If a customer relies on your website to check today’s hours, contact you, or submit a request, the site is part of how your business operates—not just a digital brochure. Keeping it useful means knowing who controls its accounts, who updates its software, how customer information is handled, and how the site can be restored if something goes wrong.
What does a small business website need besides a homepage?
A dependable website has several connected parts. A customer sees pages and forms; behind them are accounts, services, software, data, and ongoing responsibilities. A gap in any one layer can interrupt a customer task or make recovery harder.
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Domain and hosting
Your domain is the address customers use. Hosting is the service that makes the site available online. Know who owns the domain account, who pays for it, and who can change its settings. The hosting arrangement should also make clear whether the provider or your business handles the site after launch.
Site software and updates
Websites depend on software that may need security and maintenance updates. Establish who applies those updates, how often the work is reviewed, and how changes are handled if an update causes a problem. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends that small businesses keep software updated and clarify update responsibilities with their website host or service provider. FTC small-business cybersecurity guidance
Accounts and access
Identify the accounts that control the domain, hosting, site editor, business email, and any customer-facing tools. Assign an owner, use multifactor authentication (MFA) where available, and limit access to people who need it. Avoid having essential access depend on one former employee or an undocumented personal account.
Customer information
If the site collects information through a contact form, booking request, or other feature, understand where that information is stored, who can access it, and what protections the provider uses. Collect only what the business needs and make sure the people responsible for responding to requests know how to find them.
Backups and recovery
A backup is useful only if it can help restore the site or the information the business needs. The FTC recommends regular backups and keeping backups disconnected from the network so they remain available to support recovery after an attack. Decide what gets backed up, who is responsible, and how the business would restore service; do not assume that a provider’s routine backup automatically gives you a workable recovery plan. FTC small-business cybersecurity guidance
Accessibility
Accessibility is part of whether people can use the services your business offers online. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says businesses must ensure that their public programs, services, and goods—including those offered online—are accessible to people with disabilities. Its guidance says, “Businesses and state and local governments should consider a variety of website features when ensuring that their websites are accessible to people with disabilities.” DOJ, Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA
Who is responsible for website updates and backups?
The business owner remains responsible for knowing how the work is covered, even when a host, developer, or managed-service provider performs it. Put responsibilities in writing or in a shared operations record so they do not disappear when a person or contract changes.
- Account owner: Name the person responsible for the domain, hosting, and site-management accounts, including keeping billing and recovery details current.
- Updates: Record who applies software updates and how they handle failures or urgent security notices.
- Backups: Confirm what is backed up, how often, where copies are kept, and who can restore them.
- Incident response: Keep support and escalation contacts accessible, and decide who will coordinate if the site is compromised or unavailable.
- Customer tasks: Assign someone to verify that essential information and customer-facing forms remain current and usable.
NIST’s CSF 2.0 Small Business Quick Start Guide is intended to help small and medium-sized businesses with modest or no cybersecurity plans begin managing risk. It is a voluntary risk-management resource, not a website certification. The FTC describes the framework as “free, voluntary, and flexible.” NIST CSF 2.0 Small Business Quick Start Guide FTC small-business cybersecurity guidance
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What should I ask a web hosting company?
Use these questions when choosing a provider or reviewing an existing arrangement. The goal is not to find a provider that promises perfect security; it is to understand what the service covers and what your business must manage.
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- What security practices does the provider use, and what support is available if the site is compromised?
- Who applies updates to the site software, and what happens if an update breaks a feature?
- Who can change the site and its settings? Can your business make routine edits without waiting for the provider?
- Does the provider support MFA for account access?
- Where is visitor or customer data stored, who can access it, and how is it protected, including whether it is encrypted?
- What is backed up, how frequently, and how would the provider help restore the site or data?
- How are outages, security incidents, and urgent support requests reported and handled?
- If the provider also handles business email, can it support SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication for your domain?
- After launch, which ongoing tasks belong to the provider and which remain yours?
Answers should be specific enough to assign responsibility. For example, “backups are included” leaves open what is backed up, how often, whether you can access a copy, and how restoration works.
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How do I make my business website accessible?
Start with the tasks customers need to complete, such as finding contact details, reading service information, or submitting a form. DOJ guidance gives businesses flexibility in how they make public online services accessible. It identifies the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and Section 508 as useful technical references, and recommends pairing automated checkers with manual checks. The DOJ page is informal guidance; it says it does not have legally binding effect or establish enforceable responsibilities beyond statutes, regulations, and binding precedent. It does not set a universal deadline or conformance level for every business. DOJ, Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA
- Check that essential information and controls can be reached and used with a keyboard.
- Review whether text, form labels, links, and instructions are understandable and available to assistive technology.
- Use an automated accessibility checker to identify potential issues, then manually review important customer journeys.
- Repeat checks when you add or materially change pages, forms, or other features.
Which standards and frameworks are useful?
Standards can provide structure, but their scope matters. ISO/IEC/IEEE 23026:2023 addresses usability, security management, accessibility, and maintenance practices for managed informational websites. Its record says it is not particularly applicable to websites used primarily for marketing, sales, or transaction processing, although it may offer useful insights. It should not be presented as a universal website requirement. ISO/IEC/IEEE 23026:2023
For a small business beginning to organize cybersecurity work, NIST’s CSF 2.0 Small Business Quick Start Guide offers a starting point for risk management. It is voluntary guidance rather than a certification or guarantee that a site is secure. NIST CSF 2.0 Small Business Quick Start Guide
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A manageable website ownership checklist
These steps turn the guidance into a practical operating routine:
Quick Recap
- Name an owner for the domain, hosting, website, and related service accounts.
- Turn on MFA for accounts that support it, and remove access that is no longer needed.
- Write down who updates the site software and who handles routine page changes.
- Schedule backups, document what they cover, and keep a recovery contact or procedure available.
- Test recovery so you know how the business would restore service, rather than relying on an unverified promise.
- Keep provider support and incident contacts where the responsible people can find them.
- Periodically complete common customer tasks on the site and review accessibility, using both automated checks and manual review.
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