Secure by design: best practices for hosting e-commerce sites in a PCI-compliant environment

When thinking about running your own e-commerce business, you’ll probably focus on key aspects like around-the-clock support, prompt product delivery, and other business-related queries. However, what retains customers the most is often a smooth and seamless payment system.

In today’s fast-paced online world, PCI compliance is the foundation of every good e-commerce platform. Therefore, using the best web hosting services for e-commerce sites is your one-way ticket to creating a safe environment through firewalls, DDoS protection, malware scanning, and other measures.

In this guide, I'll share some of my top tips and practices for successfully hosting an e-commerce website with the help of compliance-ready services, which make your work a whole lot easier.

PCI compliance in e-commerce: getting started with the basics

Throughout my years of experience in the e-commerce field, I’ve noticed a common pattern of website owners overlooking the relevance of PCI compliance, which should normally reassure potential customers.

For starters, let’s clear the air around this term: PCI compliance reflects the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). It’s a framework formed by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC).

The Security Standards Council represents some of the biggest credit card companies, such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and JCB. Its Security Standard roughly outlines the security protocols that every successful e-commerce website should have in place to ensure utmost customer satisfaction, as well as the safety of the customers’ funds.

As you might have guessed already, security breaches are a major reason why some consumers avoid e-commerce websites altogether.

It’s only natural that you’ll be storing customer data once you establish your website in a PCI-compliant environment. Of course, "PCI-compliant" is the keyword here, as it reassures your customers that their payment info and credit card details will always be kept safe while shopping on the site.

PCI-compliant website hosting

While PCI compliance is somewhat of a regulatory standard, it’s not strictly defined, so you can optimize it to suit your company and its systems. In other words, PCI compliance should keep your customers’ data safe, and it should also reflect on your company’s trustworthiness and help build consumer trust by maintaining the highest security standards.

From my experience, I can say you need years to build an e-commerce business, but it only takes one safety-related incident to lose consumer trust. That’s where PCI-compliant web hosting services like Liquid Web jump in. They offer a complete service, from maintaining 100% network uptime and smooth traffic, to reducing the risk of security breaches to a bare minimum.

They also help you maintain your e-commerce platform's PCI compliance after establishment through regular and automated scans. So, while PCI compliance is just a framework, it’s up to you to do things the right way by choosing an all-around web hosting provider with PCI hosting features.

For instance, Liquid Web offers pre-configured e-commerce hosting servers with quarterly PCI scans, off-server or in-cloud data backups, and PCI protection for up to 10 IPs per package.

Pros and cons of PCI compliance

Before I expand on the main steps for achieving a PCI-compliant e-commerce status, I would like to briefly cover the main benefits and drawbacks of pursuing this compliance. Here’s an overview based on the main things that every e-commerce website owner should know:

PCI web hosting vs non-PCI web hosting: overview

Since e-commerce is all about sales, and today’s industry is based on online payments, PCI compliance is a no-brainer for me. To show you why it’s the right way to go, I’ve compared PCI-compliant web hosting services with non-compliant hosting operators:

Web hosting type	PCI-compliant (LiquidWeb)	Non-PCI-compliant
Sensitive data storing	Confidential data storing through impenetrable dedicated servers and cloud backup	Undisclosed data storing practices (unless specified by the Privacy Policy)
Data breach fines	Very secure, reliant on DDoS attack prevention, firewalls, and corporate-grade anti-malware software	Less secure, susceptible to data theft fines
Compliance standards	PCI compliance makes it easier to become HIPAA- and CMMC-compliant	Absence of basic compliance
Effect on e-commerce brand reputation	Improved reputation and trust	E-commerce websites without PCI compliance might appear shady to some consumers

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Top practices for hosting a PCI-compliant e-commerce website

Now that we’ve got the basics out of the way, it’s time to share some insights on the top web hosting practices for achieving PCI-compliant status. Here’s a list of steps you can take to make your e-commerce business compliant in no time:

1. Create a secure network and keep it that way

The first step is to create a secure network by utilizing protocols like firewalls. It keeps your network safe from unauthorized access, preventing third-party individuals from accessing your cardholder data.

You should also refrain from assigning default passwords to user accounts. Two-factor authentication and automated strong password generation can help with this. It’s precisely why platforms like Liquid Web can make your compliance journey shorter, with their Level 1 PCI DSS provider status and adequate firewall integration.

2. Keep cardholder data safe

It’s not enough to just store cardholder data; you’ll also need to reinforce its safety through 256-bit encryption and encryption keys. What’s more, to achieve a PCI-compliant status, you’ll also need to encrypt cardholder data transmission, especially if your platform shares customer data with your partners or third-party organizations.

This is another case where PCI-compliant web hosting services come in handy. They integrate encryption protocols like IPSec, SSH, and TLS to keep cardholder data safe, whether it’s on-site data management or mid-purchase payment data safety.

3. Enforce a vulnerability management system

You should see to it that all your employees' devices, like laptops, PCs, and even mobile devices, are thoroughly protected via antivirus and anti-malware software.

I’d also recommend keeping all of your e-commerce software up to date, as well as conducting regular vulnerability checks. Some PCI-compliant web hosting services can help you with this by running regular security assessments with minimum downtime.

4. Focus on access control and management

Cardholder data should only be accessible to staff members whose job descriptions require knowledge of such information.

If cardholder information is stored in a secure physical location, you should only approve access to those who need it (your customer relationship team, for instance). Even those with access should set up unique IDs and passwords, as well as biometric scans or tokens necessary for accessing the files.

5. Establish regular monitoring and testing

Last but not least, you should set up a data access monitoring system, which will keep all the records of the personnel accessing cardholder information. You can also opt for web hosting services that offer automated vulnerability scans and regular testing.

This way, you’ll always stay on top of the data access and sharing practices. I’d also recommend setting up a penetration testing system just to ensure that your systems are unaffected by third-party visitors.

6. Maintain a clear privacy policy

One thing with which prominent web hosting services can’t help is the Privacy Policy. You should create one that all of the customers can read at any point, with annual amendments depending on e-commerce compliance and regulations.

The Privacy Policy shouldn’t only be focused on your customers, either. It also needs to be shared with contractors and business partners with whom you might be exchanging customer data.

Crucial PCI web hosting requirements

Even if all the mentioned practices sound clear and simple, not all e-commerce businesses meet them. So, I’ve prepared a list of requirements that you’ll need to check before applying for PCI compliance:

• Choose the right hosting type: The easiest way to ensure your e-commerce platform is PCI-compliant is to pick an adequate web hosting service. For instance, platforms like Liquid Web with a Level 1 PCI DSS provider status make a perfect match.
• Pick the right server: The server your website is hosted on determines your level of compliance compatibility. In other words, it needs to be capable of running all the security-related systems like firewalls, DDoS protection tools, and antivirus protection while still maintaining over 99% uptime for your customers to rely on.
• Handle network segmentation: You can also isolate the most sensitive payment details, such as credit card numbers, in a separate system. This way, not only would you ensure utmost security through network segmentation, but you would also be certain that the most sensitive data is protected by firewalls and other security measures.
• Encrypt all cardholder data: Finally, your hosting environment must support data encryption requirements to achieve PCI-compliant status.

Final thoughts

Reaching a PCI-compliant level of e-commerce website hosting is very difficult on your own, as you’d need to pass through the dozen requirements set by the PCI DSS standard. There’s also the self-assessment questionnaire that needs to be filled out and reported to a qualified security processor.

That’s why using web hosting services like Liquid Web that are already PCI-compliant is the easiest way of ensuring utmost cardholder data safety and steadily growing your business with a great customer satisfaction rate. So, I hope this guide will set you on the right track to achieve just that.

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