Schools may not be the first target you think of when it comes to online hacking, but there are instances where hackers have exploited security weaknesses in websites from the education sector. This is even more likely if your school website stores personal information, which will be likely if students have individual login credentials to access part of the website. But even if not, your school’s website could be a hacker’s next target. In this update, we will explain the importance of security updates for your school website and how to make these updates cheaper in the long run.
What are security updates?
Websites are built and managed using a Content Management System (CMS). There are many platforms available, such as WordPress and Drupal, but whichever platform your website is built on, it will require ongoing security updates to ensure it remains functional and safe for those that visit your web pages.
Security updates are released regularly by the various platforms and they are designed to address issues with the software. It’s important that these updates are installed by a professional. If you try to do this yourself, you may cause significant problems that are costly to fix.
Why are security updates necessary?
When a new security update is released, the relevant platform will publish a press release that alerts website owners and website development agencies about the need to execute an update. This is the best way of making people aware as quickly as possible, although if you have access to your CMS, you will also see a message displayed there whenever a new update becomes available. The downside is that these press releases are also read by hackers. The hackers become aware of potential gaps in security and can exploit these. For this reason, security updates must be performed as soon as possible after they are released.
If your website was to be compromised, it can be extremely costly to set right. Often, websites need to be built again from scratch as they cannot be recovered. If your website holds personal data, you could face breaching legislation. Moreover, your reputation will be compromised which may stop (prospective or current students and their parents from using your website. This could lead to inefficient school processes that were previously streamlined due to website functions.
How much do website security updates cost?
Most platforms release security updates on a monthly basis, sometimes more. If you engage a web developer on an ad-hoc basis, you are likely to have to pay an hourly rate and some updates can take several hours to install correctly depending on how they interact with existing plugins and functionality. Working in this way, costs can add up very quickly.
But there are ways to make these tasks cheaper for schools, colleges and universities…
Make ongoing security cheaper with WEBRPO Education
One way of making security updates more cost effective is to subscribe to a website support service. This is a type of service where you pay a monthly fee in return for website maintenance and support, which may include general content updates and security updates. WEBPRO Education offers this service to all schools, colleges and universities, providing a cost-effective way to deal with website updates for the long term. Speak to our friendly team to learn more.
Recap: Regular security updates for your school website are essential to protect against potential hacking threats and maintain data security. Professional web developers should handle these updates to avoid costly mistakes. Security updates are necessary to keep your website safe and prevent data breaches that could harm your reputation. While the cost of security updates can vary, subscribing to a website support service, like the one offered by WEBPRO Education, offers a cost-effective solution for website security and maintenance needs.
WEBPRO Knows
Those that subscribe to website support also get access to web developers before ad-hoc service requests.
