{"id":2857,"date":"2025-06-19T03:22:44","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T03:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.todhost.com\/blog\/?p=2857"},"modified":"2025-06-19T09:52:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T09:52:43","slug":"a-practical-guide-to-secure-and-maintain-your-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.todhost.com\/blog\/a-practical-guide-to-secure-and-maintain-your-website\/","title":{"rendered":"A Practical Guide to Secure and Maintain Your Website"},"content":{"rendered":"

Website\u00a0Maintenance<\/a> and <\/a>stability<\/a>\u00a0are two of very\u00a0important aspects of websites\u00a0that are not often talked about until there is a\u00a0problem. They are two concepts that are often brushed aside especially by regular website owners whose websites had been designed by a third party, a freelancer or by someone who was contracted to do so. But addressing the issue of website\u00a0security<\/a>\u00a0and been assured that your\u00a0website is secure\u00a0can be exciting and comforting.<\/p>\n

Further reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n

10 Tips to Guide Your Website Security Policy<\/a><\/p>\n

6 Ways to Shield Websites From Security Hacks<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019s thrilling to experience\u00a0huge traffic\u00a0spikes<\/a> when your latest blog post goes viral. It\u2019s also thrilling\u2014and not in a good way – when your\u00a0site crashes<\/a>\u00a0because you ignored some\u00a0base-level maintenance tasks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s often during those thrilling-in-a-bad-way times that we look at\u00a0maintenance and stability\u00a0with fresh eyes. Suddenly, these concepts look a lot more attractive.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s article is all about encouraging you to give website maintenance and stability the attention it deserves\u2014by regularly following the best practices that create a stable,\u00a0secure website. When things are stable, you can enjoy the thrill of a traffic spike\u2014without the nagging worry that your site can\u2019t quite support it.<\/p>\n

Further reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n

12 SEO Factors That Boost Website Ranking<\/a><\/p>\n

Common Reasons Access to Your Website Can be Restricted<\/a><\/p>\n

Over nearly a decade working with customers, we have seen firsthand what works, what doesn\u2019t, and what really doesn\u2019t when it comes to maintaining and supporting a stable, stress-free website. Today, we’ll be sharing those experiences with you. If you want to enjoy peace of mind as a website owner, consider these best practices as your guide.<\/p>\n

Best Practices to Follow for a Stable and Secure Website<\/h2>\n

Note: The best way to enjoy a stable and secure website is to start with the most secure, stable environment you\u2019ve got.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So, if you\u2019re reading this while brainstorming your site, getting ready to\u00a0register your domain name<\/a>\u00a0and select your\u00a0hosting package<\/a><\/strong>, go ahead and give yourself a congratulatory pat on the back. You\u2019re reading this at the perfect time. Implement these best practices now, and you\u2019ll officially start with the most secure, stable environment possible.<\/p>\n

Having said that, it\u2019s never too late, and the best time is always now! There are always actions you take to make your website more stable and secure, whether your site is a year old or more.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the great news. You can get pretty\u00a0secure with fairly low effort on your part<\/a>. You don\u2019t have to be a tech genius to enjoy a secure website.<\/p>\n

Further reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Manage Website Sudden Disappearance from Google SERPs<\/a><\/p>\n

How to Detect and Stay Safe From Internet Fraud and Related Crime<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow a few simple best practices, like the ones outlined below, and you make it a whole lot harder for the bad guys. That\u2019s what counts.<\/p>\n

1. Stay up to date on updates.<\/h3>\n

Once you\u2019ve launched your site, you want to keep things updated as frequently as possible. That includes your server, your CMS or builder software, and any plugins you may be using.<\/p>\n

Keeping up with updates is the best way to keep your website secure. Many people get afraid of updating their website because they don\u2019t want it to break\u2014but that\u2019s why you have backups (more on this in a second)! If something seems off after an update, you can quickly restore and it\u2019s no big deal. Then, you simply wait for the developer to release a fix, and you try the update again.<\/p>\n

Also read:\u00a0<\/strong>Essential Guide to Safe WordPress Website Management<\/a><\/p>\n

The real risk with updates is delaying them. The more time you let pass between updates, the higher your risk. It\u2019s easier (and less risky) to update from 1.1 to 1.2, and 1.2 to 1.3, and so on, then it is to update from 1.1 to 2.0 when there\u2019s been 10 versions in between.<\/p>\n

With each subsequent update you ignore, your website becomes incrementally less secure. But keep up with regular updates, and you have nothing to be afraid of. That\u2019s why you have to choose a strong web host that keep servers updated<\/a> for you. You\u2019ll still need to update your website plugins and themes, but we\u2019ll handle the core hosting updates for you!<\/p>\n

Updates are so effective. Embrace them! A regularly updated website is a well-defended website.<\/p>\n

2. Use Secure Passwords<\/h3>\n

Passwords are still critically important. When it comes to creating a secure password, make sure you do these three things:<\/p>\n

Make them hard. Create a unique combination that\u2019s not a word from the dictionary or a phrase clearly identifiable to you. Include at least 12 characters of numbers, symbols, and upper and lower case letters.
\nDon\u2019t reuse them. Every account you create should have its own unique password. Every single one.
\nChange them often. Set up a calendar reminder to go through and update your passwords every few months. A password manager like LastPass, KeePassX, iCloud Keychain, or Google Password Manager can be a good tool for this.<\/p>\n

This password guidance applies to your hosting account, your cPanel, and your CMS logins. It also applies to every user to whom you grant access to your site (speaking of which, you should keep a detailed list of these folks so you can revoke their access when needed).<\/p>\n

3. Make your user names just as secure<\/h3>\n

Password security is still important, but in 2019, a secure password isn\u2019t enough. Your user names need to be just as secure.<\/p>\n

If possible, follow the same three tips I outlined above when creating your usernames. Your usernames should be just as tough to guess, and just as unique, as your passwords\u2014and you should update them just as frequently, too.<\/p>\n

Those same brute force attacks that go after passwords are equally effective at cracking usernames.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let the \u201cname\u201d in username confuse you. It\u2019s better to have a username that anonymizes you, versus one that makes it clear you\u2019re the person behind the account. Just as you wouldn\u2019t use your social security number as your email address, you shouldn\u2019t use your name as your user id.<\/p>\n

4. Back up your website often, and in more than one place<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s something scary to think about. In the modern internet age, it\u2019s safe to assume that every website will become compromised at some point, just like everyone\u2019s home or car will inevitably be broken into.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s something even scarier: It takes 197 days on average before you find out you\u2019ve been compromised and someone\u2019s accessed your website data.<\/p>\n

Your website getting hacked is bad luck. Not being prepared to boot it back up is bad business, when you consider the number of easy, automatic, and low-cost website backup services you have out there.<\/p>\n

Regardless of which website backup service you use, I strongly recommend the following:<\/p>\n

Schedule your backups to run often (at least daily).
\nCreate a new backup<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0with each change you make on your website. This allows you to instantly restore your site to a specific moment in time.
\nKeep your old backups for at least a year. Even if your website is acting fine, it doesn\u2019t mean it can necessarily be trusted. Like said above, it could take half a year before you find out you\u2019ve been hacked.
\nMake a backup of your backups, and store it in another secure place, like on a different server or on a separate hard drive at your house.
\nBackup your database, too. People often don\u2019t realize they need to backup more than their files, but those are only part of your website. For a successful restore, you need to backup your files and your database at the same time, and save them together.<\/p>\n

5. Choose a well-known, reliable website building option<\/h3>\n

It seems like a new web builder gets released every day. Okay, that\u2019s a bit of a stretch, but my point is: there are a ton of options for building a website today.<\/p>\n

There are the big names we\u2019re familiar with. These are the established\u00a0Content Management Systems (CMS)<\/a><\/strong>, like WordPress, Magento, Drupal, and Joomla. Many web hosts also offer drag-and-drop web builders. Then there are dozens (hundreds?) of newer options.<\/p>\n

Whatever you choose to build your website with, make sure you pick a tool that you\u2019re familiar and comfortable with, and that is established. By established, we mean a tool that is stable and you can find support videos, blog articles and support documentation. There should be forums, social media, and a support community.<\/p>\n

For example, if you search for \u201cset up WordPress with Todhost,\u201d you\u2019ll find our own branded help articles, as well as with blogs and YouTube tutorials by other authors and IT pros.<\/p>\n

Your website is not the place to be experimenting; it\u2019s your business. If you run into an issue with your website, you want to be able to find knowledgeable experts easily. Your website building software should be established enough for you to be able to find help easily\u00a0 if you run into problems.<\/p>\n

6. Follow a simple approach to web design<\/h3>\n

Along the same lines, you don\u2019t need to be bleeding-edge with your website design. Sure, it should feel unique, and it should represent you or your brand, but you want to keep things simple and recognizable for your users.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get creative with standards. If there\u2019s a common mechanism for menus and navigation, stick with that. You want the design of your website to be familiar enough that people instantly understand how to use it.<\/p>\n

Use the same approach with your site functionality, too. Don\u2019t go add a hundred plugins to your site in an attempt to piecemeal together some functionality. Instead, seek out plugins that offer a more comprehensive feature set so you can minimize the total number of plugins you use.<\/p>\n

Everything you add to your website makes it less secure. For instance, the WordPress platform itself is super secure and rigorously tested. The same can\u2019t necessarily be said for their plugin library. If you\u2019re on WordPress, always vet your plugins to confirm that they\u2019re compatible with your version of WordPress, that they\u2019re regularly updated, and that the reviews are positive.<\/p>\n

7. Use SSLs<\/h3>\n

An\u00a0SSL certificate\u00a0is that handy little green lock you see when you visit a secure website.<\/p>\n

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, a technology which protects and encrypts any data transferred between a visitor\u2019s browser and your web server. In simpler terms, it shields your customer\u2019s data (like their name, credit cards, account info) form getting hacked. Even if your site is hacked, and this data gets stolen, the hacker won\u2019t be able to decode it.<\/p>\n

SSLs have become quite popular in recent years, as privacy becomes a growing concern. It\u2019s also been a\u00a0Google ranking factor since 2014<\/a>, so you\u2019ll enjoy a nice (albeit little) SEO boost from adding SSL to your site.<\/p>\n

As they increasingly become a web\u00a0standard, SSL certificates\u00a0are more affordable than ever. At Todhost, we include them for free with all of our hosting plans<\/a>. Our auto SSL is activated within minutes. Again, it is free.<\/p>\n

Last Words<\/h2>\n

Be creative with your content and your services, not with your website. It\u2019s not the 1990s anymore. Crazy mouseover effects and Comic Sans are no longer the \u201cit\u201d thing.<\/p>\n

If you want a secure website that works well, avoid beta technologies and flashy new software. Stick with reliable providers that have been around for years, with a large user base and a wealth of online resources for you to lean on.<\/p>\n

For even more protection, check out SiteLock<\/a>. This website security checker scans your site for malware, removing it automatically and protecting your site from attack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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