If you're an online retailer it's absolutely vital that your business creates the right impression with customers the first time around - otherwise they will simply search for another site to buy from. Don't forget, you're asking customers to submit highly sensitive data (such as credit card details) into the often unfathomable dimensions of cyberspace, so there really is no room for complacency.

Your biggest challenge as an online retail business is to instil your trustworthiness and competency firmly within the minds of your customers. In today's world we all share common concerns about the privacy of our sensitive information. The media frequently reports major lapses in data security which in turn heightens public fears about data theft. With criminal hackers deploying ever more sophisticated techniques, your online business needs to treat data security as a top priority.

Any online retailer tarnished by an incident of data theft may struggle to recover, especially once the media gets hold of it. Even if you slip the press radar you won't escape the ill effects of negative social media comments. Affected customers won't hesitate to spread the news of a data violation across mediums such as Facebook and Twitter, making incidents of data theft even more flammable.

So what can you do to prevent such a catastrophe? Well, for the ultimate security solution you should consider hosting your online retail business on a Dedicated server. A Dedicated server is highly secure, as it can only be accessed by the registered account holder. This means that your server security (and therefore the security of your databases) is entirely in your own hands. You can limit authorised server access to essential personnel only. Also, you can install security software to specifically suit your business, without having to comply with the security agendas of other companies.

At Webfusion, we are currently offering a comprehensive Dedicated server promotion aimed exclusively at the online retailers. Our Dedicated servers offer Microsoft Windows Server 2008 as an operating system. Windows Server 2008 makes secure database management easy by controlling user access to your data via strictly defined security parameters.

Our Dedicated server packages also provide a free SSL Certificate. While a Dedicated server excels at fortifying your server data, an SSL Certificate is essential for creating customer trust. Fundamentally, an SSL Certificate verifies your authenticity to customers. Distributed by security giant, GlobalSign, SSL Certificate holders are subject to a stringent vetting process, whereby approval is only issued to legitimate and trustworthy organisations. This approval is represented by a padlock symbol, which is displayed in the customer's browser. In addition to this, SSL also encrypts all data transfers from to and from your server.

Hopefully this has given you some food for thought. Database protection is easy to neglect, but you don't want your online retail business to be the victim of a hacking attack which could irreversibly damage your company's reputation. Of course, only you can decide what is best for your business. But if you want to really maximise your security and protect your customer data, it's well worth considering a Dedicated server.

For more information please visit www.webfusion.co.uk [1]