Here the five security options that every hosting service should provide
Choosing the best web host isn’t about who’s offering the best price for the most bandwidth. When shopping around for web hosts for your new website or blog, it’s important to consider the security options each host offers. An estimated 30,000 websites are hacked every day, and working with a web host that takes security seriously can greatly mitigate your risk of being hacked and compromising site data. Before choosing a web host, make sure you consider these five security options.
1. Secure Datacenter
When working with data over the web, it’s easy to forget that your data is stored in a physical location and that location can affect how secure your site files will be. For example, you don’t want your web host’s data centers to be in a location susceptible to natural disasters; otherwise, the servers are at risk of being destroyed in hurricanes, earthquakes, or floods. If something like this should happen, however, a good web host will have backup power generators on site to keep their clients’ websites running during a power outage.
Natural disasters aren’t your own security concern when it comes to data centers. You also want to research hosts and affordable hosting reviews to see if your choice web host has physical security measures in place to keep potential hackers out of the data center.
2. SFTP
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. An FTP client is used to upload files and publish them to your account. SFTP stands for Secure File Transfer Protocol and is the same thing, only more secure. FTP is open to vulnerabilities, and files can be intercepted with an FTP client, which means information like passwords can be accessed by unauthorized users and then used to compromise your website.
On the other hand, SFTP encrypts the files to make it much more difficult for outsiders—such as hackers—to read your files and get ahold of your passwords. Keep a lookout for web hosts that make this option available to you.
3. Regular Server Maintenance
Maintaining quality web hosting is not a “set it and forget it” type of strategy. A good host will maintain their servers to ensure you’re at low risk for attacks. A good indicator that a web hosting provider is maintaining their servers with the latest upgrades is if they have a published security protocol. A good web host will be transparent about their maintenance practices.
For example, if you check out A2Hosting, you’ll find that they tell you exactly what their maintenance practices are, including that they perform routine updates weekly, scheduled or monthly updates for significant enhancements, and emergency maintenance when the situation calls for it. With on-going routine updates like this, you can be confident that the server your site files are hosted on remains as secure as possible.
4. High Uptime
Uptime refers to how often your site is available to web visitors. If they can’t access your site for some reason, this period is called downtime. Downtime may occur due to connection issues, power failures, network congestion, hard drive failures, and more. Look for a host with high uptimes. This is a good indication that they have other strong security measures in place. Not only that, but high uptimes keep visitors coming back and can cut out some of the hassles of dealing with web hosting companies.
While no one can guarantee 100 percent uptime, several web hosts come pretty close, including eHost. When Hosting Facts tested them, they noted in their eHost review that they featured a flawless uptime over the past 10 months.
5. Site Backup Solutions
Even with solid security measures in place, a good web host can’t guarantee 100 percent that your site won’t crash or be hacked. In case that does happen, all isn’t lost. Hope can be restored through regular site backups, which will provide copies of your site files so you can restore your site should your server fail or should something else goes awry. If you’re lucky, you won’t have to use your backup files, but preparing for the unexpected can help you get your site back up and running following a crisis.
Good web hosts include site backups in their services—and they back up your site regularly so you always have a recent file to work from. Some web hosts will include site backup options straight from the control panel, which is great to have so you can remain in control of your backups. Ideally, you’ll want to work with a web host that allows you to restore your backups yourself so you don’t have to wait around for support to assist you during a disaster.
When researching web hosts and reading web hosting reviews, check on how often the hosts back up their servers, where the files are stored, and what methods for backup they use so that you can make an informed decision.
Website security is incredibly important for keeping your site up and running properly. It’s also important for your reputation so visitors can remain confident in browsing your site and sharing information with you. While there are many areas for site vulnerabilities, your choice of web host is a crucial area to focus on because a poor web host is at high-risk of hacks and other security breaches. Start by considering these five points when researching web hosts to help you find a quality host for your site.
