7 Best Practices to Secure Your Website in 2025

In 2025, cyberattacks are more sophisticated than ever. From ransomware to automated bots scanning millions of websites daily, no business is too small to be a target. The good news? By following a set of proven best practices, you can reduce the risk of breaches and keep your digital assets safe.

Here are the 7 best practices to secure your website in 2025, explained in detail with actionable steps.

1. Keep Software and Plugins Updated

Outdated software is the number one cause of website hacks. Attackers actively scan for known vulnerabilities in popular CMS platforms (WordPress, Magento, Joomla), themes, and plugins. If you’re running outdated code, you’re an easy target.

Example:
The infamous “Revolution Slider” WordPress plugin vulnerability (2014) is still exploited today, because many sites never updated. Thousands of websites were defaced.

Best Practices:

• Enable automatic updates for CMS core and plugins when available.
• Audit installed plugins/themes every quarter—remove anything unused.
• Subscribe to security advisories (WPScan, Magento Security Center) to stay ahead.
• Consider staging environments to test updates safely before applying to production.

2. Use HTTPS Everywhere

Without SSL/TLS (HTTPS), data transmitted between your website and visitors can be intercepted or tampered with. In addition, Google uses HTTPS as a ranking factor.

Example:
A login form over HTTP exposes usernames and passwords in plain text, allowing attackers on the same Wi-Fi network to steal them easily.

Best Practices:

• Install an SSL certificate (Let’s Encrypt for free, or paid DV/OV/EV for extra validation).
• Redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS using .htaccess (Apache) or server block (Nginx).
• Configure HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) to enforce HTTPS at the browser level.
• Monitor SSL expiration with tools like Cron + Certbot or Cloudflare alerts.

3. Implement Strong Authentication

Passwords alone are not enough. Weak, reused, or stolen passwords are responsible for a huge percentage of breaches. Two-factor authentication (2FA) drastically reduces this risk.

Example:
In 2020, over 500,000 Zoom accounts were sold on the dark web because users reused passwords from other breaches.

Best Practices:

• Enforce strong password policies (min 12 chars, mixed case, numbers, symbols).
• Require 2FA for admin accounts, hosting panels, and cPanel/WHM.
• Use passwordless login where possible (Solid Security plugin, Authy, Google Authenticator).
• Store passwords securely in a password manager.

4. Protect Against SQL Injection and XSS

SQL Injection (SQLi) and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) are still among the most common attacks. Poorly written code lets attackers manipulate queries or inject malicious scripts.

Example:
In 2023, an eCommerce site was exploited via a search bar vulnerable to SQLi, exposing thousands of customer records.

Best Practices:

• Always sanitize and validate inputs (use functions like filter_input() in PHP).
• Use prepared statements/parameterized queries (PDO, MySQLi).
• Escape output correctly to prevent XSS.
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) like Cloudflare or Sucuri to filter malicious traffic.

5. Regular Backups with Offsite Storage

Even the most secure websites can be compromised. Without reliable backups, recovery can take weeks—or never happen at all.

Example:
A Magento 2 store infected with ransomware couldn’t recover because backups were stored on the same compromised server.

Best Practices:

• Automate daily backups for both files and databases.
• Store copies offsite (AWS S3, Backblaze B2, or Google Drive).
• Encrypt backups before uploading to the cloud.
• Test your restore process at least quarterly to ensure backups actually work.

6. Monitor and Log Everything

You can’t protect what you can’t see. Without monitoring, many breaches go undetected for months. Attackers often install backdoors and use compromised sites for spam or phishing.

Example:
According to IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach report, the average time to identify a breach was 204 days.

Best Practices:

• Centralize logs with ELK stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) or Grafana Loki.
• Track failed logins, traffic spikes, and unusual database queries.
• Use Uptime Kuma or Prometheus + Alertmanager for real-time alerts.
• Regularly review logs for anomalies.

7. Apply Principle of Least Privilege

Too often, every user has “Admin” access, or servers run with root privileges. This increases damage potential if an account is compromised.

Example:
In 2022, a marketing intern with admin-level CMS access accidentally installed a vulnerable plugin, leading to a full site takeover.

Best Practices:

• Assign roles carefully: editors, admins, developers should have separate accounts.
• Revoke access for inactive accounts immediately.
• Limit database privileges (read-only for reporting users, write access only when needed).
• Use firewall rules or VPN to restrict server SSH/DB access by IP.

Final Thoughts

Securing your website in 2025 is not about a single tool—it’s about layered defenses. Updates, HTTPS, authentication, firewalls, monitoring, backups, and access control together form a strong security posture.

How ViWeb Technology Can Help

At ViWeb Technology, we specialize in:

• Hardening WordPress, Magento, and custom platforms against common attacks.
• WAF and DDoS protection with Cloudflare/Sucuri.
• Automated backup systems with cloud storage integration.
• 24/7 monitoring and response to detect breaches before they cause damage.

Your website is your business’s digital front door—keep it safe, fast, and reliable.

Secure Your Website with ViWeb Technology →