How can you ensure your CMS is always up-to-date with the latest security patches?

Securing your CMS begins with a solid foundation – choosing a trustworthy provider. Insights from the LinkedIn community highlight the importance of reputation and track record. Opt for a CMS provider with a history of proactive security measures and prompt patch releases. AI-driven recommendations emphasize the need to consider user reviews and community feedback when making your decision. By aligning with a reliable CMS provider, you set the stage for a more secure digital presence, as validated by the experiences shared on LinkedIn. It's like selecting a reliable partner for the safety of your online home.

In my 10+ years of experience in the e-commerce industry, I can attest that the best overall strategy for selecting a CMS relies on two main pillars: preference for open-source vs. SaaS and market share. Choosing an open-source CMS ensures that maintenance fees remain manageable and allows for flexible feature launches in the long run. Additionally, a high market share typically indicates regular upgrades, not only in terms of security. My trusted choice is always WordPress and its e-commerce module WooCommerce. #ecommerce #wordpress #woocommerce

It's crucial to test any updates before applying them to your live website. One way to do this is by creating a staging environment that mimics your live site. This environment is not accessible to the public, which means you can try out new updates without risking your live site's functionality. This is especially important for complex sites or those with custom functionality. By testing updates in a staging environment, you can identify and fix any compatibility issues or bugs before they affect your live site.

Based on my extensive experience with various CMS platforms such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Magento, and Shopify, it is advisable to consider the following factors before selecting a dependable CMS: 1. Security 2. Scalability 3. Cost 4. Community support 5. Ease of use 6. Flexibility and customization 7. Compatibility By considering these factors and researching different CMS options, we can choose a reliable CMS provider that meets our requirements and helps us build a successful and sustainable website. A reliable CMS provider offers robust features, regular updates, excellent customer support, and a strong community. Ultimately, selecting the right CMS provider depends on your specific needs and requirements.

Automated Updates: Enable automatic updates for CMS software to receive security patches promptly. Monitoring Services: Utilize monitoring services to alert about available updates and security vulnerabilities. Scheduled Checks: Regularly schedule manual checks for updates and security patches. Notification Systems: Implement notification systems to inform administrators about new patches. Patch Management Tools: Employ patch management tools to centrally manage and apply updates across multiple CMS installations.

Before applying updates to your live website, test them in a staging environment. This mimics your live site but is not accessible to the public, allowing you to check new updates for compatibility issues or bugs without risking your live site's functionality. It's an essential step for complex sites or those with custom functionality.

Keeping your CMS up-to-date becomes a breeze with automatic updates. LinkedIn discussions stress the convenience and security benefits of enabling automatic updates. AI insights reinforce the idea that automation ensures timely application of the latest security patches, reducing the window of vulnerability. The consensus among experts is clear – automating updates minimizes the risk of oversight and human error. LinkedIn community members suggest configuring your CMS to automatically install patches for a hassle-free and secure experience. It's like putting your security on autopilot, allowing you to focus on what matters most – your content and business.

As an e-commerce expert with over 10 years of experience in the industry, enabling automatic updates is the single WORST idea ever, regardless of which CMS you’re working with, especially when it comes to major version releases. High-charge e-commerce projects typically have numerous plugins installed, usually somewhere between 50-60, and allowing automatic updates almost certainly will result in bugs due to conflicts and compatibility issues. The best practice is to carefully study the change logs of the CMS and plugins, and only then manually upgrade the CMS first in the DEV environment. This approach helps avoid critical errors in production environment and ensures the continuity of e-commerce operations. #ecommerce #ecommercecms

As per my experience while working on various CMS, enabling automatic updates is nuanced. While automatic updates offer convenience and security benefits, they also come with potential drawbacks that need to be considered: Compatibility: It may sometimes cause compatibility issues with themes or plugins. Customizations: If you've made customizations to your CMS, it may overwrite these changes. Risk of Errors: There's a slight risk of errors during the update process, leading to potential downtime or functionality issues. Loss of Control: It may happen at inconvenient times, and you may lose control over when updates are applied. Dependency: Over-reliance on automatic updates may lead to neglecting regular manual checks and maintenance.

Toujours avoir un environnement de PREPROD pour tester les mises à jour. Sinon attention aux dégats directement sur le prod. Mettre en place des environnements CI/CD est aussi une bonne piste à suivre.

High-charge projects typically involve multiple environments, such as DEV, UAT, pre-production, and production. Before deploying any upgrades to the production environment, the changes to the file and code base of the website should be pushed to other test environments, such as UAT or pre-production, depending on the organizational structure in your company. Only if and when the non-regression tests in UAT or PPR environments are conclusive, the upgrades can be pushed to the production environment. This approach ensures that your website’s performance will remain stable. #ecommerce #ecommercecms

While most would suggest constant real-time monitoring, I believe that it isn't necessary for all websites. For smaller sites, daily or even weekly checks might suffice unless there's a significant update or traffic spike. Continuous monitoring can sometimes lead to unnecessary alerts and panic over minor fluctuations, which are often self-resolving.

In the professional routine, establishing criteria for monitoring website performance is essential. This practice enables early detection of performance issues. Typically, I employ the following criteria to gauge website performance: 1. Traffic Patterns 2. Page Load Time 3. Web Vitals and Page Experience 4. Server Response Time 5. Browser Compatibility 6. Mobile Performance 7. Conversion Rates 8. Site Uptime 9. Error Rates - 404, server errors etc 10. Page Requests 11. Page Size Check By monitoring these criteria regularly, you can identify performance issues early, optimize your website for better user experience, and ensure the overall health and reliability of your site.

Just like a superhero checks their gadgets, we need to keep an eye on our website's health. Look for any warnings or messages about updates, and make sure everything is working smoothly. Think of it like checking if your website's cape is flapping properly!

Products have a lifespan during which they are supported. Running an outdated CMS risks emergencies that may require a full upgrade. Monitor your CMS’s support status and plan upgrades accordingly.

It goes without saying that themes and plugins should also have the automatic update setting disabled. CMS core, themes, and plugins should all be updated according to a defined schedule that takes into account potential dependencies between the plugins, frequency of the version releases of each specific plugin, as well as the overall security requirements of your platform/business. Typically, a low-charge e-commerce project can entail 2-3 annual maintenance upgrades, and a high-charge e-commerce project 4-6, without necessarily updating all plugins simultaneously. Inactive plugins should be disabled and/or deleted, and all freemium or paid plugins should have a valid license key. #ecommerce

New updates for plugins and themes often include bug fixes and improvements to ensure compatibility with the latest version of your CMS and other software. Regularly reviewing and updating them helps prevent compatibility issues and enhance performance. Also, Hackers often target vulnerabilities in outdated plugins and themes to gain unauthorized access to websites. By staying updated, we mitigate security risks and safeguard our site and visitors. For example, if a contact form plugin on a WordPress site hasn't been updated in a while, it may not be compatible with the latest version of WP, leading to errors or malfunctions on the contact page. By reviewing and updating it, we ensure seamless and secure form functionality.

Les failles de sécurités sont souvent liés à des thèmes ou modules / extensions mal choisies. Il est important de faire le tri dès le choix initial.

Sometimes superheroes have sidekick helpers, just like your website might have "plugins" or "themes" to add cool features. But just like checking your sidekick's suit, make sure these plugins and themes are also updated and from trusted sources, so they don't accidentally let any bad guys in!

To add to the points already covered in this article, it's generally best practice to conduct an annual security audit to prevent potential breaches, given the ever-evolving nature of the business's IT ecosystem. Additionally, for e-commerce platforms operating in multiple environments, remember to block robot crawling/indexing of your website in test environments like DEV, UAT, or PPR. Another excellent security practice for high-charge projects is multi-instancing: this way, if one instance fails due to increased traffic or a DDoS attack, the other instances can absorb the traffic. #ecommerce #ecommercems #ecommercesecuritybestpractices

To keep the CMS secure, consider these unique practices: > Use automated pipelines to swiftly apply security updates. > Employ web application firewalls to filter out malicious traffic. > Deploy real-time protection systems within your CMS. > Regularly assess potential threats with threat modeling exercises. > Monitor user behavior for signs of security risks. > Explore blockchain for secure data storage and transfer. > Adopt a zero-trust model with strict access controls and authentication.

Superheroes have special training, and so can you! Learn some basic website security tips, like using strong passwords and being careful about what information you share online. This helps your website fight off any sneaky villains trying to cause trouble.

On shared hosting plans, outdated software on someone else's site could compromise yours. Choose a host with strict security isolation practices.

Rajouter un point sur les tests automatiques pour tester les mises à jours et le fonctionnement du CMS. Ce qui permet de vérifier le bon fonctionnement et l'intégrité du CMS.

Even superheroes need help sometimes! If you're unsure about something or need extra protection, don't be afraid to ask a grown-up or a website expert. They can be your super-powered allies and help keep your website safe and sound!

My clients always ask me: “What’s the best CMS on the market right now?” And my answer is always the same: “There’s no best CMS on the market. For your e-commerce project, we should select a CMS that is best adapted to your business needs in the short and long term.” Indeed, a business managing a product catalog with 10,000+ SKUs cannot have the same requirements as a small DTC brand with less than 10 product references that mainly relies on heavy visual marketing. While I typically prioritize open-source CMS like WP and its e-commerce module WooCommerce, for simpler projects, SaaS options like Shopify or even WebFlow can be a perfect solution. #ecommercecms #wordpress #woocommerce

Drawing from my experience across a diverse range of projects spanning from small-scale initiatives to large-scale endeavors, encompassing various CMS platforms, conducting periodic security audits and penetration testing can help identify and address any vulnerabilities that may exist in your CMS or associated plugins and themes, further enhancing the overall security posture of your website. Implementing a robust backup strategy is also crucial, allowing you to quickly restore your website to a secure state in case of any unforeseen issues during the update process.

Regular Updates: Stay informed about the CMS updates and apply them promptly. Most CMS platforms release updates to address security vulnerabilities, bugs, and introduce new features. Automated Updates: Enable automated update features if available. This ensures that your CMS receives essential updates without manual intervention. Monitoring Notifications: Set up notifications or subscribe to newsletters from the CMS provider to receive alerts about new releases, security patches, or important announcements. Backup Before Updates: Before performing any updates, create a backup of your website. This precautionary step helps in case anything goes wrong during the update process.

Simply, for keeping CMS systems up-to-date... If you use a self-hosted solution, keep the OS, packages/dependencies, etc. up to date alongside the CMS Software. - *Always* first ensure that you do this in a dev/staging environment first so you know that your updates will not break customizations, etc. if any have been engineered. Otherwise, if you use a solid cloud-based solution like Salesforce, security is pretty much something that needs to be predominately considered from a user and data management perspective as the vendors of such products are usually on the cutting-edge of security (although that never presents guarantees with incidents arising).

Write an SOP on all new technology when installed. The patch and update is in SOP and can be enforced by IT scheduling and messaging. Any job should be doable by anyone following the binders down the tree of info. Esp a tech company. An SOP is a long boring paper version of a human. It’s their operating code. Every task that’s foundational must be SOPd.