11 Web Hosting Security Best Practices (2019)

If you are planning to have an online store or you simply want to have your own website, it is essential that you focus on your web hosting security.

What is Secure Hosting?

WordPress security is the foremost concern if you are going to look for a managed WordPress hosting plan. More than having WordPress virus removal, you will need other types of web hosting security services to fully secure the site. There is no single feature that makes a host more secure than others. When we say secure hosting, a series of security features are put in place and they work together to form some sort of a shield for the site.

There are standard security practices that keeps the site secure but they still lack if you want to recover WordPress site or prevent hackers from invading the site again. It is important to check what the different security measures are offered by the hosting provider since basic web hosting security will not be enough.

You may have read about many instances where companies are victimized by hackers. Just recently, Dublin’s tram system was breached and the hackers demanded almost $4,000 in order for them not to publish the data that they have stolen. Such event should serve as a warning to keep web hosting security in check.

It is the host’s responsibility to monitor the servers and apply measures against security vulnerabilities. As a website owner, however, it is up to you to choose a managed WordPress hosting provider well. Your choice will help determine the level of WordPress security that your site gets. In return, it will help you realize the goals that you have set for your website.

11 Web Hosting Security Best Practices

Since WordPress sites are more prone to cyber-attacks than other websites, you must have cutting-edge security technologies to avoid becoming a victim of such stressful situations.

Here are common web hosting security best practices that can tell if your chosen hosting security provider is really secure:

1. Backups

The best web hosting security provider prioritizes having data backups included in their hosting plans. Loss of important information can cause setbacks for the website owner. It is easy to recover WordPress site if the data is backed up either daily, weekly, or according to the backup option that is subscribed. Take note of the backup frequency options because they must match your activities on your website. For example, if you post multiple contents in a day, then a daily backup is a great option.

Aside from backups, you must be aware about how the data is restored back to the site. Unlike a simple WordPress virus removal, it may take more than a few simple steps to get your site up and running with the retrieved backup data.

Related Post: How to Backup WordPress

2. Software Updates

Updates may sound insignificant but they do play a role in keeping the account safe against security holes. Hackers are as diligent in discovering new vulnerabilities in WordPress security as you are keen in maintaining your site secure. CMS and all other applications that are used on your site needs regular updates since the latest updates have remedies for all security threats that are discovered by WordPress experts.

3. Network Monitoring

There are times when unusual activities happen on the internal network itself. Any kind of intrusion can be avoided if the host will see to it that the internal network is regularly scanned for malware. It is also easier to identify signs if there has been an attempt to attack the network by observing the regular pattern of network activities.

4. Passwords

Having a strong password is a basic but highly effective method of protecting your account. A host has a backend access to your site so they must have strong passwords. The administrators and everyone else who have access should be encouraged to immediately change their passwords as soon as a hacking attempt has been identified. The web host provider should develop a strict policy over password strengths and should iterate that it should be complied. There should also be an option for secure password managers if the owner cannot come up with a secure and strong password.

5. Malware Scanning

Aside from a routine vulnerability scan on their servers, the host should offer a dedicated malware scanning software for every hosting plan. Having a way to identify and remove malware on the website owner’s end will help keep the site safe against malicious individuals that have managed to get through the server. An excellent malware scanning tool can instantly find a malware that is injected by a hacker into the server.

6. SQLi Prevention

One of the most prevalent techniques of hacking a website is through SQLi or SQL injection. Hackers will inject malicious code into the site’s coding. Websites that have SQL-based databases are prone to this kind of attack.

The best hosting security provider are equipped with measures that prevent SQL injections. They typically include regular firmware updates along with the installed themes, plugins, and software; Web Application Firewall (WAF) configuration, cross-site scripting implementation, and vulnerability probing to further protect the website against SQLi incidents.

7. SSL and Firewall

Firewalls are somewhat familiar since they are present on local computers. This type of security software stops the user from opening content or websites that pose as security threats. SSL or Secure Socket Layers works by securing sensitive data, such as bank accounts and customer information, when they are encoded on the website. Both security measures will give your site protection against basic cyber-attacks. SSL also encrypts data when transferring them in another server, which usually happens during payment processing.

The best hosting companies has a dedicated firewall for their clients. With this service, there are rules that are followed so that who gains access to your site is identified. This is important especially if you process sensitive information within your server.

You need to check if SSL security certificates are offered on a hosting plan since Google marks websites without SSL as “unsafe”.

8. SFTP

SFTP or Secure File Transfer Protocol should be available so that file management remains secure all the way through. Adding, deleting, or transferring documents between folders should require a secure password before proceeding. This will help ensure that only trusted individuals have the authority to open and modify the files.

9. DDoS Attacks Prevention

DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service. In a DDoS attack, thousands of requests are sent at once to a specific website server. Since the server can only handle a set amount of request volume, there is a tendency that the site will get overwhelmed and will either slow down or totally shut down. If this overwhelming traffic successfully overpowers the server, then the website can no longer be accessed by visitors.

An effective web hosting security provider should be armed with a series of anti DDoS tactics. They should target the core of DDoS activities wherein suspected requests are automatically blocked but legitimate traffic gets through.

10. Secure Shell (SSH)

A Secure Socket Shell keeps your site protected by providing a secure pathway whenever you try to access the web servers. This is a type of cryptographic protocol wherein all the information that is streamed through the communication channels are safely encrypted.

11. Access Restrictions

A host can promise the safest security if only those who are within the infrastructure can access the server. It should only be the admin and other authorized individuals, usually the technicians, have a security clearance to access the devices that are connected to the server. It will take as simple as whitelisting authorized IPs to allow server access. Malicious individuals will find it difficult to get through your resources if the login privilege is disabled at the user root level.

With these best practices in web hosting security, you should be able to have the highest standards when it comes to choosing your web host provider.

Elements of Top Hosts and Servers

To get you started on how you can have the best host that ranks website security as their first priority, here are the elements of top hosts and servers that you must look for:

More Secure and Safe

A secured web hosting platform have all the aforementioned best practices in meeting the security needs of the clients. There are many advantages to having premium features courtesy of your web host since it gives you an extra layer of protection against hackers. Airlour offers both basic and premium security features across all of their hosting plans. Each plan typically includes full updates for plugins, themes, and core files. This will ensure that the site runs smoothly and that broken links or plugins are instantly eliminated.

The server software is also kept up to date and a network-wide monitoring is assured to constantly look for potential threats. This means that you can sleep soundly at night knowing that you have the best partner in keeping your website safe.

To assure you that even Google certifies that your site is clean, you will see that a green padlock is placed before your URL. You are sure that any data you send from the website are encrypted. Your customers should not worry whenever they transact their payments at your website.

Instead of waiting for your request to back up your website, Airflour automatically creates a backup for the entire website. This is done daily so there is really no reason to get worried about losing any of your data.

Dedicated Technical Support

If you are worried about hackers attacking whenever you are not ready, don’t. Airflour has a dedicated technical support that works 24/7 to protect your site at all times. It cannot be avoided that hackers will be able to find vulnerabilities since they also work double time in trying to break into other people’s websites. Airflour’s constant monitoring ensures that any issues that may arise are promptly attended to. With a reliable technical team, they can immediately get into the issue and solve it right away even before it can create serious damage into the server and in your website.

Fastest

A sluggish website is frustrating for end-users. If you are having an e-commerce site, a slow-loading website can hurt your sales because customers like to have a better user experience and will only commit to purchase if they are satisfied with how your website loads.

Bottom Line

Malware and viruses slow down any website. Since Airflour provides one of the best web hosting security around, you can expect your site to have a faster loading time. A fast website generally offers a more satisfactory user experience hence a good web hosting will more likely lead to more sales. Customers are impressed with responsive websites so they tend to stay longer, keep browsing, and be impressed with your content that they will be convinced to buy whatever you are selling.

Take note that slow websites are more likely to have a lot of down times. This can hurt your SEO rankings badly because search engines cannot analyze your website. It must be your priority to get a web host provider who can fix a slow website and get the best search engine rankings as much as possible.

A good web hosting security provider means you will have a greater chance of having a successful website. This is great if you are using the website for business purposes. If you will have the best host for your website, you will have excellent security features, less to no downtime, a faster website, frequent backups, and a dedicated support team to help you out.

For advanced website security needs, you can check our outstanding services here at Airflour. Our team are experts and veterans when it comes to WordPress and we only use cutting-edge technology for our clients’ websites. More than regular web hosting, Airflour offers premium hosting features that is focused on maintaining a secure website not only for the clients but also for the users or potential customers.