In addition to our optimization series for 2016, you’ll also get to look forward to us diving into Magneto best practices in order to ensure your ecommerce site stays happy and healthy in 2016!
With increased use of Magento as an ecommerce platform, cyber criminals have been working overtime to crack the system. They’re doing everything they can to:
- Steal and use personal customer data
- Steal and use credit card information
- Steal customer’s identity
- Hack your site and ruin its functionality
- Take your site out completely with a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.
Luckily, Magento is always on the watch for security issues and is regularly patched. However, it is vital that you (or your Magento site administrator) invest time and energy to guarantee your Magento security is healthy and strong to prevent future problems.
For January, we would like you to focus on the following two best practices to keep you up and running safely and securely.
UPDATES
It is critical for your site’s security to keep your Magento software up-to-date. Trust us when we say that we know it is frustrating; but running with the most recent version available means both you and your customers are protected.
Like any software, Magento is prone to weaknesses that could be exploited. However, Magento development teams are quick to find such weaknesses and fix threats by patching the software. If you’re not updating, you’re not getting the patches, and not getting the benefit of the security your store needs.
BACK-UPS
Having a back-up seems pretty straightforward and obvious, but you would be surprised how often people forget. You must be more vigilant because not having that back-up could easily result in losing everything. Think about it, your business relies on Magento, and as mentioned above, things can go wrong. If something were to corrupt or delete your existing data, not having a back-up would be disastrous to your store. Therefore, we recommend you back-up regularly.
In addition, even though many web hosting companies keep a backup of your data, it’s always good to have a back-up of your own. This is a case where less is not better. Multiple backups in different locations ensures a smooth ride if trouble arises.
We’d also like to point out another benefit to backing your system up: accidents. No matter what you do to prevent mistakes, they happen. For example someone could accidentally delete a file, someone could make a configuration change that interrupts or breaks part of the site, or someone could install a new extension that causes problems. Having a backup of a previous version of your site can be a lifesaver and prevent downtime while you figure out what happened.
Tune In Next Time For More
We hope this post has helped you understand the importance of incorporating basic best practices into your site’s routine maintenance. These are fail safes that ensure your site is protected and running at its best. You can look forward to more tips and insights into Magneto best practices throughout the year.
Or if you’re looking for a team that can help you with keeping your site up to date and a ton of other tasks, check out our support services.