But many organizations still rely on legacy content management systems—opening them up to security risks, business disruptions, and legal and accessibility violations. Content operations platforms—like GatherContent—improve secure content management.

Here’s why secure content management matters and six best practices for keeping your CMS safe.

What is a content management system?

A content management system (CMS) enables users to create websites and publish content without developing their own code. Common CMS systems include:

• WordPress
• Joomla
• Drupal
• CMS Hub by HubSpot
• Magento
• Optimizely
• PrestaShop
• TYPO3

CMS vs. website builders

CMS platforms are usually self-hosted and built on an open-source framework. This allows users to modify code for greater customization. Users can also install plugins and themes to improve their site’s functionality. Today, WordPress’s Plugin Directory has over 60,000 plugins.

Alternatively, website builders—such as Squarespace and Wix—simplify website creation. These platforms offer web-hosting services, templates, and layouts to get started. While website builders require less technical knowledge, they limit customization.

Why does secure content management matter?

Companies across industries are at risk of cyberattacks. In 2022, global cyberattacks increased by 38% year-over-year.

Attackers often target content management systems. Since these platforms are open-source and encourage plugins, no one actively monitors their security vulnerabilities. If an attacker finds a security flaw, they can attempt to access your server or install malware.

Attackers often target content management systems. Since these platforms are open-source and encourage plugins, no one actively monitors their security vulnerabilities. If an attacker finds a security flaw, they can attempt to access your server or install malware.

A breach could result in data theft, financial loss, business disruptions, and reputational damage. In some industries—like healthcare—data breaches could also violate laws and regulations.

Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), healthcare organizations must protect sensitive patient health information. Non-compliance can result in hefty fines and lawsuits by patients. Last year, cyberattacks on healthcare providers increased by 74%.

But cyberattacks are not the only threat to secure content management. Technical errors and glitches can also trigger websites to crash—causing hard-earned content to disappear.

6 best practices for secure content management

Avoiding security breaches or technical errors requires regular monitoring, employee training, and cross-functional collaboration. Here are six best practices to follow for secure content management.

1. Use a content operations platform

Content operations platforms—like GatherContent—simplify content creation and management. They serve as a central hub to organize content, collaborate with stakeholders, and monitor compliance.

At the same time, content management software offers additional tools that facilitate secure content management, including:

• Keeps content safe with user authentication features
• Ensures that content passes through necessary approvals
• Enables companies to maintain an audit trail of changes
• Reduces the risk of losing content with automated backups
• Manages end-user permissions

2. Create a backup procedure

Your site can fail for several reasons—from cyberattacks to accidental errors to technical glitches. By implementing a backup method, businesses can recover content faster.

A proactive backup procedure is also more cost-effective than data recovery. And regular backups ensure that customers experience minimal disruption if your site goes down.

Backup methods may also be necessary for compliance reasons. For example, HIPAA mandates that healthcare organizations perform regular data backups to protect patients.

3. Maintain a secure admin account

A secure admin account protects your content management system from hackers. At the same time, restricting admin access can minimize accidental errors by inexperienced users.

When setting up your admin account, consider the following:

• Use a secure admin password (e.g., Avoid passwords like “admin” or “admin01”).
• Change your log-in URL
• Implement two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA)
• Limit log-in attempts
• Create a notification system for multiple failed log-ins

4. Restrict user permissions

By restricting user permissions, companies help prevent team members from accessing sensitive information or making unauthorized changes. At the same time, user permissions keep a record of changes. Even accidental errors can lead to data loss, security breaches, and compliance violations.

5. Track site activity

Monitoring site activity is essential to secure content management. First, companies can identify and resolve technical issues faster. Tracking site activity can also help detect suspicious activity and thwart security threats. And organizations can ensure users follow internal procedures and policies required for compliance.

6. Perform regular updates to your CMS

Finally, regular updates can reduce bugs, eliminate security risks, and correct technical errors that can leave your site vulnerable to hackers.

If you wait too long to make updates, you might encounter technical glitches that require more time to fix. At the same time, regular upgrades will help you keep up with evolving laws surrounding data protection and website accessibility. And updates help your site perform optimally—leading to a better customer experience.

Ensure secure content management with GatherContent

In 2023, secure content management is crucial to avoiding cyberattacks and optimizing the customer experience. But secure content management requires careful planning, collaboration, and the right tools.

GatherContent meets the needs of modern content operations—including secure content management. With customizable workflows, companies can manage user permissions. Automated backups enable point-in-time recovery. And centralized content management allows companies to track who makes changes and when to ensure compliance.

Start a free trial today to see how GatherContent makes secure content management easy.