Website Security Basics for Small Businesses

Website security is sometimes overlooked by small businesses, but the impact of a breach can be severe: lost customer trust, downtime, and data leakage. The good news is that many essential protections are inexpensive and straightforward to implement. This guide explains practical steps you can take to secure your site and reduce risk.

Use HTTPS (SSL/TLS)
HTTPS encrypts the connection between visitors and your website. Modern browsers mark HTTP sites as "not secure," which erodes trust. Most hosting providers offer free certificates via Let's Encrypt. Ensure your site is served over HTTPS and configure redirects from HTTP to HTTPS. Also update any third-party integrations (APIs or webhooks) to use secure URLs.

Keep software up to date
Whether you run a CMS, a Laravel app, or a custom stack, keeping software updated is critical. Security updates patch known vulnerabilities. Create a maintenance schedule to apply minor updates and plan for major version upgrades. Test updates on a staging site before applying them to production to avoid downtime.

Backups and recovery
Backups are your last line of defence. Schedule automatic backups for files and databases and store backups offsite or in a separate storage bucket. Periodically test restoring backups to ensure they are valid. Keep at least a 30-day retention policy if possible, and log backup success/failure notifications.

Secure admin access
Restrict administrative access to trusted staff. Use strong, unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for admin accounts. Limit login attempts and consider IP whitelisting for administration areas. Create separate accounts for each admin and avoid sharing credentials.

Limit file uploads and sanitize inputs
File uploads are a common attack vector. Validate file types, enforce size limits, and store uploads outside the webroot where possible. Sanitize user inputs and use prepared statements or an ORM to prevent SQL injection. For content that allows HTML, use a robust sanitizer to remove harmful tags and attributes.

Use principle of least privilege
Grant the minimum permissions necessary for files, databases, and users. If your web application uses a database account, avoid giving it unnecessary privileges like dropping tables. For servers, ensure configuration files and environment secrets are readable only by the application user.

Monitor and log activity
Enable logging for important events: logins, failed login attempts, file uploads, and admin actions. Use a centralized logging or monitoring service if possible. Regularly review logs for suspicious activity and set alerts for anomalous behaviour.

Protect forms and APIs
Implement CSRF protection for forms and rate-limiting for APIs. Use tokens or signed requests for webhooks. Rate-limit authentication endpoints to make brute-force attacks harder.

Use security headers
Add HTTP security headers like Content Security Policy (CSP), X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security. These headers reduce the impact of certain attacks, such as clickjacking and content sniffing.

Third-party services and dependencies
Vet third-party plugins and libraries before installing them. Use well-maintained packages and keep them updated. Limit the number of plugins and remove unused ones to reduce the attack surface.

Incident response plan
Have a simple incident response plan: who to contact, how to take the site offline safely, and how to communicate with customers. Practice the plan occasionally so the team can react quickly in case of an incident.

Conclusion
Security is an ongoing process, not a one-time task. By implementing HTTPS, maintaining updates and backups, restricting access, sanitizing inputs, and monitoring activity, small businesses can significantly lower their risk. Start with the basics and build a culture where security is part of routine maintenance.