A hacked website can cause a number of serious consequences for your business, so it’s crucial to understand how to protect yourself.
Websites take countless hours to build and refine, so ensuring that your creation is fully protected should not be overlooked. Continue reading to learn how a hacked website can negatively impact your business and how you can be proactive in protecting yourself.
Loss of Trust and Damaged Reputation
A hacked website can severely damage the trust that your customers have in your business. There is sensitive information saved on your website such as names, addresses, and credit card numbers that customers trust you to keep confidential. A hacker can obtain this information, steal your customers’ identities, and even make false charges on their credit cards. This can cause your clients to lose confidence in your business and could potentially lead to lawsuits. A security breach can severely damage your company’s reputation and create the perception that your company is poorly run.
Search Engine Problems
Along with a loss of trust, a hacked website can affect your business’s marketing capabilities. Hacking can negatively affect your search engine rankings. Search engines scan your website to ensure that it is safe for users, so if there is a breach, search engines will not promote your site to their patrons, affecting the traffic to your business.
Damage to Other Websites
A negative chain reaction can happen if your website is breached. A lack of security can direct hackers to other websites that are on the same server. This can make you legally vulnerable to the damage done to other websites.
Repair Costs
Money can be tight for a small business, and if your website gets hacked, it can be quite expensive to repair. Experts will have to examine your website with a fine-tooth comb to figure out how it was hacked and how to fix the issue. This can fix the problem, but it is far more expensive than being proactive in protecting yourself.
How to Protect Yourself
With so much riding on your website’s security, here are some of the best ways to protect yourself and your customers from dangerous hackers:
- Update your system – Cybersecurity is constantly improving. Keeping up to date on all of the advancements will help you stay one step ahead of the hackers.
- Educate yourself – Since cybersecurity is constantly refining, so are the hackers’ skills. Stay up to date with hackers and their common tactics to infiltrate your system.
- Strengthen usernames and passwords – Increasing the complexity of usernames and passwords can help protect your customers’ personal information.
- Use SSL – Use an encrypted SSL to help transfer your customer’s information from your website and your database.
Keep Your Website Safe with REVITY Marketing Agency
Now that you understand the dangers of a hacked website, choose REVITY Marketing Agency to keep your business safe. Our professionals will monitor your website, keep it up to date, and protect it at all costs. We have created award-winning digital experiences because we see, and do, things differently. Contact us today!