a Trusted Payment Gateway

A payment gateway is an application service to accept payments through a website such as this payment gateway. Choose a reputable and certified gateway, and don’t trust a web developer you’ve never met to make their own payment gateway for your site. It could be a scam to redirect cash from your site or get customer details. When it doubt, use a popular payment gateway you’re familiar with and ask a web developer you trust to install it on your site. 

Back Up Your Data

Websites can develop problems that could result in corrupted or lost data including your website being hacked and your data being held ransom. Back up your website data so you can restore the information and recover your business if anything happens. There are different ways to do this, and this site features a guide to backing up your website. 

Use Strong Passwords

Any login details you use to access your website must be secure so no hacker can easily guess them. Try a password more than 8 characters long and containing a mix of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and a symbol. Regularly change your passwords for extra security because there’s less chance your website will be hacked if you regularly change the passwords. 

Don’t Share Login Details

You may need to give login details to staff members or web developers, so be sure they are trusted individuals who won’t tamper with your site or access sensitive information. Set up different accounts with different levels of access to prevent people from performing certain tasks. For example, you could add a feature to allow employees to write blog posts, but they must be reviewed by you before being published. You could also restrict access to information such as analytics and payments. 

Add an SSL Certificate

An SSL (secure sockets layer) certificate creates an encrypted connection between your website and its users, making it less vulnerable to hackers. SSL certificates are inexpensive and easy to install. An SSL certificate increases your site’s credibility because it displays as “https” instead of “http” and a padlock signal is in the URL bar.

Find Stolen Content

Website cloning is when someone makes a copy of your website to redirect traffic there and steal your revenue. Tools such as Google Alerts and Copyscape scan the web for any stolen content (read this post for more information on finding stolen content). If you discover a cloned website, then notify your customers, report it to Google and Bing, and report it to the website host if you can find this information. It may also be possible to get legal help to remove it. 

Use a VPN

A VPN (virtual private network) adds another layer of encryption between you and any website you use. If you need to login to your website on a public connection, then a VPN secures your connection so no hacker using that network can steal your private information. Compare VPN services online if your security software doesn’t already use a VPN.