A Complete Guide to Ecommerce Security In 2025

Ecommerce can be an essential part of growing your small business. However, the internet isn’t always a safe place. And, as technologies become more sophisticated and cyber criminals learn new tricks, it can be difficult to keep your online store secure.

The good news is that there are various ways to protect your website data and sensitive customer information. For example, you can enforce strong passwords, use a quality web host, and install a web application firewall. 

In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the common threats to ecommerce websites. Then, we’ll discuss five methods to increase ecommerce security. Let’s jump right in!

5 Common Threats to Ecommerce Sites

Online attacks are particularly problematic for ecommerce sites because you’re dealing with sensitive information like credit card details. As such, even one data breach can erode customer trust and damage your brand reputation.

Additionally, it can lead to financial penalties if you violate laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) resulting in fines of up to 20 million euros. Here are some of the most common ecommerce security threats to be aware of:

• Fraudulent transactions typically occur when bad agents use stolen credit card details to make purchases. But, it also covers other forms like return fraud and triangulation.
• E-skimming occurs when hackers insert malicious code into payment pages to steal card details.
• Phishing attacks trick victims into revealing sensitive information like login details and credit card data, often using fake emails. In fact, in 2021, 27 percent of organizations experienced 4-6 successful phishing attacks.
• Malware was named the leading cybersecurity threat by companies worldwide in 2023. It refers to malicious software that infects your ecommerce site, so that cyber criminals can gain access.
• Brute force attacks involve hackers (or bots) using trial and error to crack login credentials.
• Cross site scripting (XSS) happens when agents insert malicious code into your site, which is later executed by unsuspecting, legitimate users to steal sensitive customer data. In 2019, it was the preferred attack vector for hackers worldwide.

Naturally, this list isn’t exhaustive, and it’s constantly evolving. So, it’s important to educate yourself about the latest ecommerce security threats in order to protect your website and customers.

How to Increase Ecommerce Security in 2025

Now that you know a bit more about the most common ecommerce threats, let’s take a look at five ways to secure your online business.

1. Use a Reputable Hosting Provider

Every website needs a web hosting provider to store critical website files and make content publicly available. Although there are tons of services to choose from, some aren’t as secure as others.

That’s why it’s best to stick to reputable hosting providers that offer total web server security. You can find options like NameHero, which provide a suite of security tools and measures to protect your online business:

For instance, NameHero’s WooCommerce hosting plans offer daily backups and automatic updates to keep software resilient to security threats. Additionally, you’ll get a free SSL certificate to encrypt all your website data, including credit card details.

What’s more, NameHero provides a real-time Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block suspicious IP addresses. You’ll even get access to malware mitigation and around-the-clock Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection. And, there’s a support team available 24/7.

2. Enable Two Factor Authentication (2FA)

Another strategy for securing your ecommerce business is to strengthen the login procedure. One way to do this is to implement two factor authentication to verify customer identities.

Typically, users will still be required to enter a password to access their accounts. After that, they’ll also need to provide a second key to gain access, and this is usually generated in real time.

For instance, many ecommerce sites send a one-time passcode to customers’ email addresses or mobile devices. That said, you can also utilize authenticator apps or include security questions.

Better yet, if you use WooCommerce, you can install a handy plugin like WP 2FA to enable multi factor authentication:

This comes with an easy setup process that doesn’t require any technical knowledge. Plus, it supports several two factor methods and integrates with services like Authy and Twilio to offer even more authentication channels.

3. Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF)

A Web Application Firewall (WAF) sits around the boundary of your ecommerce site and filters all incoming web traffic. It’s one of the best security measures since it prevents threats from even reaching your ecommerce platform.

It works by identifying and blocking suspicious IP addresses, which enables you to detect cyber threats. Better yet, most WAFs come with customizable rules, so you can manually blocklist or whitelist certain IPs.

You can install a WAF like Cloudflare, which is one of the biggest names in the industry. But, you might have noticed that some web hosts (including NameHero) offer a free WAF with certain web hosting packages.

4. Install an SSL Certificate

We briefly mentioned SSL certificates earlier. They are useful for all types of websites but are considered essential for every online store.

That’s because, even if hackers manage to intercept customer data that’s being transmitted to your website, an SSL certificate will encrypt this information to make it unreadable.

Therefore, SSL certificates are a great way to protect customer information like personal details and credit card data. In turn, it helps online stores remain complaint with data protection laws and regulations. If you’re not sure whether you have an SSL certificate, you can check by visiting your ecommerce site in a web browser:

If your certificate is valid, you’ll see a lock icon next to your domain name in the address bar.

Otherwise, you can purchase SSL certificates from a certificate authority (CA) like Let’s Encrypt. Although, many quality web hosts (like NameHero) offer free certificates with certain web hosting plans.

5. Set and Enforce Strong Passwords

Earlier, we discussed the importance of securing the login process on your ecommerce website. Although there are options like two factor authentication, you can also use strong passwords.

The problem with passwords is that most people prioritize convenience over security. Therefore, they tend to choose something memorable like “123456”, and reuse the same password across multiple accounts.

However, the best passwords combine lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Longer passwords are even more difficult to crack. For instance, even a password that meets all the above parameters can still be cracked instantly if it’s only six characters long.

While it’s important to set strong passwords yourself, you’ll also need to enforce strong password policies across your ecommerce site to make sure customers choose secure passwords. If you use WordPress, the good news is that you can implement a plugin like Password Policy Manager to handle this for you:

This way, you can configure your own password policies and use the password strength meter. Plus, you can deter attacks with one-click password resets, inactive user lockouts, and an activity log.

Conclusion

Launching an online business is a great way to reach a wider audience and sell more products. But, it’s important to properly secure your ecommerce store. This will help you maintain your business reputation, boost customer loyalty, and avoid financial losses.

To recap, here are five ways to secure your ecommerce website:

1. Use a reputable web hosting provider like NameHero.
2. Enable two factor authentication.
3. Use a web application firewall.
4. Install an SSL certificate.
5. Set and enforce strong passwords.

At NameHero, we offer dedicated WooCommerce plans that come with free SSL certificates, malware mitigation, a web application firewall, and 24/7 support. Get started today!