5 Foolproof Ways to Secure Your Online Woocommerce Store In 2023

No one is unaware of how hard it has been for small and medium entrepreneurs and store owners to survive since the pandemic has hit us in numerous ways. It had forced most of them to move on an eCommerce platform owned by them or either the third party. But it is usually hard for everyone to make their eCommerce platform, so most of them prefer to switch to online woocommerce stores.

Woocommerce is an open-source electronic business plugin available for WordPress. Most store owners prefer to use it because of the available tools and numerous options to customize their online woocommerce store. 

At the same time, your woocommerce store security should be your priority.   in 2022-2023, there has been a massive spike in cyber frauds, especially on all types of eCommerce stores, regardless of their size and scale. And so was the scenario with woocommerce security; in July 2021 developer team of woocommerce encountered several critical security breaches. Immediately more than 91 security patches were released, along with several tips and instructions to make online woocommerce stores safe and secure.

Here, below are the five ways to keep your online woocommerce store safe and secure.

1)   Always Use an SSL certificate:

TLS (Transport Layer Security), previously SSL (Secure socket layer), is a cryptographic mechanism and protocol to encrypt and secure a browsing session over the internet. A website using an SSL/TLS encryption protocol always starts with HTTPS and can be easily identified by observing a green or grey padlock symbol. 

In addition to this, an SSL certificate help to keep secure crucial in-transit information, such as:

Login credentials.

Credit/debit card and account details used for transactional purposes.

Personal information i.e., Full Name, DOB, Email, Residential address, etc.

Proprietary information.

Legal contracts and documents.

Image Source: Jarvee.com

Usually, eCommerce store owners are advised to invest in Wildcard SSL certificates because it allows you to secure unlimited first-level subdomains pertaining to a single base domain. With this single certificate, you can secure multiple blogs, payment pages, product collection pages in addition to any other first-level subdomains that you choose to add later. If budget is an issue, you can buy a cheap SSL wildcard that provides the same level of security as the more expensive ones. Also, keep in mind errors do happen with SSL versions! Thankfully, supporthost can fix err ssl version problems.

2)  Always choose a reputable hosting service provider.

Your website’s hosting service provider stores all your website’s core data files and databases. So, it becomes very crucial to choose your hosting service provider wisely because, in the end, it is the one responsible for viewing and showing your website out there on the internet. Therefore, always prefer a host, which provides you data backup, a good access speed, server security, site, and server firewall, and keeps their server software up-to-date.

3)  Create a Strong Password

A weak password is like a weak lock on your home gate; anyone can enter your home with a little effort and can take away your valuable things. No one wants to be a victim of cyber frauds and security breaches.

So, to keep your account safe and secure, a user must maintain a strong password. In addition to this, a user must keep changing a password at regular intervals. A strong password is a combination of numbers, symbols, and both upper and lower case alphabet. A password with a length of 8 – 16 characters should be preferred because the longer the password, the harder it will be to break it.

4)  Always Keep Two Factor Authentication (2FA) Turned On.

Two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security to access your account. In this method, a user needs to provide a security code received through SMS, Email, or a two-factor authentication application installed on his device. We can also use a digitally signed security key to access our account with the improved security methods. 

All the top security advisors suggest using two-factor authentication for your account access. If somehow, an intruder has your password and other account login credentials, he can still not access your account without your consent, and you come to know about the security breach. You can take immediate actions to secure your account.

5)  Always Back Up Your Woocommerce Store

A site database backup is a wise step to be followed. Always keep a backup of your database and other woocommerce store data. Sometimes security breaches are capable enough to damage your site data, and you may lose your complete database. However, if you already have a data backup, you will not lose your data and continue your woocommerce store.

Conclusion

Cyber Security breaches have always been a subject of concern. Attackers are always out there 24×7, finding and creating security threats and vulnerabilities for WooCommerce security. Unfortunately, we cannot end this cat-mouse game, but a few steps and security measures can avert these security breaches and vulnerabilities. Several security plugins are also available for ensuring your WooCommerce store security. We hope that the measures mentioned above will help you secure your Woocommerce store.

Next, you can consider reading: 5 Ways to Get More Repeat Customers to Your ECommerce Site