Security for online retailers has never been more important.

All websites are open to attack by hackers, but none more so than ecommerce sites. Here there are rich pickings for criminals.

Many ecommerce businesses have retail websites that enable customers to create accounts, meaning that not only financial but also personal details are held on file.

Even the less sophisticated websites have payment facilities, requiring the use of credit or debit cards.

Without sufficient protection, these details are also at risk. Add GDPR into the picture and you can see that any business with an ecommerce website is at risk of huge fines as well as financial losses.

In fact, at its worst, the hacking of an ecommerce or retail website can take a business out altogether, causing them to cease trading.

Website security for ecommerce

If we cast our minds back to 2019, an unbelievable 7.9 billion records were stolen from websites, including not only card numbers but also home addresses.

Even if a breach of this type doesn’t break the business, it can ruin customer trust and bring GDPR fines down heavily on the head of those responsible.

Once buyers lose their confidence in shopping online via ecommerce and retail websites, they won’t take the risk.

Instead, they will move onto a competitor site where they know their information is safe.

If you have sales coming in via your website, you can’t afford to put the livelihood and reputation of your business at stake.

No matter the size of your operation, hackers, spammers and those using malicious software will be looking for a way in.

Let your defences down just once and it can be catastrophic for all concerned, including your valuable customers.

Ecommerce website design services

The good news is that with the help of an ecommerce website design agency, there are ways that you can improve the security of your site:

Use HTTPS – Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure keeps your data secure. Where personal information is involved, you must use HTTPS to guarantee privacy and protection.

It works by keeping the connection to the site safe whilst details such as credit cards are entered.

It does this by making use of:

  • Authentication – shows users they are using the correct website
  • Encryption – encrypts data so hackers cannot steal or track
  • Data integrity – protects data from being tampered with

To use HTTPS, you will need an SSL certificate from whoever hosts your website. Once in place, the URL will show users that the connection is secure.

Install Security Plugins – As many as 52% of WordPress hacks are due to plugins providing vulnerability.

Whilst plugin software components are essential to keep your website functioning and to make it stand out from competitor sites, you should only use plugins from secure sources.

Also, you need to install security plugins.

These will help protect your website from attacks and malware. Once in place, no one else but you (or authorised staff) can access site data, including customer personal and financial data.

If any suspicious coding pops up due to spamming, the security plugin will detect it.

This is simple to do and yet can protect your ecommerce website from disaster. The best plugins come complete with:

  • A firewall to monitor site activity and block attacks
  • Malware scanning to detect threats
  • Alerts to let you know when something is wrong

Many secure plugins are free. If you are not sure which to use, talk to a professional website developer.

Provide Secure Payment Gateways – Your clients need to feel safe when they make a payment for goods online.

The slightest doubt about their personal information being secure may send them running in the opposite direction.

Once lost, it’s very hard to get a customer back, and you will have missed sales.

Secure ecommerce sites can increase conversions by as much as 35% if the checkout process is optimised.

If your website does not have this facility already, talk to a recommended website developer, ensuring that your customers feel safe.

Only by offering a secure payment gateway can you ensure the safety of your ecommerce website, improving customer engagement and boosting sales.

The gateway will process credit card details, calculate taxes and verify the order so be sure to choose one that suits your site.

Look at the payment methods offered and match these to the ones preferred by your buyers.

Ecommerce website design services

All of the above features can be added to your ecommerce website design by a skilled ecommerce website design agency or developer.

Whether you want a new website designing or these security aspects adding to an existing ecommerce site, a reputable ecommerce web design agency will offer these security aspects as standard.

Talk to an expert today for more information on web design for ecommerce, including:

  • HTTPS
  • Security plugins
  • Secure payment gateways
  • SSL certificates
  • Security seals

Ecommerce website security

It’s very apparent that to ensure the security of your ecommerce website you take all of the above steps, protecting your customers throughout their online journey.

Don’t leave your website wide open to being hacked or spammed.

Now that GDPR regulations are in place, you have so much more to lose with hefty fines coming your way as well as financial losses.

Ignore website security at your peril and face losing both conversions and sales.