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We are all, in today's online business market, very worry about our online representation being hacked and our credibility and profit gone in a blink. And we all should, if you look at all that happened in this past election. We can see that hack has become something usual that happen every day and can affect anyone without distinction on who they are and what they do.

If you have an e-commerce website where you sell your goods,  and that site is hacked, it is possible that your customer's information has been compromised and in some cases their loyalty towards you will change as you have not been able to proof that their information is safe with you. And that is not the only real big problem about having your site hacked. No-one wants to wake up in the morning to find that their information has been gathered by someone else and can be used to any imaginable thing.

Why has my website been hacked?

Many people ask this question to themselves, sometimes they consider their operation to be minimal and their online business irrelevant to hackers and with that thought they just lower their guard.

Many websites get hacked just because they are vulnerable. Hackers normally use some kind of automatic process to go thru the internet and check well-known vulnerabilities in each site their program visits. It works like a google bot, where they go to your website to collect information about what you do and what you write about, this programs do the same thing but with another objective.

Once these programs find a vulnerability in your site they just proceed to explode it. That can mean they upload viruses to your site so your visitors can get infected,  or collect all the information on your database and sell it for a profit, or even  clean your entire database off and/or any other creative things they may come out with. The main issue here is that if you are hackable, they can do anything to it.

Ok, in that case, what can I do?

Run from anyone that offers you a WordPress, Magento, Joomla or any other os these pre-made systems. All of them are proven to fail in reference to security and no matter what you do, there is no way there is no guarantee you will be free from it in the future. If you are lucky it won't happen to you, but would you be willing to bet the future of your business on blind luck? As Ben Franklin said "Diligence is the mother of good luck”.

All these pre-made systems are weak on their basis and constitution. They are created to make it easy and fast for someone with no experience to have a website online in no time, besides that they provide an open door for programmers to allow infinite amount of customizations and templates to enhance your experience. While these all sounds great, you should take into consideration that all this "openness" comes with a price. The same skill set that allows someone to create a template or customize the programming also allow for a vulnerability to be exploited. Basically these sites are created with an open door that allows anyone with any intentions in and out at any time.

I'm constantly amazed as of how companies offer these type of web sites to anyone that approach them without taking into consideration the needs of the person requesting it.

The main point of writing this article is to show people the problems this behavior bring into their lives. Instead of paying for something to make their life better and bring more business they are falling for the easy convenience of having someone making their business online representation for a few dollars less. I mean... They are not even taking the time to make a website for you, they are just downloading a pre-made stuff, buying a template and setting it up online! Is that what you really want? Is that what you have in mind when you thought about taking your business online? or what you had in mind when you decided to upgrade your actual business?

I know, many will say "it is just a website..." and that in exactly how these unscrupulous companies take it. If you allow your website to be made that way,  your site will be set with a template, and as explained before in this blog, it will make your website internally (the visible code for the search engines) exactly the same as any other website using that template.

No matter what anyone will tell you, there is no one successful website online build this way and there is little chance you can have a successful website if you go this way. There are millions of websites online and the market is moved to its 80% by just a few very successful websites, you think this is a coincidence? Or will you listen to these unscrupulous companies that look at you as a dollar symbol, not as a real relationship? Only you have the answer.

I know you may say "all this guy talk about is around this topic", and you would be right. We get enough customers thinking about their online representation as 'just a website' and these companies are taking advantage of their way of thinking. In some cases that is even promoted in their portfolios! Security is a big issue for today's online businesses, uniqueness is something google and other search engines look at in order to rank you within their results, originality is something that all your customers will appreciate and a platform where you can grow on is definitely something you should have in mind at the same exact moment you thought about taking your business online.

You can take a look at our services page, we do not use or promote this kind of systems to anyone, we do it the right way and sometimes for less money other companies ask to set you up with a WordPress.

Search on google for hacked wordpress websites or hacked Joomla websites and you'll see right away why you should keep yourself away from this kind of problems. I mean, there are even companies making a good profit out of hacked WordPress, Magnetos, Joomlas and any of these systems. 

Conclusion.

Before you take any decision about your website you can give us a call, we will help you with information and tips on how to get your business online or on how to update your current website with no commitment to anything from your end. We have been doing this for more that 20 years and we plan to stay here for a long time, as you should. The internet is becoming the big market and day after day there are more and more businesses moving online to look for a broader audience. Online business is what work today, they will work for a long time still, and it can work for you if you start making the right decision right from the beginning.