5 Essential WooCommerce Security Protocols

WooCommerce websites require consistent protection from hackers or malware. As many e-commerce sites grow globally, so do many hackers. Because you're not only accountable for your files or information as an online store owner but also your customers' personal information, WooCommerce security must be one of your top priorities.

Like security guards in a bank, online security is essential for an online store. Any concerns in your online store might weaken your web visitors' and weaken your customer's faith. Since there are different ways to secure your online business, following these five WooCommerce security protocols will ensure that your data and your customers are safe, increasing site visits.

1. Select a Dependable Host

When securing your online transactions, selecting a trustworthy host is critical. Because your host provider stores your website files and records, anyone can view them worldwide. The ideal host will secure you and your clients' information from fraudsters by having robust security measures to protect those files from hackers or malware.

It would be best to choose a host familiar with WordPress and mention what they do to prioritize your safety and security. When picking a host, look for the following features:

• Secure Shell SSL certificates protect personal information such as addresses and phone numbers
• Backups are vital so that if something goes wrong, you can restore your site with all of your data intact
• Good monitoring and protection so you'll know right away if there is malware in your files or database
• A server firewall that prevents hackers from gaining access to your data
• Customer service is available 24/7 in case you require assistance

Using the above features, you should be able to find information on the security protocols offered by the hosts you're considering on their website to make an informed decision. This could be an indication that the company isn't worth your time. An excellent spot to begin your search for a web host is the one on this page.

2. Put Server-Level Security Methods into Action

Since hackers are continuously looking for server vulnerabilities, your hosting server is your first line of protection for website security. Even if your WordPress site has robust security plugins and procedures, a hosting failure will render those tools useless. You can use the following approaches to implement server-level security measures:

• Use (SSH) Keys Authentication
• Change or use passwords whenever an employee or a supplier resigns from your business
• Use Secure File Transfer Protocol (FTPS)
• Secure Sockets Layer Certificates
• Track Login Attempts regularly
• Make a secure connection or use one that already exists
• Use VPNs and private networks

You may also look for good WordPress hosting options that include server-level security features like disk write safeguards. Disk write protection limits the processes that can be written to disk on the hosting server, making it more difficult for a hacker to exploit a theme or plugin vulnerability. The disk writer also restricts the number of attempts to write to the disk, making it easier to detect malicious behavior from the third party.

3. Regularly Update Plugins and Security

When it comes to WooCommerce security, regular plugin and security upgrades are significant priorities. Hackers are more likely to target an outdated plugin or theme.

When it comes to WooCommerce sites, being up to speed on the newest WooCommerce updates is critical, as these frequently include security patches and maintenance fixes. For example, the WooCommerce 4.6.2 update (issued in November 2020) has a fixed fault that allowed anonymous users to establish accounts at checkout even though this setting was off in the dashboard.

WooCommerce advised online store owners to make the change right away. Delaying these updates can expose your e-commerce business to security threats such as hackers or fraudsters. Suppose you're concerned that plugin upgrades would make your site accessible to hackers due to WooCommerce difficulties. In that case, you can test the updates in a production setting first before deploying them on your live site.

4. Establish a Security Monitoring Program

While using a reputable host and performing regular plugin upgrades and maintenance would reduce the opportunities for hackers, it may not be enough because new threats are continually emerging, including automated attacks on WordPress and WooCommerce sites. Blocking them on your own is impossible. You can secure and monitor all activities on your site, such as login attempts, using security monitoring tools.

Set up continuous security monitoring on your WooCommerce site to detect malware or hacking attempts. When it comes to WooCommerce security on WordPress sites, some of the top cyber security monitoring tools you can use include:

•  Firewall
• Intruder
• Netsparker
• System Mechanic Ultimate Defense
• Viper
• LifeLock
• Mimecast

These services include a malware scanner and notify your team if a third party detects any unusual behavior. You may also keep track of the number of WordPress accounts each month and delete any former employees or supplier who no longer needs access to the site.

For an e-commerce site where interruption might hurt sales, a web application firewall (WAF), a barrier between a web program and the Internet, can help mitigate many typical assaults. This can guard against malicious bot traffic or a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, which targets to bring your server or website down by saturating it with many faulty requests.

Sadly, even if you use these guidelines and use a secure payment gateway, e-commerce fraud can severely influence your online company.

Users testing stolen credit card accounts on an e-commerce site are relatively prevalent. WooCommerce Anti-Fraud is an excellent tool for spotting and stopping fraudulent transactions. The plugin assigns a risk score to each transaction and can cancel or halt questionable transactions spontaneously.

5. Keeping Daily Database Backups

All of the measures mentioned above are necessary and will aid in WooCommerce security, but keeping a database backup of your WordPress site might save you time.

When a website is hacked, you should go through a cleanup procedure to remove all malware and compromised files. Unfortunately, there are times when a website is hacked so severely that vital information and files are lost. In this case, maintaining a clean backup of the site is essential because it eliminates the need to rebuild it.

Some hosting settings provide an automatic daily site backup on the server level. If you don't have this option, you can use a WordPress plugin to make your site's daily or weekly automatic backups.

Keep an eye on the settings for how long the files are stored, depending on your solution. Typically, backup files are enormous. If you keep backups on the site or server, the database size of your site will grow, resulting in more outstanding hosting fees. Setting up checkpoints and ensuring that older backups only remain for a specific amount of time is one way to mitigate this.

When automatically restoring a backup for WooCommerce sites, be aware that it will overwrite any transactions since the backup was taken. A knowledgeable web development team can ensure that the files are used effectively in a security breach.

Conclusion

Due to the rise in e-Commerce sites worldwide, WooCommerce security is critical for every WordPress site. While security features are built into WordPress and WooCommerce, new online store owners should follow simple guidelines. We at Bright Hosting recognize the significance of security for any WordPress or e-Commerce site that serves various online businesses. Contact us immediately to learn more about WooCommerce security and how to protect your data and your client's data from hackers.