The Importance of Secure Web Design: Why Your Website's Security Matters

Your website is a valuable asset, but as your site grows and changes, so do the risks it faces. Security breaches and attacks are all too common in today's digital world. That’s why it's so important to make sure that you have a secure website — and not just for cybersecurity reasons! A secure site also helps build trust with customers and makes it easier for them to complete their purchases without worrying about their information being stolen by hackers or scammers. Read on to learn more about why your website’s security matters.

A Secure Website is Key to Business Success

Your website is the foundation of your business. It's the first impression people get of you and how they'll interact with you. If your website gets hacked or infected with malware, it can have serious consequences for your business — not only in terms of lost revenue and productivity but also in the long-term damage to your reputation.

With that being said, security is crucial to your customers' safety. More than 4,100 data breaches were reported in 2022, exposing almost 22 billion private records. Hackers are breaking into websites and stealing sensitive data on a daily basis, so it's important for businesses to take precautions against these intrusions and protect their customers' data from being stolen.

Trust is an essential part of any relationship, especially when it comes to doing business! According to recent Garner research, 56% of consumers care about a company's level of cyber-resilience. If your site has been compromised by hackers in the past, this could cause people who visit your site to question whether or not they can trust what they see there. If there are signs that indicate someone else might have better quality control standards than yours, then you could possibly lose business.?

Finally, if someone does manage to break into your site through some vulnerability or other mistake in design (and they do happen), then having good security measures in place will keep them from being able to do much damage before being stopped by automated alerts sent out by the system itself, which means less downtime and lost profits for you!

Tips For Keeping Your Website Secure

1. Use Strong Passwords: The first line of defense against hackers is having strong passwords for your website. In 81% of hacking incidents, compromised or weak passwords were the cause. So make sure to use complex passwords, change them regularly, don’t reuse passwords, and keep them secure.

2. Use an SSL Certificate: An SSL certificate encrypts the connection between visitors and your website so that hackers can't see what people are doing online or steal their information. Your customers' payment information is protected too, which means fewer people will abandon their carts because they're worried about sending credit card information over an insecure connection.

3. Keep Software Up-To-Date: Many web hosting providers automatically update their customers' websites with new versions of PHP, MySQL, Apache, and other core components as soon as they're released — but they don't necessarily make sure that those updates include all available security patches. That means it's up to you to make sure you're always running the latest version of each application or third-party plug-in you use on your website.?

Increase Security With IT Support Services

The bottom line is that you need to keep your website secure. One way to make sure your website security is in good shape is to talk with a professional IT support services provider like LeadingIT. By taking advantage of services to boost your security, your efforts won't be in vain — you'll be a step ahead in preventing any attacks from affecting or compromising your website or data integrity.

LeadingIT offers 24/7, all-inclusive, fast and friendly technology and cybersecurity support for nonprofits, manufacturers, schools, accounting firms, religious organizations, government, and law offices with 20-200 employees across the Chicagoland area