Your site is live. How do you know it is secure?

Your website looks good, performs well and brings in leads. On the surface, everything is working.

What you cannot see is whether someone is quietly trying to break in.

Automated attacks run around the clock, probing sites for weak passwords, outdated plugins and misconfigured servers. For European businesses, a successful breach is more than an IT problem. It can mean downtime, reputational damage, loss of sensitive data and regulatory trouble.

The question is not “Are we important enough to be a target”. The question is “If something went wrong tonight, how quickly would we notice, and how prepared would we be”.

Security is not a product you buy once

It is tempting to treat cybersecurity as a box you tick during a redesign or replatforming project. The site goes live, the SSL padlock appears, and the topic slips down the agenda.

In reality, security is closer to housekeeping. You need a secure structure to start with, but you also need regular checks, updates and monitoring. Technology, attack methods and regulations keep changing, so a site that was secure at launch may not stay that way.

Thinking about web security in layers can help:

• The infrastructure layer, such as hosting, firewalls and backups
• The application layer, such as your CMS, plugins and custom code
• The human layer, such as passwords, access control and processes

You do not have to be a security engineer to improve your position in each area, but you do need a clear view of where you stand today.

The minimum checks every live site should have

There are a few basic questions that any organisation can ask to get an honest picture.

First, who manages your hosting and what protections are in place. Good hosting should include a modern SSL configuration, regular operating system updates, isolation between sites, monitored firewalls and reliable backups. If this information is not documented, you are relying on assumptions.

Second, how often is your CMS updated. Whether you use WordPress, Drupal, Magento, a headless CMS or a bespoke setup, core software and plugins receive security patches. If those are not applied, known vulnerabilities remain exposed.

Third, who has access to what. Over time, admin panels can fill with old accounts for staff, agencies and contractors who no longer need access. Weak passwords, shared logins and over generous permissions all increase risk.

Fourth, what is your plan if something goes wrong. If your site was defaced or taken offline tomorrow, who would you call, what would they do, and how quickly could you recover.

Simply writing down the answers will often reveal gaps that need attention long before you reach for advanced tools.

Why “small” vulnerabilities matter

It is easy to dismiss individual issues as minor. A slightly outdated plugin, a test page left public, an old admin account that “nobody really uses”. Attackers think in chains rather than single exploits. Several small issues can add up to a useful foothold.

For example, a forgotten backup file can leak configuration details. A weak password on a non critical account can be used to add a script that steals customer input. An unpatched plugin can provide a way to upload malicious files.

The damage is not restricted to your site. Attackers may use your infrastructure to send spam, host phishing pages or move laterally towards other systems. That is when reputational harm and regulatory questions begin.

Addressing small issues early is far easier and cheaper than dealing with a full scale incident later.

Practical steps to know where you stand

If you want to move from guesswork to evidence, a structured review helps.

Start with a light vulnerability scan. This is an automated, non intrusive check that looks for common weaknesses, outdated software and open ports. It will not find every issue, but it gives a quick snapshot.

Follow with a security focused audit of your configuration. This includes hosting settings, SSL, admin access, backup routines, logging and alerting. It asks simple questions such as “Do we know when someone makes a major change” and “Can we restore the site from a clean backup”.

For higher risk environments, such as eCommerce or data heavy applications, penetration testing adds another layer. Ethical hackers simulate real world attacks to see how far they can get and what data they can access. The goal is to learn from their methods before someone with worse intentions tries the same thing.

Alongside technical work, you can improve the human layer. Introduce basic security training for staff, multi factor authentication where possible and clearer guidelines around password use and data handling.

Keeping security in step with the rest of your digital work

Security feels most painful when it is bolted on at the end of projects. It delays launches, blocks features and raises awkward questions once budgets are already spent.

When you bring security into the planning stage, it becomes a design constraint instead of an emergency fix. Cloud architectures can be reviewed before deployment, login flows can be designed with both UX and security in mind, and content teams can understand what they can and cannot publish.

Regular security reviews also tie neatly into broader digital audits. As you check performance, user experience and analytics, you can also check software versions, access control and backup status. This turns security into a normal part of running a site rather than an occasional scare.

Knowing your site is secure is not about chasing perfection. It is about having enough visibility and control that you can spot problems early, respond calmly and keep people’s data safe.

That confidence is worth far more than the brief relief of thinking “it will probably be fine”.