Security
Securing your website: best practices
Essential security measures to protect your site and your users' data.
Emeric Mathis1 November 2024Updated on 11 May 20262 min read
Website security is not just a technical detail – it is a trust contract with your visitors and clients.
In this article, I summarise the main good practices I apply on my own projects and those of my clients.
The main risks
Depending on your stack and exposure, a vulnerable site can lead to:
- Compromised data (contact details, orders, messages…)
- Malicious redirections or injected content
- Spam and phishing using your domain
- Blacklisting by browsers or search engines
Essential security measures
Keep your stack up to date
Whether you use WordPress or a custom stack, you should:
- Regularly update dependencies and plugins
- Monitor security advisories for your framework
- Remove unused components
Use HTTPS everywhere
- Install and renew TLS certificates (Let’s Encrypt or provider)
- Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
- Use secure cookies, especially for authentication
Harden authentication
- Use strong, unique passwords
- Enable 2‑factor authentication where possible
- Limit login attempts and protect admin areas
Backups and monitoring
- Regular automated backups (files and database)
- Easy restore procedures tested in advance
- Monitoring to detect anomalies (traffic spikes, errors…)
Security by design in my projects
In the websites I build, security is considered from day one:
- Choice of reliable, battle‑tested tools
- Minimal necessary privileges for services and accounts
- Clear separation between environments (development, staging, production)
If you want to audit or reinforce the security of your current site, or start a new project on solid foundations, you can contact me via the contact section.