If you have an e-commerce website, it’s so important to earn the trust of your customers. Visitors to your site need to feel secure, comfortable and safe making transactions there. They are right to be concerned too, as small UK businesses are the target of around 65,000 cyber attacks a day according to research from Hiscox.
Without the confidence that they can hand over sensitive or personal information and it will be 100% secure, customers will simply choose to shop elsewhere.
But how do you build your credibility as a trusted site? Here are 6 essential security tips to tick off your list, to help customers feel safer shopping on your site.
1. Get SSL encryption
This is the most obvious reassurance to customers visiting your website, that lovely comforting padlock symbol in the corner of their browser that means a site is safe to use. It means that communications between users and your site are encrypted, including payment information. SSL encryption is more than just a ‘nice to have’ – it’s essential. Google is now forcing website owners to have it, otherwise visitors will see a ‘this site is not secure’ message when they try to access your site.
2. Be strict with password rules
It’s amazing how careless the owners and administrators of e-commerce websites can be when it comes to passwords. If your passwords are hardly every changed, easy to guess or everyone has the same one, you’re practically opening the door to hackers. While you’re looking at password security, why not require your customers to choose more secure passwords for their accounts too?
3. Update your security software
It’s crucial to keep all of your security software updated, as well as your website, otherwise there may be unpatched vulnerabilities that a hacker could exploit. Set your software to auto-update, but make sure you check on it regularly.
4. Avoid storing customer data
It’s very tempting to build a system that stores all of your customer data, including personal and sensitive information, in one place. In theory, this makes it easier for your business to access customer data and can also make it easier for customers to check out.
In actual fact, you’re simply creating an easy-to-steal repository of sensitive information – it’s a potential goldmine for hackers. You may also be falling foul of GDPR rules.
5. Get real-time alerts of suspicious activity
Invest in tools or software that scan your website regularly for suspicious activity, such as someone trying and failing to log in to the site several times in a short period. If you can get real-time alerts when this happens, you may have a chance of stopping a hack before it happens.
6. Communicate your security measures to your customers
If you’re taking steps to improve security on your e-commerce site, why not let your customers know about it? Even a simple page outlining what you’re doing to make their shopping experience safe and secure can provide great peace of mind to customers.
Need help with website security? Ambos Digital can help you put robust measures in place, as well as providing expert advice in a wide range of other areas for e-commerce websites.
