Securing Your Website Between Campaigns

Maintaining the security of your website between campaigns is important. There are a few issues to be aware of and addressed:

• Domain registration: Your web address can expire. Like other key accountants, the account where the domain is registered should be on the list of accounts and credentials. If your domain is managed within Google it will be accessible through the Admin Console. If the domain is registered via another service like GoDaddy, you will want to be sure to review the account and validate that the right contact person and email are associated with the account. This will insure that any notifications go to the proper person, such as any upcoming renewals. In most cases, setting up auto renewal is the easiest way to stay current. You will need to be sure you are doing this for all domains. Many campaigns have variations like Janedoeforcongress.com ( and maybe other extensions like .info or .us all need to be preserved),  or JaneDoeforAmerica.com, Janeforanystate.com. These domains should be preserved for the next cycle and have likely been set up to auto forward to the primary campaign domain. Through the registrations service, you can manage forwarding. If you don't know where the website(s) are registered read:

  How can I check or find information about my website?

• Certificates: SSL, etc: SSL certificates are what enable websites to move from HTTP to HTTPS, which is more secure.  A website needs an SSL certificate in order to keep user data secure, verify ownership of the website, prevent attackers from creating a fake version of the site, and gain user trust. To get a free SSL certificate, domain owners can sign up for Cloudflare and select an SSL option in their SSL settings. This article has further instructions 0n setting up SSL with Cloudflare: How do I add SSL to my site? You can also check to make sure SSL encryption is working correctly on a website with the Cloudflare Diagnostic Center: Diagnostic Center. The registrar of your account or your web developers should also be able to help with certificates.

Learn more: Why Campaign Websites may be Targets for Cyberattacks