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When I work with entrepreneurs, one question comes up again and again: how can I keep my website safe? Security is easy to overlook while you design pages and set up a store, and a small oversight can open the door to attacks.
These are the 10 fundamentals I recommend to every entrepreneur I work with, drawn from years of helping startups, freelancers and small businesses avoid preventable problems.
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TL;DR: how to secure a website
To secure a website, choose a host that includes SSL and backups, keep your software updated, use strong passwords with two-factor authentication and monitor for suspicious activity. Limiting account access, training your team and arranging an outside audit add further layers of protection.
You'll learn:
Hosting and encryption basics
Patching and updates
Credentials, forms and permissions
Backups, monitoring and expert audits
How to secure a website in 10 steps
01. Choose a reliable hosting provider
I can’t stress this enough: your hosting provider is the first line of defense. I once had a client entrust me with their site after several unexplained incidents.
When we investigated, we discovered that the hosting provider, chosen solely for its price, offered no firewall, no automatic website backups and no DDoS protection. The result was a website frequently offline, lost data and a damaged reputation.
A good web host should provide:
A free SSL certificate.
Automated and off-site backups.
24/7 server monitoring.
Responsive technical support.
Website infrastructure resilient to traffic spikes and attacks.
Patching of the server software and runtime your site runs on, so you aren’t left to apply critical fixes yourself.
This point matters more than most site owners realize. On a self-hosted CMS, the host, the site owner and every plugin developer share the job of keeping server software current. On Wix, the servers, runtime and infrastructure belong to Wix, and so does keeping them patched.
Start your journey with free website hosting today and make sure your website is built on a secure foundation from the very start.
Make sure you choose from the best website hosting providers to keep your website secure and reliable from day one.
02. Enable SSL (non-negotiable for trust and Google ranking)
SSL isn’t just a green padlock in the browser bar, it’s what encrypts all the data exchanged between your visitors and your website. Whether you have a simple contact form or a full sales funnel, lacking encryption can expose your users to malicious interception.
Beyond security, SSL is also a ranking factor: Google considers it in its algorithm and it reassures your customers that your site is trustworthy.
Today, a website without SSL is like a door without a lock: it simply doesn’t inspire confidence.
Learn what is an SSL certificate and why it's important for keeping your web privacy and data secure.
03. Keep everything updated (CMS, plugins, themes, apps)
Every month, new security vulnerabilities are discovered in commonly used web tools. And every month, thousands of websites get hacked simply because these website updates weren’t applied.
I once had a web agency reach out to me about a hack affecting around ten client websites. The common factor? An outdated plugin that hadn’t been updated in two years. Mistakes like this are costly in time, reputation and sometimes even legal responsibility.
Updates you apply vs. updates your platform applies
Not every update is yours to install. Some fixes live in the software your website runs on, not in the site itself, and who applies them depends on how your site is hosted.
In October 2026, the PHP security team disclosed two critical vulnerabilities in the PHP runtime that let attackers run code remotely on affected servers. PHP powers a huge share of self-hosted websites and online stores, so a patched version alone didn’t fix the problem.
For a self-hosted site, the fix is a chain: the host has to ship the patched version for your plan, you or your developer have to confirm the site switched to it, your CMS, theme and plugins have to keep working on it, and staging copies, cron jobs and control panels have to be updated too. If any step is missed, the site stays exposed, and the site owner carries the risk.
On Wix, there’s no PHP runtime for you to inventory, update or harden. Wix’s security team patches and monitors the servers, runtime and infrastructure for every site at once, so a fix like this one needs no action from you. Your part is the layer you control: third-party apps, external scripts and any custom code you add.
Here’s who handles a server-side security fix in each setup:
Step in a server-side fix | Self-hosted CMS (PHP) | Wix |
Ship the patched runtime | Your hosting provider, on its schedule | Wix |
Confirm the site runs the patched version | You or your developer | Wix |
Check the CMS, theme and plugins still work | You or your developer | No PHP runtime for you to manage |
Update staging copies, cron jobs and control panels | You or your developer | Wix |
Monitor for attacks while the fix rolls out | You and your host | Wix’s 24/7 security team |
How Wix keeps the stack patched
Dedicated security team: a security operations center (SOC) monitors the platform 24/7, using internal network traffic, system activity and ongoing vulnerability research.
Continuous testing: Wix’s security team and an external third party scan and penetration-test the platform regularly, and a bug bounty program invites independent researchers to report issues.
Defense in depth: a multi-layer security architecture, plus firewalls and intrusion prevention systems, is designed to help protect against zero-day issues.
Resilience: sites are served across AWS, Google Cloud and Equinix, with automatic multi-cloud failover.
Audited standards: Wix holds ISO 27001, 27017 and 27018 certifications and SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, and is a PCI DSS Level 1 service provider for payments.
Encryption by default: HTTPS over TLS 1.2 or above is enabled automatically on every new site, and data at rest is encrypted with AES-256.
No platform is immune to vulnerabilities, and Wix doesn’t claim to be. The difference is who finds, fixes and monitors them, and how fast that can happen when one team owns the whole stack.
Pro tip: Check out Wix’s premium plans to learn more about web hosting cost and the ecosystem that helps protect your website.
04. Strong passwords only (no exceptions)
I can’t overstate this: weak passwords are still the most common way hackers get in. I often find entrepreneurs using “admin123” or reusing passwords across multiple tools.
Here’s what I recommend:
Use a password manager (Bitwarden, Dashlane)
Create unique passwords for each platform
Enable two-factor authentication
Never share login credentials over email or chat
Strong authentication is your first barrier against intrusions.
Learn more:
05. Secure your forms
In my experience, even a simple contact field can become a gateway for hackers if it isn’t properly secured.
On an educational website, I once saw a malicious script inserted through a poorly protected search field (it redirected visitors to a fraudulent site) causing serious reputational damage.
Forms, whether for contact, registration or search, are frequently targeted by attacks like SQL injection, XSS (cross-site scripting) or CSRF (cross-site request forgery).
The worst part? These attacks often go unnoticed until the consequences appear: redirects to malicious sites, data deletion or stolen credentials.
This isn’t limited to large or complex sites, both showcase websites and ecommerce platforms are vulnerable.
In one training example, a municipal website’s poorly secured contact form allowed a hacker to send hundreds of spam emails from the site’s server. The result: the site was blacklisted by email providers, and the municipality’s reputation was severely affected.
Protecting your forms is a crucial part of a defense-in-depth strategy for a secure website.
It’s not enough to rely solely on client-side protections; every piece of data must be verified and filtered on the server side. This is also where a web application firewall (WAF) can detect and block abnormal behavior before it causes harm.
Key form protection measures I recommend:
Implement client-side and server-side validations.
Use filtered fields to block malicious input.
Add a CAPTCHA to prevent automated bot submissions.
Configure application firewall rules where available.
06. Perform regular backups (and follow the 3-2-1 rule)
The worst time to think about backups is after an attack. I know this from experience. I once worked with an ecommerce site that had neglected this step and ended up losing all its product listings, six months of work gone in an instant.
By contrast, a school I supported was able to restore its site in just 20 minutes after a critical bug, simply because backups were scheduled every night.
Think back to the OVH data center fire in Strasbourg in 2021: thousands of websites were lost because off-site backups were missing. Even the most robust infrastructure isn’t infallible.
One method I always recommend, whether for businesses or the students I train, is the 3-2-1 rule. It’s simple but highly effective:
3 copies of your data: The original plus two backups.
2 different storage media: For example, your server plus an external drive.
1 off-site copy: Secure cloud storage or remote hosting.
Following this approach helps you handle nearly any scenario: hardware failure, hacking, human error or natural disaster.
It’s a fundamental principle I cover in all my cybersecurity awareness modules, and it’s also a key step toward having a truly secure website.
Stay informed and make smarter decisions. Check out the latest web hosting statistics to understand trends and risks that could affect your website’s security.
07. Install a monitoring or intrusion detections system
A good monitoring system alerts you in real time if anything unusual happens: suspicious connection attempt, file modification or an unusual traffic spike.
This is what allowed me to stop an attack on a showcase site before it compromised the server. You can use logging tools, intrusion detection tools or even specialized plugins depending on your CMS.
Learn more:
08. Limit access: fewer accounts=lower risk
The more administrator accounts there are, the greater the risk.
Limit access to the bare minimum. And above all: delete old accounts, those of freelancers who have completed their assignments, interns, etc.
I also recommend tracing connections (IP addresses, times, location) to quickly identify abnormal behavior.
This principle aligns with what is known in cybersecurity as the principle of least privilege. Each user or collaborator should only have access to the resources strictly necessary to perform their tasks.
This significantly reduces the potential impact in the event of an account compromise. An external service provider does not need full access to your site, a writer does not need to modify technical settings and so on.
I often emphasize this point because it is one of the simplest reflexes to implement, yet one of the most neglected.
In certain more sensitive contexts, it is also relevant to adopt a Zero Trust approach, a security model that considers that any access attempt, even internal, must be verified, validated and monitored.
This model is based on the idea that the threat can come from both outside and inside, intentionally or unintentionally. It encourages practices such as strong authentication, access segmentation and continuous monitoring.
Adopting such a stance, even on a small scale, makes it possible to anticipate human errors, abuses of rights or silent intrusions.
09. Train your team: human error causes 80% breaches
In my experience, human error is behind 8 out of 10 security breaches.
It’s rarely a highly sophisticated virus or a hacker hiding in the shadows. More often, it’s an accidental click on a fraudulent link, a password shared via an unsecured messaging app or a sensitive document stored on a public cloud without protection.
These small, everyday mistakes open the door to serious incidents.
That’s exactly why training and awareness are the most effective defenses against cyber threats.
Over the years, I’ve worked with a wide variety of organizations:
Startups and small businesses
Local authorities and municipalities
Schools and universities
Associations and social centers
Child protection services
My goal is always the same: to make cybersecurity understandable, practical and actionable, no matter the technical level of the audience.
Here’s how I bring this to life:
Tailored workshops: Designed for each team’s professional realities: marketing, HR, accounting, management, etc.
Interactive sessions for students: Middle schools, high schools or higher education, using real cases, demonstrations of simulated attacks and discussions about safe digital habits.
Inclusive modules for vulnerable audiences: Designed to be accessible, supportive and easy to follow.
Post-incident support: Helping organizations recover after a hack or data breach and turning incidents into learning opportunities.
I rely on a simple, effective teaching principle: demystify without minimizing.
Cybersecurity shouldn’t be scary, it should become second nature.
I firmly believe that even the best technology is useless without trained, confident and empowered users. That’s why every website, every organization, should integrate cybersecurity training into its action plan from day one, not only after a breach occurs.
Explore these website building tips to make your site shine.
10. Get your website professional audited
Finally, a thorough website audit provides a clear understanding of your weaknesses.
It’s not just a simple checkbox. We analyze the technical configuration, internal practices, user behavior and external dependencies. I then provide a prioritized, accessible action plan tailored to your company’s profile.
It is often at this stage that decision-makers truly become aware of the issues and begin to implement a real cybersecurity strategy.
Quick guide to the essentials
Key action | Its impact |
Choose a reliable hosting provider with SSL, backups and 24/7 monitoring | Protects your site from downtime, data loss and attacks at the foundational level |
Keep your CMS, plugins and themes up to date | Prevents hackers from exploiting known vulnerabilities |
Know who patches your server software and runtime | Closes the gaps where each party assumes someone else applied a critical fix |
Use strong, unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication | Secures access to your site and sensitive information |
Secure forms and inputs against injections or spam | Stops malicious code, spam and data theft before it reaches your system |
Perform regular backups following the 3-2-1 rule | Ensures you can quickly recover from attacks, errors or server failures |
Monitor your site for unusual activity or potential intrusions | Detects threats early to prevent major damage |
Limit access and permissions to only what’s necessary | Reduces risk from internal or external user errors |
Train your team to avoid human error, the leading cause of breaches | Ensures employees follow safe practices and protect your business |
Get your website professionally audited for hidden vulnerabilities | Identifies weak spots you may not notice, allowing proactive fixes |
What to do if your website gets hacked
Even with strong defenses, a site can still be compromised. Acting quickly limits the damage to your data, your visitors and your search visibility.
Change every password and remove unknown accounts
Reset the passwords for your hosting account, website admin, email and any connected tools, and turn on two-factor authentication. Remove user accounts you don’t recognize and revoke access for anyone who no longer needs it.
Restore a clean backup
If you have a backup from before the attack, restore it, then apply all pending updates so the same weakness can’t be used again. Without a clean backup, ask your host or a security professional to find and remove the malicious code.
Contact your host and check for search warnings
Tell your hosting provider what happened, since they can often help find the entry point. Check Google Search Console for security issue reports, and once the site is clean, request a review so any warnings shown to visitors can be removed.
Tell the people affected
If customer data may have been exposed, inform the people affected and follow the data protection rules that apply to your business and location.
If you’re curious about:
How to secure a website: protect your reputation, customers and business
Having a secure website isn’t just a technical requirement, it’s a proactive approach, a sign of professionalism and a guarantee of trust for your audience.
Digitalization is accelerating, and neglecting cybersecurity is like leaving your storefront unattended right in the heart of the city.
If you’re an entrepreneur, project leader, freelancer or manager of a small business, don’t wait until tomorrow to secure your site. The risks are real, but the solutions are accessible.
And if you need guidance, a clear assessment or help taking concrete action, I’m here to support you every step of the way.
Rest assured that Wix provides robust security features and reliable hosting to keep your website safe. Understanding these tools is a key step in protecting your reputation, your customers and your business online.
If your site runs on a self-hosted CMS today, every new server-side vulnerability starts the same chain of updates. A managed platform takes that chain off your plate, because one team owns the whole stack.
Moving to a managed platform? With Wix’s migration skill, an AI agent moves your existing site to Wix Headless in less than a day. It discovers your content, maps it to Wix equivalents and imports your products, orders, blog posts, customers and media into a new Wix project. You review the mapping and approve the plan before any data is imported. After the move, Wix handles patching, scaling and uptime, and keeps your infrastructure up to date. Learn how to migrate your site to Wix Headless
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Meet the expert
Allan Kinic is a cybersecurity specialist and the founder of Prevention-Internet.fr.
With years of experience helping businesses, nonprofits and public organizations protect their websites, Allan brings practical, hands-on guidance to entrepreneurs looking to strengthen their website security.
How to secure a website FAQ
What is website security and why is it important?
Website security involves protecting your site from cyberattacks, malware and data breaches. As an entrepreneur, having a secure website safeguards your customers, reputation and business operations. It also builds trust and ensures compliance with best practices.
How can I secure my business as a small business owner?
Start by choosing a reliable host, keeping your CMS, plugins and themes updated, using strong passwords, enabling SSL and implementing regular backups. Even small actions can prevent most common attacks.
Does Wix host websites securely?
Yes. Wix hosts every site on infrastructure it owns and patches, monitored 24/7 by a dedicated security operations center. HTTPS over TLS 1.2 or above is enabled automatically, data at rest is encrypted with AES-256, and Wix holds ISO 27001, 27017 and 27018 certifications and SOC 2 Type 2 compliance. This makes it easier for entrepreneurs to maintain strong website security without needing advanced technical skills.
Do I need to update PHP on a Wix site?
No. Wix sites don’t run on a PHP runtime you manage. Wix’s security team patches and monitors the servers, runtime and infrastructure, so server-side fixes are applied across the platform without any action from you. You’re still responsible for what you add yourself, such as third-party apps and custom code.
How often should I backup my website?
I recommend following the 3-2-1 rule: keep 3 copies of your data, on 2 different storage types, with 1 copy off-site. Regular backups ensure you can quickly recover from cyberattacks, human error or technical failures.
