SMB Owner Gets Her Website Back In Shape [Case Study]

Company Background

Dawn H. spent 30 plus years working in the IT industry before deciding to make a career change. Having recently lost 120lbs in 14 months, she developed a personal connection with a women’s shapewear brand and decided to purchase the company in November 2016.

As any small business can attest to, a website is central to establishing their brand. It not only acts as the face of the business but is also the primary point of contact for customers and a profitable asset. Ninety percent of all Dawn’s business is conducted online through an e-commerce WordPress site. The site is also optimized for mobile use and provides an easy checkout experience. This makes it essential that her website is running safely and securely at all times.

Challenges

Not long after purchasing the women’s shapewear brand, Dawn was slated to attend and exhibit at one of their biggest retail trade shows of the year on the West Coast just before the holiday shopping season. Attending this show was vital to driving brand awareness as well as traffic to her website, which would generate sales. About 12 hours before Dawn and her team were supposed to leave for the event, she received an email from Google saying her website had been hacked. Upon doing her own Google search she discovered that listed under her website name, in big red letters, were the words “THIS WEBSITE MAY BE HACKED.” After further investigation, it was determined that her website had most likely been Google blacklisted for several days before Dawn was even aware. Now in panic mode, Dawn immediately contacted her hosting provider who immediately put her in touch with SiteLock.

Solution and Result

Thanks to the SiteLock customer service team which operates 24/7/365, Dawn was able to get in touch with a SiteLock security consultant mere hours before her show. SiteLock quickly diagnosed the problem and explained that her e-commerce website had experienced multiple hacks in the form of email spam, URL’s referencing spam, and malware. These were security issues that, if left unattended, could have put customer data at risk. SiteLock told Dawn not to worry, and assured her that they would have the issues resolved within four to six hours. Although overwhelmed by the unexpected circumstances, Dawn was grateful for the personal attention and quality support she received from the SiteLock team.

“SiteLock took the time to explain to me exactly what was wrong with my website and helped recommend the right security solution to prevent my site from being hacked again.”

Dawn was relieved to wake up the next morning and see that her website was up and running, no longer blacklisted. Unfortunately, the very next day, her site was once again suspended. This time, Dawn’s hosting provider had found additional spam and malware in old backup files and folders that SiteLock did not have initial access to. Dawn immediately contacted SiteLock, who set up a conference call with the hosting company to help resolve the issue. Dawn explained, “I was so impressed because SiteLock worked directly with my hosting provider to ensure all issues were taken care of and that my website was back up and running smoothly before we hung up the call.”

As a small business owner without an IT department, it could have cost Dawn thousands of dollars to get her website back up, not to mention the potential for lost sales. Together, SiteLock and Dawn were able develop the right security solution for her website utilizing SiteLock TrueShield: Enterprise and SiteLock INFINITY. By taking a proactive approach to website security, Dawn has confidence knowing her website is protected and can focus on growing her business.

Since partnering with SiteLock, Dawn is much more aware of how easily hackers can target and successfully penetrate a website. Dawn recounted, “I never really thought this could happen to me. I assumed my hosting provider was securing my website. It was a tough lesson to learn that website security is actually my responsibility, but one that allows me to now educate others so it doesn’t happen to them.”

Today, Dawn has peace of mind that her site is secured with SiteLock, and her business can continue to run smoothly. Dawn especially loves the detailed report she receives that shows her just how many attacks continue to be blocked each week.

She is also amazed at the exceptional customer service SiteLock provides. “Every single day my account manager calls me to provide an update on my site. He just calls and says, “Hi Dawn. I have just started my shift and checked the reports on your site and everything is running smooth.” I mean, how many people do that? Maybe a few. How many do that every day? No one!” Dawn said.

Advice for other Small Business Owners

Dawn also has some advice for other small business owners in hopes of preventing them from having to go through the same ordeal that she did.

“My advice to small businesses is simple and straight forward. You need to create a security plan and be proactive in securing your website. Don’t think it won’t happen to you.”

We offer a suite of comprehensive and affordable website security solutions to ensure that your website stays free of malware. For more SiteLock case studies, visit www.sitelock.com/reviews. You can also read a brutally honest review of SiteLock on WPBuffs.com.