What is your process for securing and optimizing web projects?

crop man with documents and laptop at table

Securing and optimizing web projects is a crucial skill for web developers. It involves following best practices, using appropriate tools, and testing your code regularly. In this article, I will share some of the steps you can take to improve the security and performance of your web projects based on my contribution from LinkedIn articles.

Reliable Hosting Provider

The first step is to choose a hosting provider that offers a secure and fast service. You should look for features such as SSL certificates, backups, firewall, malware protection, and CDN. You should also compare the pricing, uptime, support, and scalability of different providers. A good hosting provider can make a big difference in your web project’s security and optimization.

Geographic location is also matters in choosing a reliable hosting provider. Over the top market players such as cloud computing providers (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, etc.) are able to provide the best geographical location for the hosting. Please do note, some rules and regulation are applied as well where the data can reside. Choosing the correct location will makes things easier both technically (e.g., latency), commercially, and legally in the long run.

Encryption Certificate

The next step is about encryption at rest and encryption in motion. Normally HTTPS and SSL is required in the web project. HTTPS is a protocol that encrypts the communication between your server and your visitors’ browsers. SSL is a certificate that verifies your identity and prevents hackers from intercepting or tampering with your data. Using HTTPS and SSL can boost your security, trust, and SEO ranking. You can get a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt or use a plugin like Really Simple SSL to enable HTTPS on your site.

Image and Code Optimization

User experience is matters the most when accessing a website. You need to optimized the code and images for faster load time. Based on research, 1 second extra will remove 36% of your visitor.

Compression technique for image using vector based image or conversion to base64 based image will greatly help to reduce the image. If it is unavoidable, compression tool such as TinyPNG or ImageOptim will reduce file size. For other source code such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript code it needs to be optimized as well. This will improve your responsiveness and reduce your bandwidth.

Implement caching and lazy loading

Caching and lazy loading are techniques that can improve your web project’s performance and efficiency. Caching is the process of storing frequently used data in a temporary location, such as the browser or the server, to reduce the number of requests and load time. Lazy loading is the process of loading only the content that is visible on the screen, such as images or videos, to save resources and bandwidth. You can implement caching and lazy loading using plugins like WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, or Lazy Load by WP Rocket.

Software Update

The final step is to update and backup your web project regularly to prevent security breaches and data loss. You should update your software, plugins, themes, and libraries to the latest versions to fix any bugs, vulnerabilities, or compatibility issues. You should also backup your web project files and database to a secure location, such as a cloud service, a local drive, or an external hard drive. You can use plugins like UpdraftPlus, BackupBuddy, or Duplicator to automate your backups and restore your web project in case of an emergency.

Now all in all, DevOps can leverage to gain automation to make your web projects up-to-date, secure and growing in the direction of your choice. Stay tune with our other post to understand how DevOps helps in the website development activities.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *