Protect Your Online Business: A Checklist for Non-Technical Small and Medium Business Owners

Introduction

Are you a small to medium business owner concerned about the security of your online business but overwhelmed by technical jargon? You are not alone. Ensuring the security of your online presence and reputation is important, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. This to-do list is designed specifically for non-technical small and medium business owners. It presents the basic steps to protect your online business in a simple and practical way. With this guide, you can confidently improve your website security – and potentially increase your business’ online reputation and credibility.

This checklist offers practical, straightforward steps that deliver immediate results, helping you to effectively protect your online business. No need for deep technical knowledge – just follow these basic steps to improve your web security.

The checklist

Basic website security

• Use strong passwords: Make sure all accounts connected to your website have strong, unique passwords.
• Update software regularly: Update your website platform and add-ons regularly to fix possible security vulnerabilities.
• Backup your website: Backup your website regularly to prevent data loss in the event of a breach, no matter you have a software that cares about this, you need to do local backup of your own to make sure everything is under your control.

Advanced security measures

• Install a Web Application Firewall (WAF): Protect your site from malicious traffic and attacks.
• Enable HTTPS: Secure your website with SSL/TLS encryption to protect data.
• Restrict user access: Give only necessary permissions to specific staff members to minimize risk.

E-commerce specifics

• Payment Gateways: Use reputable payment processors with strong security protocols.
• Display security labels: Display trust labels to reassure customers about the security of transactions.
• Regularly scan for vulnerabilities: Use security tools to scan for vulnerabilities and fix them immediately.

Preventive actions

• Train your team: Provide basic cybersecurity training to your employees.
• Monitoring for suspicious activity: Regularly check for unusual activity on your website.
• Create a response plan: Maintain an up-to-date action plan in the event of a security incident.

Compliance with regulations

• Understand data protection laws: Be aware of GDPR and other relevant data protection regulations.
• Implement a privacy policy: Make sure you have a clear, consistent privacy policy on your website.

Conclusion

Still sounds complicated and difficult to implement? Yes, indeed, security is a complex and continuous process, not a one-time setup.

Want to learn more about the tasks in the checklist with specific tips and examples?

Oftentimes, a simple step listed above can dramatically increase the security of your website. Installing a firewall (WAF) in front of your website, for example, can solve the problems of out-of-date platforms or software, the need for SSL, and potential threats of hacking. There are suitable WAF cloud services that will save you the need for specialized hardware, software or complex configurations from the engineering team.

However, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the specific tips and examples in the extended version of the checklist, which can be found here.