Have you been keeping up with the latest news regarding Google and the persistent hacking coming from China?  It’s a big deal and certainly at the forefront of web and computer security in the news right now.  In fact, as of today, it looks like the U.S. government might even be providing some help from the NSA.  Google has even considered pulling out of China in a dramatic way.

Here’s the deal—if a company as big and well-protected as Google can be hacked, it really is just a matter of time before your open-source powered website could meet the same fate.

And who knows what the purpose will be.  It’s not likely that your website is going to be harboring any classified government secrets or anything, but that’s not the only thing hackers are after.

Your business might have proprietary information that you need to keep prying eyes away from.  A crazy, but hacking-proficient someone might be out there who wants to turn your website upside down for some reason or another.  Hackers might just want to install spyware on your website to steal private information or perform identity theft of your hard-earned customers.  Who knows.

Whatever the case may be though, one thing we can all agree on is that getting hacked is just not a very pleasant situation at all.

But What’s So Bad About Open Source Web Software?

Well, technically there’s really nothing wrong with open source software in general.  Some is coded quite securely for that matter.  But the bottom line is that if hackers can get away with repeatedly attacking Google’s systems for a good part of December, they can certainly get through the open source software you’re running, no matter how well it’s been written and implemented.

That said, there are a few solid reasons why running open source can put you at risk:

First of all, open source is just that…open.

Hackers practically have access to a complete encyclopedia worth of information on how it works and what security flaws have been identified and patched (as well as those that are still ripe and available for exploiting).

Secondly, open source software is a BIG target because it’s so widely used.

Let’s face it, if a hacker has the opportunity to exploit hundreds of thousands of sites with one “hack,” the chances are pretty big that they’re going to seize this opportunity rather than go after a single little website somewhere that’s running its own secure proprietary software.

And then there’s the updating issue.

We know for a fact that hackers go after open-source software so frequency because it’s such a large target market—and one that’s full of readily available information.  There are even communities of hackers that dedicate their efforts exclusively towards just one open source platform or another.  But even the sense of security that updates and patches provide is really just another falsehood—by the time the latest patch comes out (and if it ever actually gets installed…which is another huge issue), the hackers have already long since moved on to the next opportunity.  Retroactive open source software updates are simply too little, too late for eager hackers.

Here at Sleepless Media, we strongly encourage the use of custom-built software to run our clients’ websites and web applications.

Of course we’re proficient at developing incredibly secure software, but beyond this fact alone, it’s been proven time and time again that hackers simply ignore one-off professionally developed sites like this.  They’d rather achieve notoriety within their software-specific communities or go big time by targeting the widely deployed open-source software that so many websites are using these days.  Being a small fish in a really big pond has its benefits!

Having a good user-friendly content management system (CMS) installed as part of your next website project is a great idea.  After all, just think of all of those times when you’ve needed to make an update or add a new piece of content to your company or organization’s website—and had to call up your web designer to do it!

This doesn’t have to be the case any longer.  Having an easy-to-use CMS system built into your website makes it possible for an authorized user to log right in from practically any web connected device and make the changes required, no matter how small (or large) they happen to be.

The best part?  Well, besides instantaneous updates to your site, there’s also the fact that with CMS, you won’t need to pay an hourly web designer rate for basic content changes any longer.

So that’s the easy part, but there’s a little bit more to the story…

Once you’ve decided that adding CMS is right for your site, it’s time to consider the options.  For instance, there are very expensive commercial CMS systems that can be installed.  Better yet, there are a couple of fairly decent open-source CMS systems out there.  But the best option, for a multitude of reasons we’ll take a look at in just a second, is creating a custom-programmed CMS system that’s built specifically for your website and your unique content management needs.

Why should you seriously consider a custom built CMS?

At Sleepless Media, we build fully custom content management systems.  There are several clear benefits to going this route.  Here are just a few of them:

• With custom-built CMS, we’ll custom program the entire setup so it works exactly how you need your site to work. Your needs come first and the system is developed to match…not the other way around.

• Custom developed CMS is simply more secure. With scripts that can be purchased off-the-rack, as well as with open-source options, there’s a serious problem lurking just beneath the surface—practically everyone, including the “bad guys,” has access to the code (and therefore the ability to hack it).  This is not the case with rock-solid, securely built custom CMS.

• A surprise to many, it’s actually faster (and less expensive) for us to create a custom CMS solution from scratch. Think about it for a minute; by working with clear objectives from the very beginning, we’re able to program the solution from the ground up in a streamlined fashion.  Compare this to using an existing open source CMS, where we’d have to completely unbuild it, modify it to suit your needs, and then put it all back together again.  Wash, rinse, repeat.

The bottom line is that it’s easier for us, and much more straightforward, to develop a solution from the ground up instead of trying to reverse engineer and re-purpose applications that our programmers might not be all that familiar with.  Less training, less time, less cost, and a much more functional end product…choosing expertly custom developed content management systems is the way to go!

Overwhelmed while trying to select the best e-commerce shopping cart solution for your website?  If so, it’s completely understandable-after all, this is a really complicated area of internet technology these days.

What’s our advice?  Well, first things first, take a deep breath and try to slow down.  It’s just not worth rushing into the wrong solution.  Next, it’s time to take a look at the basics of choosing the right e-commerce solution.  Ready?

Define Your Specific E-Commerce Needs.

For example, will you be selling thousands of different products across a wide variety of categories?  Perhaps you’re just seeking the best shopping cart solution to sell a single product…maybe an e-book or something similar.  Think about the overall objective you’d like to accomplish with the shopping cart solution before going any further-it’s incredibly easy to talk ourselves into a very complex solution when something simple, easy, and more affordable will not only suffice, but probably even work better for the particular situation.

Free Solution, Premium Software, Open Source – What’s The Difference?

Because there are so many different types of e-commerce out there, it’s only natural that the shopping cart solutions being offered are just as diverse.  It can be confusing to decipher one variety from the next, but here’s kind of a quick, simple rundown:

• Free Shopping Cart Solution – This is something like the solution offered by PayPal to their customers (or something similar anyway). In this case, the shopping cart is set up through the account with that service and is designed to direct transactions on your site through the service for payment processing. It’s a win-win in simple cases…you’ll receive an easy way to accept payment and enable e-commerce on your site, while the service will take a small percentage fee to cover their end of the deal. Again, because this option is not a robust, full-scale solution, it’s probably best for those promoting a smaller product inventory.

• Premium E-Commerce Software – There are several well-known names out there when it comes to premium e-commerce shopping cart software. Most premium choices available are very good-packed with both practical and advanced feature sets and designed to handle complete e-commerce inventory management, payment processing, and beyond. In many cases, it’s worth paying extra for a premium solution for the support alone-and in this regard, it’s always a good idea to make sure that the support offered will stand up to that which is promised before committing to the purchase.

• Open Sources Shopping Cart Software – This type of e-commerce solution is becoming more and more popular with web developers and e-tailers alike for good reason…it’s free! Many of the open source options available are truly excellent. One thing that is typically lacking in this category though, is the ability to pick up the phone and call for support. Not usually a problem if your web designer or developer is your point of contact on all such issues (and they know their way around the software they’ve installed), but in the worst cases, you could end up being left out in the dark.

The Last Word.

As with any major purchase, doing the background first will save lots of hassle, headache, and expense later on.  Be sure to ask plenty of questions.  Don’t just settle for a one-size-fits-all solution for your website’s e-commerce shopping care solution.