How to protect your e-commerce Site? Top Seven Data Security Checklists to Consider!

By 2026, 24% of all retail sales—an increase from $5.211 trillion to $6.310 trillion in 2023—will be made up of digitally sold goods. Furthermore, 20.8% of e-commerce transactions will be made globally by the end of 2023. With these, system susceptibilities and connected hazards have been rising significantly, too!

Will your online store be rolling out soon? If you are one of the online sellers who commences an e-commerce store, you may not question your site’s security until it becomes a significant security threat! Every online business, irrespective of size, is prone to malware attacks and viruses. Cybercriminals target small businesses, as they do not have the right strategy to impede attacks.

Irrespective of whether the security level, is outsourced or in-house, it is always important to comprehend the fundamentals of e-commerce store safety. To help you avoid cyberattacks, this article will show the top seven ways on how to protect your e-commerce Site

What is e-commerce security?

E-commerce security is a detailed set of norms that ensure hassle-free online transactions among customers and businesses. If you have weak e-commerce security, malicious actors will try to rob your website content, customer’s personal data, and others for their own use.

Like investing in CCTV or security guards to impede theft in physical stores, e-commerce stores may strengthen their security by defending against cyberattacks. The 2020s Trustwave Global Security Report has shown that the retail industry is one of the most targeted branches for cyberattacks. Hence, using the best website builder and going through the proper safety techniques from the beginning is significant.

Why Is It Important?

The e-commerce market has grown at an average of 12% over the past 10 years due to the growing appeal of online shopping festivals like Amazon Prime Day. The rivalry increases as this sector continues to grow. Global e-commerce sales were over $5.7 trillion in 2022, and by 2026, it is predicted that they will have risen to $8.148 trillion. Digital assaults will increase along with e-commerce revenues as they soar.

According to online merchant research conducted by Webscale in 2021, 85.25% of respondents reported cybersecurity issues during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, up from 78% the year before. Prevention measures are crucial, considering how expensive data breaches can be for firms. 

Ways to Secure E-commerce Websites

E-commerce website security should not be taken lightly! Significant data breaches have minimized trust in digital security fundamentally. Customers are okay making transactions via well-known platforms, like Venmo, PayPal, Stripe, etc.

However, you must make a stronger case before they risk sharing their credit card information. Hence, you must bolster your website’s security to persuade them to purchase from your e-commerce store so that nothing can be breached. Let us consider these seven Data Security checklists to secure your e-commerce website:

Take Daily Backups

Backup is more like an insurance policy for your e-commerce website. If your online store performs well, you may gain sales, customer trust, and order information. It will take months to create your website from scratch! However, you may avoid this event by employing hosts that offer backup support, which is why you should opt for the ideal e-commerce hosting for your store and back up the site without any hassle. 

Install SSL Certificate

SSL, aka Secure Socket Layer, is one type of encryption method that assists you in safeguarding data sent over the internet. When users enter their payment details into their checkout page, an SSL-certified website will encode the data as it is being passed between the browser and the server, making it highly cumbersome for malicious actors to seize the details.

Your clients will know that their data is being handled privately when they see https in the URL of an SSL-encrypted website, indicating that the site is trustworthy. A budget or cheap SSL certificate from a reputed SSL provider can secure ongoing information on the site. Moreover, it should be branded SSL, as it comes with many features and advantages

Use trusted platforms and software

It is economical to employ third-party extensions and themes for your e-commerce store. In addition, it is protected to utilize the officially upheld versions of them. For example, Magento, the most renowned open-source e-commerce system, maintains an official Magento marketplace with several extensions and themes you can rely on.

These add-ons and themes are easily accessible, frequently for no charge, and they may have secret openings and back doors that intruders can use to sneak into your e-commerce store and wreak havoc. 

Promote strong passwords

While passwords are dealing with fierce rivalry from cutting-edge technologies, for example, MFA and facial recognition, they are the essential access keys to every piece of software. Every website needs to be password-protected, and it is crucial to use different passwords for different accounts.

Remember to use different passwords for your hosting server, website database, FTP accounts, admin panel, and associated email accounts. A strong password contains both numbers, alphabets, and special characters.  

Closely control admin rights

Your team will quickly grow with your business. As more people associate with your website, you need to award admin rights to your account inexpensively. It would be better to leave admin access to teammates who might not require it, which may make your website more vulnerable to cybercriminals. For site administrators to abide by, you should create a safety protocol. 

Practice good plugin hygiene

We recommend routinely assessing your third-party plugins and applications as the best strategy. Please verify that you are still utilizing them and giving them access to the data for your retail business. Minimize the number of parties allowed to view any information on your site and the information regarding your clients, and keep plugins from accumulating needlessly. 

Remove outdated permissions

Frequently, you must permit other parties to use the back end of your website so they may make adjustments, replacements, or additions. In other cases, a worker with administrative access permissions works on essential components of the website’s server.

You need to modify the degree of access even when external contractors have completed their duties or when an employee transfers to another sector or quits the company. As a result, the store is left vulnerable to blunders.

Conclusion

Stay safe using the seven E-commerce website security tips, and maximize your user’s credibility. Nothing can stop you from running a prosperous e-commerce shop once you have earned appreciation for your enterprise.