Whether you are managing your site yourself or employing developers to do it for you, taking some time to explore whether your site is secure and up to date is well worth it.

Take a look at our top 10 tips for securing a website

1. Keep your software up to date: regularly update your website’s software, including its content management system (CMS) and any plugins or third-party integrations. This can prevent security vulnerabilities from being exploited.
2. Use strong passwords: ensure that all user accounts on your website use strong, unique passwords, and encourage users to update their passwords regularly.
3. Implement two-factor authentication (2FA): enable 2FA to add an extra layer of security to your website. This can help prevent unauthorized access to user accounts.
4. Use SSL encryption: use SSL encryption (HTTPS) to encrypt data transmitted between your website and its visitors. This can help protect sensitive information, such as login credentials and payment information.
5. Back up your website regularly: back up your website regularly to ensure that you have a recent copy of your website in case of a security breach or other issues.
6. Use a web application firewall (WAF): a WAF can help prevent attacks by filtering traffic to your website and blocking malicious traffic.
7. Limit file upload sizes: set limits on file upload sizes to prevent users from uploading malicious files or overloading your server.
8. Monitor your website: monitor your website regularly for any unusual activity or suspicious behavior, such as an increase in failed login attempts or unexpected changes to your website’s files.
9. Use secure hosting: choose a web hosting provider that takes security seriously and provides a secure hosting environment.
10. Educate your users: educate your website users about online security and best practices, such as using strong passwords, being cautious of phishing emails, and avoiding public Wi-Fi networks.

Lockdown admin areas using htaccess

To limit access to the admin areas of your website based on your IP address, you can use the .htaccess file. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Create or edit the .htaccess file in the root directory of your website.
2. Add the following code to the .htaccess file:

   # Replace xx.xxx.xx.xxx with your own IP address
   <Limit GET POST>
   order deny,allow
   deny from all
   allow from xx.xxx.xx.xxx
   </Limit>

3. Replace “xx.xxx.xx.xxx” with your own IP address. You can find your IP address by doing a quick Google search for “what’s my IP”.
4. Save the .htaccess file.

This code limits access to the admin area of your website to requests that come from the IP address you specified. Requests coming from any other IP addresses will be denied access to the admin area. Note that this method will only work if you have a static IP address. If you have a dynamic IP address that changes periodically, you will need to update the .htaccess file with your new IP address each time it changes.

Also, keep in mind that this method is not foolproof and can be bypassed by determined attackers using methods such as proxy servers or VPNs that hide their IP addresses. Therefore, it’s important to also use other security measures, such as strong passwords and two-factor authentication, to protect your website.