Even though the Internet and its various platforms have evolved tremendously over the last two decades, security is still a major issue.
Even though the Internet and its various platforms have evolved tremendously over the last two decades, security is still a major issue. It seems as though website hacking and data breaches are more common than ever. If you have an online store, offering a secure shopping experience is critical.
According to consumer surveys,
shoppers say that if they don’t feel safe at a certain online store, they will most likely shop somewhere else. Not only do you want to implement security measures, but you also want to let shoppers know that you have implemented them. Here are some effective e-commerce website security options.
Add an SSL certificate. An SSL certificate basically encrypts all information that a potential customer enters into your website or payment gateway system. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer and it can often be implemented into the coding of the site to provide more protection to visitors. You can also offer a notice to people shopping on your site that you have an SSL certificate – it will make people feel a lot more confident about shopping and making a purchase.
Offer authentication measures.
Comalytics told us that if you went through all the work of hiring and marketing your website, you don’t want all your visitors to bounce away as a result of being too cautious about entering their private financial data.
If you have a subscription-based site or if you offer customer accounts, it is important to offer multiple layers of authentication before clients can log in. Not only should you have a secret question, but you should also have a CAPTCHA code, which stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.”
Get PCI compliant. Are you PCI compliant? If you are wondering what that is, there is a good chance that you are not PCI compliant. In order to become PCI compliant, you need to go through a review board that makes sure that your credit card processing system is safe. They will conduct extensive tests to make sure that there are no loopholes that potential hackers can enter. Getting PCI compliant is one of the keys to a safe shopping experience.
Never redirect. It is also imperative that you don’t have links that redirect to other websites – this can create a wormhole of sorts for data breaches. In fact, many credit card bundle thefts have been the result of a corrupted redirect. Ideally, you want to keep your site bound by internal links – not outside links. Plus, the more redirects there are, the more insecure your shoppers will feel.
Use a secure payment gateway. If you have a point of sales website, you will need to implement a secure payment gateway system. One of the most secure is PayPal, but there is a good chance that your credit card processing company also has a secure gateway as well. In the end, if customers don’t feel safe plugging in their financial data, it will be tough to secure sales, and your business will suffer as a result.