1. Choose Your CMS
How are you going to build your site? These days you don't need to be a computer programmer to put together your own fully functioning website thanks to Content Management Systems (CMS). With CMS solutions like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal, putting together a website is about as easy as building a house out of Lego. No matter what CMS you choose, there are new exploits that are uncovered almost on a weekly basis. This means you need to stay on top of software updates and patches to keep your site secure.
2. Sign Up for a Web Host
Your domain name is like the street address and the CMS is like the materials you build your site with, but the web host is the actual plot of real estate where your website exists online. Some are free and come with bandwidth limitations or embedded ads, and there are commercial options that run much better. Many hosts also provide server security features which can better protect your uploaded website data. Check if a web host offers Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) which makes uploading files much safer. Many good hosts should also allow for file backup services and have a public security policy showing how well they keep up to date on security upgrades.
3. Design Your Website With Security in Mind
What's your website going to look like? Hiring a designer is usually worth the money you pay, but if your site is straightforward enough then you don't need to do anything fancy. These days, simplicity is the golden rule, and minimizing add-ons and plug-ins is recommended for aesthetic, operational, and security concerns. The main thrust of your site should be text-based and presenting your product clearly, with images and design flourishes playing in the backup band. Basically you should focus more on avoiding bad design than embracing great design.
4. Apply a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to Protect Your Site
As soon as your website is online, it is exposed to a rogue's gallery of cyber threats' Automated bots are out there scanning for vulnerable websites, and newly created sites are an especially tempting target' Adding a web application firewall (WAF) such as Cloudbric, Incapsula, or Cloudflare, will secure your website before the attacks start.
Example: Cloudbric
is a cloud-based enterprise-level website protection service.
Its website is at:
https://www.cloudbric.com/features/gettingstarted/
To get started, there are three steps:
(1) sign up and add a website.
(2) Configure settings: Choose the closest Cloudbric Internet Data Center and confirm a website's SSL status. The company will issue free SSL certificates (provided by Let's Encrypt) to all the websites.
(3) Update DNS information: You will be asked to update your DNS information. This is to route traffic through Cloudbric network, rather than having traffic go directly to your web server IP leaving your website vulnerable.
5. Do Business Online Secured by Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
If you're going to have users registering on your website, and especially if there will be any kind of transaction, you need to encrypt that connection. Using SSL certificates creates a secure handshake between your website and clients. devices, ensuring that no third party can covertly slip in between and monitor, hijack, or shut down any transactions taking place. GlobalSign is one good example of a widely available SSL certificate that pairs well with almost every website.
6. Use HTTPS connection whenever possible
There is a tool available: HTTPS Everywhere. HTTPS Everywhere enables the sites' HTTPS protection which can protect you against eavesdropping and tampering with the contents of the site or with the information you send to the site. HTTPS Everywhere is a free and open source browser extension for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Opera, which is developed collaboratively by The Tor Project and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). It automatically makes websites use the more secure HTTPS connection instead of HTTP, if they support it.