10 Essential Website Security Tips for Small Business Owners

Website security doesn't have to be complicated. You don't need to be technical to protect your site. These ten practices will dramatically improve your security even if you've never written a line of code.

Keep Your Software Updated

This is the single most important thing you can do. Most hacks exploit known vulnerabilities in outdated software. The Equifax breach happened because they didn't apply an available security patch. WannaCry spread because people hadn't updated Windows.

Update everything: your content management system, all plugins and themes, your server software, SSL certificates. Set up automatic updates where possible. For critical security patches, install them immediately. Set a weekly reminder to check for updates manually if your system doesn't handle it automatically.

Use Strong, Unique Passwords

Weak passwords are responsible for 81% of hacking-related breaches. Your password needs to be at least 12 characters long and include a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols. More importantly, use a different password for every account.

Don't try to remember all these passwords. Use a password manager like LastPass, 1Password, or Bitwarden. They generate strong passwords and remember them for you. This is one of those tools that makes security easier instead of harder.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication

Even if someone steals your password, two-factor authentication blocks them. It requires a second form of verification, usually a code from your phone, to log in. This stops 99.9% of automated attacks.

Enable it on your website admin panel, hosting account, domain registrar, and email accounts. Use an authenticator app like Google Authenticator or Authy rather than SMS codes when possible. Authenticator apps are more secure.

Get an SSL Certificate

SSL certificates encrypt data between your website and visitors. That little padlock in the browser address bar means data is encrypted. Without HTTPS, anyone on the same WiFi network can see what people are typing on your site, including passwords and credit card numbers.

Most hosting providers offer free SSL certificates through Let's Encrypt. If yours doesn't, switch to one that does. There's no reason not to have HTTPS in 2024. Plus, Google ranks HTTPS sites higher and Chrome marks HTTP sites as "Not Secure," which scares away visitors.

Back Up Your Website Regularly

Backups are your insurance policy. If your site gets hacked, crashes, or disappears, you can restore it from backup. Without backups, you're starting from scratch.

Set up automatic daily backups. Store them somewhere separate from your website, not on the same server. Test your backups monthly to make sure they actually work. You'd be surprised how many people discover their backups are corrupted only when they desperately need them.

Follow the 3-2-1 rule: keep three copies of your data on two different types of storage with one copy offsite. For most small businesses, this means your live site, a backup on your hosting provider, and a backup downloaded to your computer or cloud storage like Dropbox.

Limit Login Attempts

Hackers use automated tools to guess passwords by trying thousands of combinations. This is called a brute-force attack. Limiting login attempts stops these attacks cold.

Set your system to lock out anyone who fails to log in more than 3-5 times. Make the lockout last 15-30 minutes. If someone keeps trying from the same IP address, block that IP completely. Most security plugins for WordPress include this feature.

Use a Web Application Firewall

A web application firewall filters out malicious traffic before it reaches your website. It blocks SQL injection attacks, cross-site scripting, DDoS attacks, and brute-force login attempts automatically.

Cloudflare offers a free tier that works for most small websites. It sits between your site and visitors, blocking attacks while letting legitimate traffic through. Setup takes about ten minutes and it's worth every second.

Delete Unused Plugins and Themes

Every plugin or theme installed on your site is a potential security hole, even if it's not active. Hackers specifically target outdated, forgotten plugins that never get updated.

Go through your plugins and themes quarterly. Delete anything you're not actively using. Don't just deactivate them, actually delete them. If a plugin hasn't been updated in over a year, find a better-maintained alternative. Abandoned plugins are ticking time bombs.

Monitor Your Website

The faster you detect a breach, the less damage it can cause. Many breaches go undetected for months. Set up monitoring to alert you about suspicious activity.

Watch for file changes, new admin accounts you didn't create, traffic spikes, unusual error messages, and blacklist warnings. Tools like Wordfence for WordPress or Google Search Console can help. Some hosting providers include security monitoring in their plans.

Train Your Team

95% of cybersecurity breaches involve human error. Your team can be your strongest defense or your weakest link. Spend time training them on basic security practices.

Teach them to recognize phishing emails, which try to trick people into revealing passwords or clicking malicious links. Show them what suspicious emails look like: urgent requests for sensitive information, slight misspellings in email addresses, generic greetings instead of using their name, unexpected attachments.

Make it easy for employees to report suspicious activity. Create a culture where it's okay to ask "Is this email legitimate?" rather than risking a click that compromises your entire network.

Monthly Security Checklist

Set aside time each month to review your security. Pick the first Monday of every month and make it routine.

Check that all software is updated. Verify backups are running and test one to make sure it works. Review failed login attempts for suspicious patterns. Check that SSL certificate is valid. Run a security scan. Review who has admin access and remove anyone who doesn't need it anymore. Update passwords on any accounts you haven't changed in a while.

Security Is Ongoing

Here's the thing about website security: it's not a one-time task you can check off and forget about. New vulnerabilities get discovered constantly. Software needs regular updates. Passwords should be changed periodically. Backups need to run automatically but also need manual verification.

The good news is that consistent attention to these basics puts you way ahead of most websites. You don't need expensive tools or technical expertise. You need to build security into your routine and stick with it.

Most breaches happen because of simple oversights that could have been prevented with basic security practices. Don't be a statistic. Take an hour each month to maintain your security and you'll sleep better at night.