by Heather Redding

Source

Every business has valuable assets that need to be protected. 

If you’re a retail company, there will be inventory in your store cupboards or warehouses that you need to protect from thieves and damage. Businesses in the food industry need to think about how they can prevent waste and stop items of food from becoming contaminated. 

In the writing world, defending your venture is all about ensuring that your intellectual property remains safe. The digital world means that you can instantly save your work online, without having to worry about keeping physical copies and paper in your office. 

However, just hitting “save” on your WordPress blog doesn’t mean that it’s adequately defended. 

Here’s how you can make sure that your written word has the best protection. 

Step 1: Use the Right CMS

The first step in protecting your blog from equipment malfunction is making sure that you’re using the right platforms. 

A content management system is something that you use to deliver your blog content to the world. The most common option is WordPress, as it’s often the easiest to use, and comes with the widest range of extensible features that you can use to make your blog unique. 

However, if you’re worried about equipment malfunction, then you might want to spend some time trying different blogging environments, like Joomla or Magento, to see which one feels most comfortable to you. The more you know how to use your CMS, the less likely you are to encounter issues. 

Step 2: Explore Helpful Tools and Plugins 

Tools and plugins can help with protecting and sharing your work.  A strong webpage is one of the first lines of defense that you have against people that could potentially hack your website or cause it to break down. 

Start by finding a reliable host for your blog–one that has encryption, firewalls, and SSL certificates in place. 

Then consider plugins like:

• Acunetix WP security scan: A plugin that scans your blog for any security holes and recommends potential fixes. 
• WordFence: A popular plugin that examines the coding of your website and optimizes your security. WordFence also comes with the option to block entire networks and set up your own firewall for extra protection. 
• Sucuri Security: This is a plugin that incorporates various blacklist engines into your blog to defend it. The system also has a variety of monitoring features available, so you know everything there is to know about the security on your site. 

Do not install and use them all at once. Rather try one and replace it if you are not completely satisfied. 

Step 3: Keep Your Blog Updated

One of the most common causes of a blog malfunction is that your CMS is out of date. Whether you’re using your blog as a journal, or a way of connecting with your target audience, it’s important to ensure that you’re using the most recent version of your software. 

Not only will patches and updates make your software easier to use, giving you access to new functionality, but they’ll help to protect you from hackers and security holes. 

Criminals are more likely to find problems in old versions of blogging platforms. What’s more, older versions are more likely to break on their own, leaving you unable to access the content you need. 

Remember that you should be updating your plugins and other tools within your CMS too. Those extensions can also act as entry points for hackers if you’re not careful. 

Fortunately, many of the plugins available with solutions like WordPress can update automatically. 

Step 4: Enhance Your Computer

It’s not just your software and online programs that need to work perfectly if you want to run a fantastic and well-protected blog. You also need to protect your computer against malfunction. 

Something as small as a corrupted file on your back-end could make it impossible for you to turn your PC on and access the word documents you’ve been keeping for your latest post. 

Mac users might have it easier as Apple computers work differently and are known to have a better user experience. However, Windows computers are more used. 

If you are a Windows computer owner, learning how to update and enhance your Windows PC will help to keep it glitch-free and reduce the risk of any data loss issues. 

Even if you spend most of your time working on the cloud, you’ll still need your computer OS to be in excellent condition to ensure that you can access the files and systems that you need as quickly as possible. 

Step 5: Keep Backups of Your Work

Finally, if your equipment ever does malfunction, then that doesn’t mean you should have to start your writing over from scratch. To ensure that you always have access to the files and documents that you create on your blog, it’s important to have a backup system in place. 

Some people print versions of their blogs so that they can come back to them later. Others keep files on a hard drive that they can keep away from their computer.

The easiest option is usually to find a system that allows you to save your blog content to the cloud. WordPress and other blogging platforms offer plugins that allow you to set automated blog backup processes. 

For instance, UpdraftPlus is one of the most popular free backup plugins available on the market today. This plugin supports both automated and scheduled backups, and on-demand backups where you can choose which files you want to save. 

Protect Your Work 

You put a lot of time, effort, and creativity into writing the perfect blogs to share with your fans. The last thing you want is for a bug on the back-end of your CMS, or a PC problem to destroy your files forever. 

Knowing how to protect yourself and your intellectual property against common issues and glitches will save you a lot of time and frustration in the long-term. 

Using the tips above, make sure that you have the right strategies in place to defend your content. 

While you’re at it, remember to keep an eye on any signs of deterioration in your software or systems. Sometimes, when serious problems begin to crop up, the best thing you can do is seek help from a professional. 

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Heather Redding is a part-time assistant manager, solopreneur and writer based in Aurora, Illinois. She is also an avid reader and a tech enthusiast. When Heather is not working or writing, she enjoys her Kindle library and a hot coffee. Reach out to her on Twitter.