Small-business sites get attacked constantly, mostly by bots scanning for easy targets: out-of-date software, weak passwords, and sites without HTTPS.
The basics close most doors: current software, HTTPS everywhere, strong unique passwords, and backups you have actually tested. None of it is exotic, and all of it is boring on purpose.
Every Signal build ships with the basics in place, and care plans keep them current. A hacked site costs more than a maintained one every single time.
Who attacks small sites, and why
Not hackers with a grudge. Bots, scanning millions of sites a day for the four or five doors left open. Your Detroit shop is not a target; it is inventory.
That is good news. The bots are automated, which means the defenses are too.
The five basics, ranked
HTTPS, current software, unique passwords, tested backups, and a form that cannot be abused. Do those five and you are ahead of most of the small-business web.
Every Signal build ships with all five, and care keeps them current as threats drift.
What a hack actually costs
Cleanup, downtime, a blacklisted site that stops appearing in search, and customers who got a warning page. For most small businesses it is thousands of dollars from a ten-dollar problem.
Security is the cheapest line item on any website invoice and the most expensive to skip.
Quick answers.
Is my site really a target?
Yes, by bots, constantly. Volume makes small sites valuable to attackers.
What is HTTPS again?
The padlock. It encrypts the connection and is table stakes for search and trust.
How often should backups run?
Nightly, with copies kept off the server, and tested quarterly.
Can you secure an existing site?
Mostly. Text us the link and we will tell you what is missing.
Related notes.
Keep reading:
Why websites break What website care covers Keep your content fresh More about Edits & care