What Is An SSL Certificate, And Do I Need One?

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, and it is a digital certificate that is used to confirm and authenticate a website’s identity. It is also used to encrypt information which is sent to the server on which the website is hosted. You can identify a website that has SSL, by looking at the address bar which will have ‘https’ at the front of the URL. A website without SSL will not have the ‘s’ at the end. You should have one because, in these days of data theft etc., Google sees having SSL as important, and it is now a ranking factor.

Can YouTube videos help bring traffic to my website?
Absolutely. YouTube just happens to be the second biggest search engine on the internet so if your product and services lend themselves to video then it can be an excellent source of traffic. Even if you offer an intangible service, such as accounting, or legal services, there is still plenty of opportunities to create informative videos for the sort of questions that get asked.

How To Prevent Websites From Being Hacked

Many unwanted events can cause the progress of a business to be stalled and if you are a business owner, doubtless you may have had to overcome some of them. One that can cause a multitude of problems for you is if your website is hacked. Apart from the logistical, legal, and financial problems that it can cause for your business, a hacked website can cause significant stress and confusion for all concerned.

Much of that confusion can stem from the fact that most business owners are not website security experts. If your home is burgled you will at least know how the thief got in as evidenced by the smashed window or the broken door lock. However, if your website is hacked, and a website security expert starts reeling off terms like bots, keylogging, cross-site-scripting, and SQL injection, you might understandably shake your head wondering what the hell they were talking about.

What is often frustrating to business owners after the event (the event being their website being hacked) is when they realise that some relatively simple and inexpensive steps could have prevented it, or at least minimised the damage caused. The phrase ‘prevention is better than the cure’ could have been invented for the issue of website hacking. So, let us look at some methods of preventing websites from being hacked.

Regularly Update Software, Apps Related To Your Website

One of the most common routes to inners of websites that are used by hackers is vulnerable software. Your website almost certainly relies on software and applications to function and any one of them could present a security hole. Most reputable software manufacturers will take action to rectify any security risks their products are deemed to have and will publish those updates. As such you should be checking regularly for those updates and install them immediately.