Website Security Basics for Growing Businesses

Protect access first

Use multi-factor authentication for hosting, source control, domain and analytics accounts. Give each person only the access they need and remove access when responsibilities change. Keep production secrets out of source code and rotate them if exposure is suspected.

A secure website is an ongoing operating practice, not a one-time plugin installation.

Build safe application behaviour

Validate input on the server, encode output, protect authenticated actions against common web attacks and keep dependencies maintained. Forms should have server-side validation, rate limits and spam controls that do not block legitimate visitors.

• Use HTTPS and secure cookie settings.
• Keep dependencies and runtime versions supported.
• Back up data and test restoration.
• Log security-relevant events without exposing secrets.

Plan for recovery

Document who responds to an incident, how to disable compromised credentials and how to restore service. Test backups and deployment rollback before an emergency. The goal is to reduce both the chance and the impact of a failure.