At present, where everything is going digital in the UK market, it’s non-negotiable to have a website for your business’s online success. It provides your target audience with all the required information about your products and services. It also helps you connect and engage with them directly.
However, if you hire an expert web design agency, they not only take care of the design but also make sure that your website is safe and secure from all potential threats. In this article, we will explore the top five security must-haves for your web application that leading web agencies use.
- Authentication and Access Control
Ensure that only authorised users have access to your website. This helps avoid the risk of getting your website exploited by potential hackers. To add further security, you can allow users to access only required data and services and nothing more.
As a part of the authentication process, a professional web designer can help you implement secure password storage because hackers can easily attain passwords and enter your web-based application. Also, you can include multi-factor authentication (MFA) to prevent unauthorised access. This includes methods like two-factor (2FA) and biometric authentication.
- HTTPS and TLS Encryption
HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is more secure than HTTP protocol. It registers an encrypted connection between your web browser and your site visitor’s browser using Transport Layer Security (TLS) or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). With HTTPS, you can rest assured that your web-based application is accessed securely.
This way, users are restricted from accessing your web-based application through HTTP. If there’s an issue with your HTTPS connection, many browsers alert users that the site may be insecure, and they should be cautious or even ignore the site until the issue is resolved. An expert web design company can help you deploy and maintain your web-based application with a secure connection using the above-mentioned techniques.
- Web-Application Firewall (WAF)
Using a web application firewall (WAF) protects your web-based application from common attacks and exploits such as SQL injection (SQLi), cross-site scripting and denial of service. It analyses the incoming traffic to your web-based application and blocks all malicious requests.
WAFs are easy to implement on any web application design and act as a first line of defence for the incoming traffic to your web-based application. Many cloud providers also offer WAF as a part of their stack if you deploy your web-based application on the cloud.
- Secure Logging Practice
Monitoring logging activity on your responsive web application helps recognise potential security threats and provides necessary information in case of a security breach and a forensic investigation is conducted. It becomes easy to track the activities of an attacker and protect the vulnerability in future if there’s a detailed log of every application event.
When you push data to the logs, ensure that every sensitive data is masked or excluded from the log statements. Data such as passwords, credit card numbers and other sensitive information should be excluded from the log file if they aren’t masked.
- Input Validation
If not checked properly, a simple photo or name can become a headache, leading your web-based application to crash and exposing sensitive information. That’s why validating everything in the user’s input is essential. It helps to create a safe online environment while offering a positive user experience.
An expert web design agency uses ‘whitelisting’ to allow only known or specific inputs, rejecting all others. They also use the ‘blacklisting’ technique to block familiar malicious inputs like dangerous patterns or characters. Furthermore, parameterised queries help to prevent SQL injection attacks as they separate the user data from the SQL queries.
On a Final Note
To maintain the security of your web-based application, you must review and update your current security measures. By following the best practices mentioned above, you can protect the security of your web application against potential threats. If you need help with implementing your web security strategy, we highly recommend Telsa Media.
They are a leading and highly-rated web design agency in the UK that has a track record of developing highly secured and revenue-generating websites for their clients. They have been in this industry for nearly a decade and know their things well. Get in touch with them to take the first step towards securing your business website.
