If you have a website, you know how important it is to keep it secure and fast. A hacked or slow website can damage your reputation, lose your visitors, and affect your ranking. In this article, we will share some of the best ways to secure your website and improve its performance, whether you use a CMS like WordPress or a custom-built site.
One of the most basic but essential steps to secure your website is to use HTTPS and SSL. HTTPS is a protocol that encrypts the data between your browser and your server, preventing hackers from intercepting or modifying it. SSL is a certificate that verifies your website's identity and creates a secure connection. To use HTTPS and SSL, you need to buy a domain name, get a SSL certificate from a trusted provider, and install it on your server. You also need to redirect your HTTP traffic to HTTPS and update your links and references accordingly.
Securing your website is crucial, and a smart way to use HTTPS and SSL. Just Think of HTTPS as a shield for your data, making it unreadable to the hackers. SSL, like a digital ID card, confirms your website's identity, ensuring a safe connection. To set it up, snag a domain name, grab an SSL certificate from a trusted source, and install it on your server. For secure web connections it is always advisable to Redirect your traffic from HTTP to HTTPS, and tidy up links. Regularly check your SSL expiry certificate ,renew it on time
While these are 2 separate topics, one method to accomplish some of both is to use a caching proxy with edge firewall such as cloudflare. This reduces server load and provides security. Both of these topics are much more nuanced and substantial on their own, but address the a simplistic view of combining these topics. In my opinion they should be separate discussions even though there may be some overlap.
The basics of web security start with SSL and using HTTPS on your site. I would consider this the base level of security your site should have. The SSL certificate is used in combination with your DNS to basically enforce secure communication over that URL. It is so important as a basic SEO principle that Search Console has an HTTPS report on the ledger hand menu down towards the bottom. Internal links, image asset links, and when any elements are being used 9n the site, it should all happen behind the protection of the HTTPS connection. This reduced mixed content errors and vulnerabilities on the front end.
Securing your website by simply having the SSL certificate installed is not enough as hackers may still look for other loopholes to attack. A Cyber security friend once gave these pieces of advise to me, and it has really worked fine: 1. Get your plugins and themes (WordPress sites) from trusted platforms... I do not recommend wplocker. 2. Change/hide the login page for your WordPress site as hackers know the link to the login page. 3. Update your theme and plugin as new updates surface. 4. For non-CMS sites, be careful with the codes your digital marketers suggest you infuse... Double check them. I hope this helps.
To safeguard your website and enhance its performance, employ HTTPS using an SSL certificate for encryption. Bolster user accounts by enforcing robust passwords and activating two-factor authentication. Enhance security further by installing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to thwart online threats. Elevate site speed and reliability through the integration of a Content Delivery Network (CDN).
Another way to secure your website and improve its performance is to update your software and plugins regularly. Outdated software and plugins can have vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit to inject malware, steal data, or take over your site. Updating your software and plugins can also fix bugs, improve features, and optimize speed. To update your software and plugins, you need to check for available updates, backup your site, test the updates on a staging site, and apply them on your live site. You can also use tools like WP-CLI or Composer to automate the update process.
Senior system administrator, full stack developer and analyst at Nordic Hosting AS
Updated scripts, plugins or any other part of software, that actually "does the job" on your server is the most crucial part of having a secure website. If your code has bugs (especially if you are using some publicly available scripts, like Wordpress plugins) - "bad guys" can analyze them, find flaws and take advantage. If code, that runs on your server allows attacker to do unwanted operations - that is the biggest issue. In most cases attacker will try to upload and run their own scripts to do harm to your sites or use your server resources for attack on other systems.
Updating software and plugins is crucial for several reasons: Security: Updates often include patches for vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers. Keeping software updated minimizes the risk of cyberattacks and data breaches. Performance: Updates can improve the efficiency and speed of software, fixing bugs and enhancing features for better user experience. Compatibility: Updates ensure compatibility with other software and operating systems, reducing conflicts and ensuring smooth operation. Access to New Features: Updates often bring new features and enhancements, providing users with the latest tools and capabilities. Compliance: Staying updated may be required for compliance with various industry standards and regulations
Actualizar tu software y plugins es una práctica esencial para mantener la seguridad y el rendimiento de tu sitio web. Las actualizaciones suelen abordar vulnerabilidades de seguridad y mejorar la funcionalidad. Mantén al día tu sistema operativo, servidor web y aplicaciones, incluyendo plugins y temas. Las actualizaciones reducen riesgos de ataques y aseguran que tu sitio funcione eficientemente, con las últimas características y mejoras de rendimiento. Programa revisiones periódicas y realiza copias de seguridad antes de actualizar para garantizar una transición sin problemas.
A third way to secure your website and improve its performance is to optimize your images and code. Large images and code can slow down your site, increase your bandwidth usage, and affect your user experience and SEO. Optimizing your images and code can reduce their size, improve their quality, and speed up your site. To optimize your images and code, you need to use tools like ImageOptim or TinyPNG to compress your images, use tools like Minify or Autoptimize to minify your code, and use tools like LazyLoad or Jetpack to defer loading of images and code.
By ensuring you're also using an appropriate image format, like WebP (or SVG if it can be confirmed secure), that is both responsive and compatible with mobile and desktop users. By using a responsive image type, you'll likely have also solved any issues with security and site speed!
In medium-to-large companies, optimising images needs more than compression tools. It needs education and re-jigging of workflows where needed. For example, on a selling platform where customers upload photos of their items, they can be told to upload fewer photos if possible. Compression of those images should be automated. Sometimes, images supplied by a marketing agency might need to be compressed or changed to another format.
Senior system administrator, full stack developer and analyst at Nordic Hosting AS
Optimized images does not have any effect on webiste security. Optimized images can improve visitor experience by minimizing loading time, in some cases provide better SEO, but in general - it has nothing to do with security.
Optimizing images and code is crucial for several reasons: Faster Loading Times: Optimized images are smaller in file size, speeding up website loading. Efficient code also contributes to faster performance, enhancing user experience. Improved SEO: Search engines favor fast-loading websites. Optimized content can lead to better search engine rankings. Enhanced User Experience: Faster load times and smoother interactions keep users engaged, reducing bounce rates. Reduced Server Load: Smaller image files and streamlined code reduce the burden on servers. Mobile Optimization: With the increasing use of mobile devices, optimized content ensures compatibility and performance across various platforms.
Huge images can impact on user side so they can compromise your visibility. Consider to have a pipeline to reduce and optimize them after you upload, so that you don't have to care on content production.
A fourth way to secure your website and improve its performance is to use a firewall and malware scanner. A firewall is a software or hardware that blocks unwanted or malicious traffic from reaching your site. A malware scanner is a tool that scans your site for any signs of infection or compromise. Using a firewall and malware scanner can protect your site from attacks, prevent downtime, and clean up any issues. To use a firewall and malware scanner, you need to choose a reputable service or plugin, configure it according to your needs, and monitor it regularly.
Para fortalecer la seguridad de tu sitio web, es esencial implementar un cortafuegos y un escáner de malware. El cortafuegos monitorea y controla el tráfico, bloqueando actividades maliciosas y protegiendo contra ataques. Por otro lado, el escáner de malware realiza análisis periódicos en busca de amenazas, detectando y eliminando software malicioso. Ambas herramientas trabajan en conjunto para proporcionar una defensa robusta, asegurando un entorno en línea más seguro y protegido contra posibles amenazas y ataques cibernéticos.
Senior system administrator, full stack developer and analyst at Nordic Hosting AS
Malware scanner and specific rules (like ModSecurity) are the second most important measure to secure your website. Enabled ModSecurity rules analyze every request and can greatly protect against known attacks. Malware scanner is helpful to review existing scripts, but usually it is not real-time and is not able to protect against all attacks. Firewall is important part of every server, but it's purpose is mainly to protect specific ports and applications. In most cases your public website runs on publicly open ports, so firewall won't directly help with website security, but it helps with server security.
Using a firewall and malware scanner is vital for digital security: Protection from Cyber Threats: Firewalls act as a barrier, controlling network traffic and blocking unauthorized access. Malware scanners detect and remove malicious software, preventing data theft, corruption, and system damage. Enhanced Privacy: These tools safeguard sensitive data from hackers and spyware, ensuring privacy and confidentiality. Prevention of Data Breaches: They help prevent data breaches, a critical aspect for businesses to maintain trust and comply with data protection laws. Real-time Monitoring: Continuous monitoring enables early detection of threats, reducing the risk of significant damage.
A fifth way to secure your website and improve its performance is to enable caching and CDN. Caching is a technique that stores copies of your site's content in your browser or server, reducing the number of requests and loading time. CDN is a network of servers that distributes your site's content across different locations, improving the delivery speed and security. Enabling caching and CDN can enhance your site's performance, reliability, and scalability. To enable caching and CDN, you need to use tools like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache for caching, and tools like Cloudflare or Sucuri for CDN.
Cloudflare or similar protection offers a series of SEO benefits. - Caching is key to page load performance, watch your TTL and server side if you can please - Many include varnish caching - Enforces HSTS, less checks and only HTTPS - Reduces bad bot traffic, serves 403 to imitators - Leaves server bandwidth for real users - Image caching and dynamic CDNs are very useful - Many allow you to submit to Bing's IndexNow when pages are updated - Streamline experience behind the protection, no user impact to the added security
Senior system administrator, full stack developer and analyst at Nordic Hosting AS
CloudFlare and other CDN networks are indeed helpful in securing your websites. These systems usually offer realtime request filtering (similar to ModSecurity) and they help to hide your actual server's IP - this way ensuring, that attackers do not attack your server directly. CDN networks aggregate information about very large amount of attack types and can analyze very large amount of traffic and thus protect websites based on some patterns more effectively.
Enabling caching and using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) are essential for website optimization: Improved Loading Times: Caching stores copies of frequently accessed content, reducing server load and speeding up page loading for returning visitors. A CDN delivers content from servers closest to the user, further enhancing speed. Reduced Bandwidth Usage: Both caching and CDNs decrease the amount of data transferred between the server and users, saving bandwidth and reducing hosting costs. Enhanced User Experience: Faster load times and smoother website performance improve the overall user experience, crucial for keeping visitors engaged and reducing bounce rates.
Enabling caching and a Content Delivery Network (CDN) is akin to streamlining a busy airport with advanced logistics. Caching temporarily stores parts of your site locally on visitors' devices, slashing load times dramatically. A CDN distributes your content across global servers, ensuring faster delivery regardless of geographic location. Together, they work like a well-oiled machine, ensuring your website performs efficiently, improving user satisfaction and SEO standings.
Choose CDN with attention because sometimes they can become the bottle neck of your application. About cache be sure to implement correctly a way to purge it on changes.
Securing your website and improving its performance can be done in a variety of ways, one of which is implementing security best practices. These best practices are guidelines and tips that are designed to help prevent or mitigate common threats and risks. For instance, you should use strong and unique passwords for your accounts and databases, two-factor authentication for your login pages, limit the number of login attempts, use captcha to prevent brute force attacks, change the default admin username and URL for your CMS, use a secure FTP or SFTP protocol to transfer files, backup your site regularly and store the backups in a safe location, delete unused or inactive accounts, plugins, themes, or files, review your site's permissions and access levels, and use a security audit tool or service to check your site's vulnerabilities and fix them.
I have a few main security updates I recommend for SEO: You must have HTTPS and no mixed content errors or unsecured links - Content Security Policy - X-Frame Options - Secure Referrer Policy - HSTS with Preload This covers a few low level attacks but more importantly can be a good project to clean up and speed up your site. The Content Security Policy and Secure Referrer Policy help make sure nothing can be loaded to the page via insertion or other domain attacks. The X-Frame Options keep clickjackers or spammers from making an iframe of your site. HSTS with Preload enforces only HTTPS connections meaning less TLS negotiation and some minor sitewide speed improvements.
Implementing security best practices for your website is as crucial as a captain safeguarding their ship. Regular updates, strong password policies, and diligent user access control form a formidable defense against digital marauders. Educating your crew on security protocols is just as important to prevent human error breaches. Such preemptive measures keep your website's integrity intact and maintain high performance by preventing the disruptions and slowdowns that can accompany security incidents.
Securing and optimizing the website involves implementing HTTPS, regular software updates, and robust security measures like firewalls and audits. To boost performance , optimize images, minimize HTTP requests and leverage CDNs. Prioritize mobile optimization, monitor user experience and use analytics for insights . Maintaining fresh content strategy will be an added advantage.
Update periodically every third party library you are using in your code based on their changelog. Consider to have a pipeline for automatic tests and an acceptance environment to reduce at minimum live issues.