According to Forbes, it is estimated that more than 30,000 websites are hacked daily globally and most are legitimate small businesses. It is, therefore, imperative that in the ever advancing technological world, a website requires to be secure. In this regard, as the owner of a website, your greatest concern should be the safety of the users’ data and the efficiency of your website. Website maintenance is a very crucial activity that has the responsibility of protecting both your users and your business. Therefore, it is crucial to update it regularly and monitor it and perform security checks to prevent costly breaches while improving the trust that users have in your brand.

Now let’s take a look at how frequent site updates can serve as the initial shield against security issues that will help keep your website secure and open for business.

Like other structures, your website also needs constant maintenance to ensure that it gives out its best performance. Regular website maintenance involves a range of activities such as: 

• Updating software and plugins
• Fixing broken links
• Backing up data
• Enhancing security measures
• Monitoring website performance

Failing to meet these tasks puts your website at risk and you may end up being a victim of security threats such as identity theft, hacking or complete site compromise. Such risks are not only the threats to the functionality of your website, but they also pose a threat to your reputation and your revenues. It goes without saying that security-first web upkeep should always be the main goal of any business with a website.

The New Risk of Hacking

It is not a secret that cyber-security threats are becoming more and more common and websites of all sizes are no exception. Hackers always seek the vulnerabilities in the structural framework of websites which could be old software, weak passwords or open vulnerabilities. 

Once a website is compromised, the damage can be severe:Once a website is compromised, the damage can be severe:

Loss of customer trust: If users’ data are leaked, the trust is violated. Some of the customers can stop using your platform, and the brand image can also be tainted in some way.

Revenue loss: Hackers can bring businesses to a standstill and this translates to lost revenue. The problem with e-commerce sites is that even a few minutes of lost connection can result in significant losses.

Legal penalties: In case your website is not in accordance with data protection laws like GDPR, you stand to lose a lot of money as a result of your inability to protect users’ data.

Why Regular Website Maintenance Increases Security

Now let’s consider some of the important aspects where frequent web site maintenance benefits your users and your business.

1. Software and Plugin Updates

One of the most popular and basic holes that hackers use is outdated software and plugins. Most of the website owners use content management systems such as WordPress that releases updates frequently to address security issues. Failure to conduct these updates exposes your site for exploitation.

In essence, these risks are closed by updating your content management system (CMS), plugins, and themes on a regular basis. Other services that are included in maintenance services are checking for newer updates to make sure that your site is up to date and secure.

2. SSL Certificate Management

An SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate ensures that you secure the connection between your website and your users so that hackers cannot easily gain access to your database. SSL certificates are valid for a certain period of time and to renew it one has to remember the time of expiration and if not done so the user data can be at risk.

It is highly recommended to maintain your website and its SSL certificate on the regular basis so that your visitors will be able to browse safely. Also, sites that do not have SSL certificates are displayed in the browser as ‘Not Secure’ which can potentially scare off visitors and decrease your SEO rankings.

3. Regular Backups

Even if the IT department has put up measures that enhance security, the data can still be lost through cyber attacks or system failure. Such mishaps are however manageable especially if there are frequent back up to avoid major loses.

A good backup plan guarantees that you can recover your website to a previous state if there is always a problem. It reduces time that is spent to deal with such issues hence maintaining the business operation. The maintenance services usually contain automatic backups that help you to be prepared for any failures.

4. Malware Scanning and Removal

Malwares can easily attack the website and cause havoc or even steal important information from it. A website can be hacked for weeks without the owner knowing and this can result in a lot of harm. Attackers can introduce code that impacts the users’ devices, which will, in turn, reduce the confidence that users have in your brand.

Scanning for malware as a routine for maintaining your site helps to identify threats before they progress to the next level. Frequent detection helps in eradicating the damaging software at an early stage thereby reducing its effect on your site.

5. Firewall Protection

They are basically the initial barrier that filters out all the unwanted traffic. They read through the incoming traffic and exclude any traffic that might be malicious to your site. With the help of constant updating of the firewall rules during website maintenance potential attacks like SQL injections or DDoS attacks are prevented.

Firewalls also help you manage your site’s performance since the malicious traffic tends to slow down or even cause the website to freeze.

6. User Access Control

It is a well-known fact that most of the attacks happen because of the compromised or easily guessed passwords. Among the common measures that should be taken during the routine optimization, one should mention strict password policies and the control of requests to the back end of the website. This helps to minimize chances of people accessing the site without the right permission.

The following are some basic measures that can be taken to enhance security: 

Using two factor authentication and changing the passwords of the admins on regular basis.

The Importance of Emphasizing on Security when Designing a Website for Maintenance

Focusing on security-first maintenance doesn’t just protect your website; it also offers several benefits to your business:

Enhanced user trust: The implication is that whenever users notice that security is valued in your website, they will be inclined to conduct business with your site, input their credit card details, and so on.

Improved website performance: It is therefore important to note that a secure website is a fast and reliable one. Frequency of updates and monitoring helps increase the speed of loading and also reduces on the probability of the website crashing.

Higher SEO rankings: Search engines value security and reliability, especially for the sites which have an SSL certificate and do not have a lot of downtime. Better security is good for the business as it enables higher ranking in search engines, thus increasing traffic flow.

Peace of mind: It will help to enhance business since you will not spend a lot of time worrying about hackers and other security issues affecting the website.

Conclusion

In today’s environment, where threats to the web environment are becoming increasingly diverse, the maintenance of websites is not just a technical problem, but an important line of defense for your business and its clients. Patching software, virus scanning, SSL certificates management and other security measures can help to avoid terrible cyber threats.