Thousands of websites get attacked or hacked every day. In recent years, with a surge in the number of new websites launching, hacking attempts have been growing at an alarming pace. Hence, the importance of website security is gaining significance too. Nobody likes a site that has frequent security issues – your customers fear losing vital information and search engines dock some crucial SEO points as well. Hence, you must ensure that you use cloud-based security tools like SiteLock Security that protect your website against viruses or malware, among other security threats.
Today, we are going to look at five reasons why website security is a must.
1. Your customers need protection
Once they hack a website, the hacker can cause a lot of damage. If the hacker manages to install malicious software on your server, it can steal data and even take control of the server’s resources. The hacker can also use your server to redirect traffic and infect your site visitors with viruses or malware.
A site that lacks security can expose its visitors to threats too. Hence, ensuring that your website is protected keeps your customers protected as well.
2. Hacking attempts are increasing every day
According to a report published by The Security Magazine, a website experiences hacking attempts every 39 seconds, on an average. They had published that report in 2017. With an increase in online activity, the frequency of attacks has also increased. While the reasons can vary from pranks to crypto-mining, no website can consider itself safe unless it takes the necessary precautions.
3. A hacked website can slow down or even crash
One of the most common cyber-attacks is a Distributed Denial of Service or DDoS attack. The purpose of this attack is to overwhelm your server to cause the site to slow down and crash. It can result in financial losses and tarnish your brand’s reputation. Unless you tackle the attack, it can disrupt the services offered by your website.
Google checks all websites regularly for the level of safety they offer. If it suspects your site to be infected, then Google can blacklist it. It means that your site will no longer feature in its search results. As a result, your business will get impacted.
4. A hacking attack is usually random
Contrary to popular belief, hackers don’t plan and attack a website only if it is a major corporation. The typical hacking process is random and based on the vulnerabilities discovered by hackers. Hence, small business owners who think that their website is safe because their operations are small will be in for a rude shock when a hacker uncovers a vulnerability in their site. Hence, it is crucial to ensure that a website is secured regardless of its size.
5. A hacked website will scare customers away
In today’s times, building a brand reputation takes a lot of time and effort. With the attention span of online users decreasing every day, building or losing brand reputation can take minutes. Let’s say that a customer visits your website and gets a virus on their device will never revisit your site. Also, they might warn other people of security issues on your website. Such negative publicity can tarnish your brand’s reputation to a high degree.
Summing Up
As you can see, a website that is not secure poses several problems for your business. Choose the right web hosting service for your site and use the best website security tools to keep your site secure. Good Luck!