One of the most frequently asked questions by website owners or potential website owners is, "How do I keep my website safe from hackers?"

Why do hackers hack? Most hackers hack because they can. Because it's fun, because it's a challenge. Because they like to cause mischief.

Some hackers, the high-level ones you read about, that make the news, do it for money, or fame, or as a protest. From what I can gather most hackers are anti-establishmentarian, anti-government and anti-big corporations. So they like to cause havoc and point out how silly we all are by trusting our data to these organisations.

Why then do they attack small business owners like you and me? Because they can. See above.

I don't blame you for being wary. Even as a veteran website owner and builder I fell prey to hackers when my personal blog was taken over by some a*#ehole and made into a porn site just for the fun of it. How did it happen? I ignored my website for too long. I didn't log into it, I didn't check on it, I probably let my domain expire.

Did I cry and gnash my teeth? No.

I bought a new domain name, migrated my content, which was safe thanks to my awesome website host, and I published it again.

I also learnt a few lessons.

1.  When selecting a website hosting service, find one with high-level security features built in.

2.  Don't ever abandon your site for more than a month. Log in. Check it. Make sure everything is running smoothly.

3.  Make sure your domain name registration is set to auto-renew - sometimes even that doesn't work, see next point.

4.  Make sure your domain registrant is a well-established, reliable company that isn't going to go under overnight. It can be impossible to renew your domain when this happens.

5.  Set your website hosting to auto-renew, so you don't lose your website overnight because you forgot to pay.

6.  Set all your WordPress plugins to auto-update.

7.  Make sure your website hosting does automatic WordPress updates, if not, when you log into your website, perform all updates immediately.

8.  Update your WordPress theme when a new version is available. Vulnerabilities in the theme files can be exploited by hackers.

9.  If using WordPress, install a security plugin like Wordfence or similar. Often, hosting companies have their own, or their hosting includes safety features - research these when selecting a host.

10.  Ensure your website host does regular, at least daily, backups of your site, so you have something to restore it from in case something bad happens.

Needless to say, this is what I do when building your website, however, there is only so much I can do as a website developer.

Regular check-ins and updates are essential even if you don't have a WordPress website.

Remember, hackers gonna hack. They don't care if your website is built with WordPress, Shopify or Squarespace.

Don't set it and forget it. An abandoned website is a vulnerable website.

There is no point blaming the developer if your website is hacked due to neglect. Trust me, I know.

For a quote on a website revamp or a brand new site, get in touch via this link.