It’s easy to make mistakes during the excitement of opening a new website. Firing up a small store, portfolio, or blog is a lot of fun — but dealing with security breaches and hacks is a lot less so. When you’re setting up a new website, it’s important to make sure it’s secure.
Fortunately, most of the things you should do are very easy. Some will take a bit of time, but it’s a worthy investment. Don’t leave your site unprotected! Here are 10 things you can do to keep it safe.
1. Choose a Secure Domain Registrar
When registering your domain, you want to make sure that no one is going to get control over it. If a miscreant is able to log into your domain registrar, they could transfer it to themselves or wreak further havoc.
There are a few options for domain registrars that use two-factor authentication (2FA). This adds a further level of security and makes it much harder for someone else to access. Even if someone manages to get your password, they probably won’t have access to your phone.
Here are some registrars that offer 2FA:
Dynadot
GoDaddy
Lexsynergy
Name.com
NameCheap
2. Hide Your Information From WHOIS
Every website has a WHOIS entry, and if you don’t take steps to make sure your information there is protected, your name and email address will be easy for spam companies to find. Both your name and email address are necessary for identity theft, so keeping them private could help protect you on that front, too.
Most web hosts offer anonymous WHOIS registration for a small fee, but there are a few that provide it freely. Both Dreamhost and 1and1 let you open up a site with anonymous WHOIS information at no cost.
Whether you decide to pay for it or not, do what you can to keep your name and email (or even just your email address) off of your WHOIS record. It’ll save you the time of dealing with a lot of spam and make it just a bit harder for someone to get a hold of your information.
Read more: Don’t Forget These 10 Security Tips When Make a New Website