How to Secure Your E-Commerce Site

Nothing deters shoppers more than a dodgy looking ecommerce site. We spend millions of dollars shopping online, but there are still many people who don’t trust online shopping websites. Unfortunately, they have good reason to be afraid.

Online shopping may be convenient and good for the environment, but it’s not always good for our wallets. Sites with poor security can be hacked and customers’ personal information and financial details stolen. Hackers can also install malware on unprotected sites, so when a customer clicks on a link, their computer is infected. Either way, that customer won’t be coming back any time soon, so it is sensible to do everything you can to create a safe and secure ecommerce site.

MSIA degree students understand the importance of strong site security, but not all ecommerce site owners are aware of the issues they face. A combination of ignorance and a belief that it won’t happen to them blinds them to the dangers their business is facing on a daily basis. Unfortunately, you don’t need an online information security degree to see that minimal security leads to a whole host of problems.

Keep Your Software Updated

Ecommerce website software needs to be kept updated. This includes plugins, themes, and any other software used on the site. Install patches as soon as they become available, as hackers are far more likely to target a site with outdated software. Popular content management systems such as WordPress and Magento issue regular updates. You can usually set updates to install automatically, but if you don’t tick this option, remember to check your site daily for new updates.

HTTPS Security

Fortunately, there are many ways to add extra security to an ecommerce site and you don’t need CCTV cameras to do it. The best thing you can do if you are taking people’s money is upgrade your site to HTTPS, which is a more secure version of HTTP. HTTPS ensures hackers can’t intercept traffic between the customer’s browser and your ecommerce site.

SSL Certificate

An SSL certificate authenticates a website. When installed, it adds the small padlock symbol to a browser toolbar, so when people browse your site they feel more secure. Combined with HTTPS, SSL certificates are essential if your ecommerce site transfers personal information and payment details.

Don’t Store Card Details on the Site

It is always safer to use a third party payment solution for handling payments. Customers feel more confident when making transactions via PayPal or Sage Pay. If card details are stored on your site, the onus is on you to keep them secure.

Administrator Security

It’s pointless installing security software if your administrator login and password are ‘admin’ and ‘password’. You may as well leave the front door open and send out invitations on the Dark Web. Issue hard to crack passwords and consider adding extra layers of security, such as only allowing certain IP addresses to access the admin section of your ecommerce website.

There are many different types of hacker prevention software to choose from, so check out your options and install the software that best suits your budget.