The most important component that any e-commerce store or website should have is website security. As an e-commerce store is a place where sensitive information such as card details is entered and out in the open, people may back out or refuse to shop online because they fear that their information might be stolen, or even auctioned off.
The only way to get people shop at your online store is by ensuring them that your store is safe and secure, and that no prying eyes can steal information from them. Now, as e-commerce store security has become of paramount interest, how can you improve its security and ensure that it is safe? Well, here are some tips:
- Use Secure HTTPS Hosting – HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is the secure form of HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTP). HTTPS has now become the standard in online security.
Originally HTTPS was used for the payment areas of sites where the most sensitive information was being disclosed, but now many online stores have migrated their whole site to HTTPS to ensure that no information is lost and that their whole site is secure. HTTPS creates an impenetrable link between their browser and your web server so that hackers can’t intercept any traffic or data between them
HTTPS has now become an important factor in Google rankings. Google prefers websites that use HTTPS rather than HTTP. While calculating where to place your site in rankings, Google will take into consideration what type of hosting you have. Sites that use HTTPS have a better chance of getting a higher ranking which means more visitors.
To make the switch from HTTP to HTTPS you’ll need an SSL Certificate, to install it and make some changes to your site. You can avail the services of an experienced developer can help you with these.
- Choose the Right Platform – Platforms are many when it comes to setting up an e-commerce store. But, you should always try to choose the one that is completely secure and protects your information and customer’s information safe. Platforms such as Shopify can see to it that every information is secure while using their platform.
Leading platforms like Shopify get automatic security updates frequently and that takes away your worry of updating the site and helps you to concentrate on the other activities of your store. Shopify also hosts its shopping carts on a Level 1 PCI DSS compliant server, meaning your data and customer data is completely secure. Shopify pricing plan also offers users a 128-bit Free SSL certificate for free.
An expert developer can help you set your online store in the best secure platform and see to it that all updates have been implemented to make your store secure.
- Perform Regular Backups – Losing data is not something that you can ever recover from. If your site has been breached, the people who attacked can simply copy your data and corrupt it and make sure that you can’t use it again. And what can you do once your data is lost?
Well, make it your habit to constantly back up your site’s data. The data in your site is your property, and you can’t always rely on your hosting company to keep your data safe. So, it becomes your responsibility to back up your data.
You can either do it manually or automatically. When you do it manually, you may do it only when you have time, and there would usually be a huge gap between two backups. So, if your last backup was a few months ago, and you lost your data, the backup won’t do any good. While opting automatic backup, you can be sure that there would be periodical backups of your data. There are many plugins that can help you with this.
- Don’t Store Sensitive Data – Sensitive data such as credit card numbers must never be stored in your e-commerce site. Many e-commerce platforms would offer the ability to store card details, but it would be done without any encryption. The best way is to use a 3rd party payment option that uses a secure web server for secure transactions of customers. The details can also be accessed for repeat payments also. In this way, you get a high degree of security and also the option of offering your clients a convenient way to order more from you without having to enter their card details constantly.
- Practice Basic Administrator Security – Hackers are always on the prowl and look out for ways to get to your site. They usually use automated tools that are designed to exploit elementary security errors. To make sure that you don’t provide them with any loophole, practice basic security measures such as changing the default username and password, and the default URL for the admin access. Also, make sure that you increase security on your company’s internal network by using a physical firewall.
Securing your e-commerce store requires tweaking things in many layers. You should make sure that the platform you have hosted your store is secure. Switching to secure HTTPS can keep your store safe and updating your site frequently helps in preventing hackers from breaching your e-commerce store. Make sure that your files are regularly backed up and that you perform those basic admin security measures.For all services related to e-commerce, you can avail the expertise and expert knowledge of Akuna Technologies. We have been successful in providing complete e-commerce services to various clients across the world. Contact us now to help set up a secure e-commerce site.
