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If you are looking to set up an e-commerce website, ensuring the security of your customers should be your #1 concern.
Online casino sites are a great case study in this regard, as these operations need to create an aura of safety so that customers feel comfortable loading money onto them from their checking account.
You will find most (if not all) of the following reassurance markers and practices on these sites; below, we will describe these measures and how to implement them.
1) The SSL certificate is valid
When you set up your website, you have two options – to go with the standard HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or HTTPS, a more secure version of the former.
You can get this by applying for an SSL certificate, which acts to encrypt information as it passes from a browser to your website’s servers.
In order to get it, you’ll need to at least go through a validation process that involves verifying the individual or the organization that owns the domain.
This method isn’t as secure as going for extended validation, which requires companies to prove that they are an above-board business as well.
These domains are able to sport a green lock icon in leading browsers such as Google and Firefox, thereby giving users the assurance that their data is safe.
2) You are using a web security plugin
In addition to obtaining the highest recommended SSL certificate, you should also install web security plugins in your back-end.
This includes respected programs such as Wordfence, which actively scans your site for viruses and detects and deflects attempts to hack it.
This way, you’ll prevent cybercriminals from infecting your site with payload-delivering malware and from stealing customer information.
3) You offer a clear privacy policy
This step is not one that actively protects your site and customers from people with ill intentions, but it does clear up the confusion surrounding the usage of information in the internet age.
These days, many site owners take the data that their customers have given them in good faith (such as telephone numbers and e-mail addresses) and they turn around and sell it to third-party advertisers, some of whom promote some relatively shady stuff.
By spelling out what you will do (and not do) with the information that your clients provide, you will give them the reassurance that some of them seek when doing business with unknown companies/people on the web.
