A 10-Point Security Checklist for Your Company Website

Your website is often the first face of your company on the internet. It holds customer data, contact forms and admin panels — which makes it an attractive target. The good news: most attacks exploit gaps that a few basic measures would have closed.

Review the checklist below regularly and your site will be far more secure.

1. Keep software and plugins up to date

Apply security updates for your content management system, themes, plugins and server software without delay. Remove plugins and themes you do not use; inactive components carry risk too.

2. Enforce HTTPS everywhere

Make sure every page is served only over HTTPS. Redirect HTTP requests to HTTPS and enable the HSTS header. Set up automatic renewal that tracks your SSL certificate’s expiry date.

3. Use strong authentication

Use strong, unique passwords and two-factor authentication for everyone who can access the admin panel. Avoid default usernames like “admin” and limit failed login attempts.

4. Grant permissions on the principle of least privilege

Give each user only the access they need to do their job. Close the accounts of people who leave and of former agencies immediately. Review permissions once a month.

5. Take regular, tested backups

Back up both files and the database automatically and store backups in a separate location. Most importantly: test restoring from backup regularly. An untested backup is an unreliable backup.

6. Protect forms and inputs

Validate contact and registration forms on the server side and add spam and bot protection. Never use user input directly in database queries; SQL injection and XSS remain among the most common vulnerabilities.

7. Configure security headers

HTTP security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options and Referrer-Policy block many browser-based attacks. Make sure your server does not expose unnecessary version information.

8. Monitor logs and alerts

Collect server and application logs and define alert rules for suspicious login attempts, unexpected file changes and traffic spikes. An attack spotted early does far less damage.

9. Process personal data lawfully

Keep personal data collected through forms only as long as needed, keep your privacy notice up to date and use an explicit consent mechanism for cookies. Data security is also the foundation of legal compliance (KVKK/GDPR).

10. Run regular security tests

Automated scans matter, but they cannot find every gap. Have an expert team run a penetration test at least once a year and after major changes, close the findings by priority and then verify with a re-test.

Conclusion

Website security is not a one-off task but an ongoing habit. Adding these ten points to your calendar protects your site against most attacks.

At Twinlike, our cybersecurity and server & IT management services run these checks for you on a regular schedule and close gaps before they are exploited. Get in touch to review your site’s security together.

Bu yazı Türkçe olarak da mevcut — Türkçe oku →