As a business owner with a website, you might not have considered the importance of website security, but it should be a vital part of your thinking for 2022 and beyond. At Candy, we know how important it is to design and build business websites that not only look fantastic and function well, but that have the highest levels of security running through it. That way, your data, and the data of your customers is protected.
We’ve heard all about massive data breaches over the years, and it can cause huge headaches to a company, in an ethical sense, but it can also do grave damage to brand reputation. If you are seen as weak in terms of security and customers fear that their data and personal information is at risk if they enter details on your website as part of a transaction of any kind, they are less likely to trust you and become a customer at all, let alone a loyal, long-term customer.
Small and growing businesses need to find a cost-effective solution to provide robust website security. Think about it; a WordPress site that has been hacked could cause serious damage to your business. It could lead to lost income and tarnish your reputation to a point where it takes years to recover, or even worse, puts a nail in the coffin of your brand reputation.
Why do you need strong website security?
If your website collects private information, it must be protected to prevent a potential cyber-attack. Without this security, a hacker could potentially steal private information about your customers by spreading malware through your site and tracking site visitors.
The information collected on a business website could include:
- Customer name
- Customer email address
- Credit card information
- Delivery address
- Other personal information
In most cases, hackers do not individually target a specific website, instead relying on bots and automation to identify potentially vulnerable websites and scrape lists together for a range of common security vulnerabilities in say, WordPress websites.
What is an SSL certificate and HTTP website?
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is an encryption technology that creates a link between a server and the client (typically between a website and a browser or mail server). By getting an SSL certificate for your website you will add a set of data files to your server to obtain an encrypted connection, and a green padlock will be displayed on your website to visitors.
A HTTPS (Secure HyperText Transfer Protocol) is an extension to HTTP that establishes a secure connection between a browser and a web server. It protects visitors to your website from ‘man-in-the-middle attacks’), where credit card information and login information is stolen. It has become the standard of website security as it has become easier to acquire.
The benefits of a secure website
A secure website takes data that may be personal and sensitive and encrypts it. This encryption key is in place to process data as soon as it is entered into a website form. This adds to the level of security and makes it much less likely to be caught by a user that is unauthorised and potentially dangerous.
What are the benefits of boosting your website security?
Brand trust – One of the biggest reasons to boost your website security is that it helps to build trust with your current and prospective customers. When a visitor to your website is given a warning sign that says, “NOT SECURE”, how can you expect them to stay on the site and input their personal details? A lock icon on your website immediately reassures the user that any data taken will be secure and looked after.
SEO rankings – It isn’t just about data and trust when looking at the security of your website. It also helps you to boost your search engine rankings in Google. A secure website is a positive ranking factor with Google, so migrating to HTTPS or gaining an SSL certificate will go a long way to securing your data and boosting your SEO campaign.
Website labels – Any website that is HTTP will be marked as ‘unsafe’ by Google, so it is more important than ever before to secure your website and make sure it is a HTTPS website. That way it will be labelled as secure by Google, which makes it a more exciting proposition for users and potential customers.
Increase conversions – A website that is clearly secure will do much better at not only attracting visitors to a site, but it will also help you to improve your conversion rate. Even if a user doesn’t have a technical understanding of how website security works, they will trust a site that is clearly secure and doesn’t scare them off with data warnings etc. There is a large difference between a HTTP and a HTTPS website in terms of conversion rates.
Secure website design from Candy
Cybersecurity is one of the most serious economic concerns for the modern-day business owner. It is something that isn’t often thought of by a small business owner, because why would you have considered it before? This is where we come in. Every campaign we run and website we build, is designed with web security in mind. We want you to be safe, for your customers to trust you, and to build a brand for you that is instantly recognisable as a place your customers can leave their data and information without fear.
If you would like to discover more about our web design and digital marketing services, please feel free to set-up a consultation with the Candy team today. You can reach us
on 0161 826 0123 or email us hello@candymarketing.co.uk.
