Technology has paved the way for businesses to reach out to more customers and clients. One of the most effective ways to reach more people is through the Internet, by creating a great website. Nowadays, businesses with websites have a name and face in the online world.

However, as technology advances, so do security risks. If hackers get into a website, they can steal sensitive data – say, customer information (i.e., payment methods, addresses, etc.). These security risks can put a dent in the relationship between company and customer. Plus, cyber-attacks (i.e., viruses, malware, etc.) can crash a website, making it broken beyond repair.

Want your website to stay safe from hacks and cyber-attacks? Then you're in luck!

Want to ensure that our solutions will keep your website's UX design intact? We'll help with that too!

In this article, we'll explore the 7 ways to beef up security on your website. In these ways, your website security won't sacrifice your UX design for the sake of armoring up your site. Let's dive right in!

1. Update Regularly

First and foremost, make sure that you update your website regularly. Why? Because being outdated can work against you. In fact, hackers will take advantage of outdated websites by littering them with viruses so that when a user clicks on the link to your site, their devices will be infected and compromised.

Plus, search engine bots are always scanning websites to scan for any vulnerabilities. If a site is vulnerable in some way or another, then the bots will notice.

Therefore, it's important to keep your website up-to-date. How? By doing the following:

• Posting fresh content
• Reliving outdated content
• Installing security plugins
• Updates — server operating systems, security software, existing plug-ins, and applications, etc.

2. Use A SSL Certificate

SSL encryption is the way to go when securing your website. Essentially, an SSL certificate can be purchased and installed for your website so that security and encryption can take place in the following areas:

• Login pages
• User information (i.e., credit cards, login credentials, etc.)
• Server information, and so on

Without an SSL certificate, search engines will label your site as "unsafe." These warning messages can discourage users from visiting your site.

But with an SSL certificate, sensitive information and pages are encrypted so that they're unreadable to prying eyes, thus preventing would-be hackers from accessing and stealing sensitive data. When an SSL certificate is installed on your website, users will see a padlock and HTTPS next to your site's URL, meaning that it's safe for users to visit. Remember to monitor your SSL certificate expiration date regularly.

3. Create Strong Passwords

Passwords may be easy to create. However, creating a secure password can be challenging. Though, despite its challenges, creating a complex password is essential.

Today, hackers will use software to crack easy passwords and access websites and accounts without permission. While this idea may be something out of a movie, this has happened time and time again in real-time. In other words, when it comes to passwords, never leave anything to chance.

Instead, create long, complex passwords that utilize the following:

• Upper and lowercase letters
• Numbers
• Special characters (i.e., @ # !)

By creating a complex password (at least 10 characters long), you're making it harder for hackers to access your site.

4. Use A Reputable Host

As you work to secure your website, consider investing in a reputable web hosting company. When choosing a host, be sure that they take security threats seriously. Look at their security policies and determine if their ideas align with your security needs. Also, make sure that your host can routinely back up your data so that in case your site gets hacked, your data would be spared. This leads us to the next tip…

5. Backup Regularly

Backups should be done regularly – no exceptions. A website should ensure security for users. Therefore, you may want to set up a daily backup routine so that confidential data isn't damaged or stolen in cyber-attacks and infections (Trojan horse viruses, for example).

Consider backing up data to the cloud. Cloud storage champions storing data so that backups are successful, rather than website runners leaving everything to chance on a vulnerable web server.

6. Scan Website Regularly

Scanning can also help you secure your website. Scans can be done manually or automatically (depending on how you set that up). In fact, there are free tools online that can perform web security scans either by schedule or at whim.

Now, while scans won't capture all possible security flaws, they still help you get a good scope of how your website is doing. If you want stronger scans, consider investing in a software tool (or a web expert) to scan and ensure 100% security on your website.

7. Hire Security Experts

While this tip is normally treated as a last resort, if you're still having trouble making your website as secure as possible, then it may be time to hire a security expert. Security experts and firms can do the following for your website:

• Scan your website regularly
• Perform full website security audits
• Monitor for suspicious activity, AND
• Provide support

However, even as you hire security experts, you should still be on the lookout when it comes to your website.

Conclusion

As you can see, these tips are safe to implement when it comes to UX design. When you keep these 7 tips in mind, not only will your website be more safe and secure, but your site's UX design won't suffer for it.

But remember: Cyber-attacks are more important than how your website is designed. In fact, cyber-attacks do not discriminate. Hackers can brute force their way in and steal sensitive data, whether you're a small website or a big one. So, by following these seven tips, you can rest assured that your site is secure.