Ecommerce Security Quick Tip: Store Company Data Outside of Your Hosted Platform

INK + ALLOY is an emerging jewelry and accessories brand on Shopify

Data may be the less glamorous side of ecommerce, but it is critical to every retail company’s success online. Hosted platforms, like Shopify Plus and BigCommerce, do a fantastic job of helping retailers manage data. But even the best systems can benefit from extra help from the merchants who use them.

As a retailer on a hosted platform, there are things you can do to fortify your company data against a potential security breach. While we have several recommendations, let us break down one here: storing your company data outside of your ecommerce platform.

Create a Separate Storage System for Data

We recommend creating a separate storage system for your store data, including theme files, orders, products, customers – you name it. You want a copy of all of the data and files that are in your store admin. This way, if your data is lost or corrupted, or you suffer a security breach of any kind, you can easily recover the information. You’ll be able to get back up and running quickly by repopulating your store with the duplicate files. For merchants on Shopify, there’s a Shopify app called Rewind Backups that will create this kind of system for you.

It’s Not Just About Having a Backup

Make sure to have an alternative in place, even if it’s just Excel documents for product data. Whatever system you choose, you should update it every time you update your product catalog. In fact, it’s not just about having a “backup.” The security goal here is to have your store data stored elsewhere, so that if something happens to your store, or you decide to change platforms, you have another copy. Then use that system to update your store. Let the second system, if you will, be your system of record.

Store Data May Be Kept in Different Locations

Keep in mind, too, that you may have different parts of your store data in different locations. With customer data, for instance, if you have a CRM (customer relationship management) and/or an email marketing platform, this information will live in that application, respectively. Often times, the site order data will populate to these apps to support campaigns like win-back emails or abandon-cart promotions.

The important thing to remember is do not use your ecommerce system as the only system of record for your store. Have another system – or systems – in place to maintain your site data.

For more expert information on how to fortify security on a hosted platform, check out our entire article, 6 Ecommerce Security Rules to Double Down on Hosted Platform Site Protection.