I’ve seen it in open-space offices in Paris, tiny warehouses outside Lyon, even remote teams working from cafés in Lisbon. Same story every time. The tech is there, the intentions are good… but the basics are off. And that’s where things go wrong, fast.

In fact, a lot of companies only start taking security seriously after something breaks. A ransomware note on a screen. A client calling because their data is floating somewhere it shouldn’t. Too late. That’s usually when they start googling agencies, tools, audits… and stumble across sites like https://weboplus.com while trying to understand what went wrong and how to clean the mess.

So let’s rewind. Here are the most common cybersecurity mistakes I keep seeing in companies. And more importantly : how to fix them without losing your sanity.

Thinking “we’re too small to be a target”

This one drives me crazy. Truly.

“I run a 12-person company, who would want to hack us ?”
Short answer : everyone.

Attackers don’t care about your brand size. They care about weak doors. Small businesses are often easier to break into. Fewer controls, outdated systems, no dedicated IT person. That’s gold for automated attacks.

How to fix it :
Stop thinking in terms of “size” and start thinking in terms of “exposure”. If you have emails, client data, invoices, access to a bank account… you’re a target. Period. Even basic protections (firewalls, updates, access rules) already change the game.

Weak passwords… or worse, shared passwords

I wish I was exaggerating, but I’m not.
“Admin123”, “Company2022!”, post-it notes stuck under keyboards. I’ve seen all of it. Once, in a logistics office, the Wi-Fi password was written on a whiteboard next to the coffee machine. No joke.

Shared passwords are even worse. When five people use the same login, nobody knows who did what. And when one leaves the company ? The password stays. Nightmare.

How to fix it :
Use a password manager. Seriously. It’s not complicated anymore. Force strong, unique passwords and activate multi-factor authentication wherever possible. It feels annoying at first. After two days, nobody complains anymore.

Not updating systems because “it still works”

Ah yes. The famous sentence.

“Don’t touch it, it works.”

Sure. Until it doesn’t. Outdated systems are one of the biggest entry points for attacks. Old Windows versions, forgotten plugins, unpatched software running quietly in the background… attackers love that stuff.

How to fix it :
Make updates non-negotiable. Schedule them. Automate them if possible. Test critical updates, yes, but don’t postpone everything for six months. Security patches exist for a reason. Ignoring them is basically leaving your door unlocked at night.

No backups (or backups nobody ever tested)

This one hurts, because it’s so avoidable.

Companies say they have backups. Then a ransomware hits. Suddenly, the backup is three months old. Or corrupted. Or stored on the same server that just got encrypted. Oops.

I once talked to a business owner who said, very calmly : “We thought backups were optional.” That sentence still haunts me.

How to fix it :
Follow the 3-2-1 rule. Three copies of your data. Two different media. One off-site. And test your backups. Really test them. Restoring a file once a month is boring, yes. But way less boring than rebuilding your company from scratch.

Employees left alone with zero security awareness

People aren’t stupid. They’re just busy.

Phishing emails today are scary good. Perfect language, real logos, urgent tone. One click. One attachment. That’s all it takes. And no, antivirus alone won’t save you.

Blaming employees after an incident is pointless. If they were never trained, that’s on the company.

How to fix it :
Short, regular awareness sessions. Real examples. No jargon. Explain what a phishing email looks like today, not ten years ago. Encourage people to ask, to doubt, to report weird stuff without fear of being judged. Culture beats tools, every time.

Believing security is a one-time project

This is maybe the most subtle mistake.

“We did a security audit last year, we’re good.”
No. You were good last year.

New employees, new software, remote work, cloud tools, SaaS everywhere… the attack surface changes constantly. Security is not a checkbox. It’s a process.

How to fix it :
Review your security regularly. At least once a year, ideally more. Update access rights, remove unused accounts, reassess risks. You don’t need paranoia. Just consistency.

So… where do you start ?

If you’re reading this and thinking “wow, we do at least three of these”… relax. You’re not alone. Most companies do.

Start small. Passwords. Updates. Backups. Awareness. These four pillars already eliminate a huge percentage of risks. You don’t need military-grade security. You need common sense, applied consistently.

And ask yourself one simple question :
If something breaks tomorrow, do we know exactly what to do ?

If the answer is “uh… maybe ?”, then yeah, it’s probably time to take cybersecurity seriously. Before the hoodie guy shows up for real.

I’ve seen it happen so many times. A friend launches a site, picks the cheapest hosting “just to start”… and three months later, boom. Slow pages, random errors, emails that don’t arrive. Stress level through the roof. So yeah, choosing the right hosting from the start matters. A lot.

By the way, if you’re already juggling between tech choices, SEO, and site performance, I’ve seen some smart insights shared on https://webproaction.com – not magic, but practical stuff that actually helps you think straight.

So let’s do this calmly. One question at a time. What kind of site are you building ? Because the answer changes everything.

Hosting for a showcase website : keep it simple (really)

A showcase site, or “vitrine” site, is usually light. A few pages. Home, services, about, contact. Maybe a gallery. Nothing crazy.

Franchement, you don’t need a monster server for that.

Shared hosting is often more than enough here. It’s cheap, easy, and you don’t have to touch anything technical. You’re basically sharing a server with other sites. Sounds scary ? It’s not. For small traffic, it works just fine.

That said… not all shared hosting is equal. Some are painfully slow. You click a page, you wait, you wait… you feel it. And Google feels it too. Personally, I’d avoid ultra-low-cost plans at 1 or 2 dollars a month. There’s usually a reason.

If your site is for a local business, a freelancer, a restaurant, a consultant – shared hosting, SSD storage, decent support. That’s it. No need to overthink.

Ask yourself : will more than 100 people be on my site at the same time ? If the answer is “no way”, shared hosting is probably fine.

Hosting for a blog : where performance starts to matter

Blogs are sneaky. They start small. A few articles, a couple of photos. Then content grows. Traffic grows. Plugins pile up. And suddenly the site feels… heavy.

This is where I often see shared hosting start to struggle.

For a serious blog – especially WordPress – I usually lean toward managed WordPress hosting or a small VPS. Why ? Speed and stability. When your article gets shared, you don’t want your site to crash. That happened to me once. Not fun.

Managed hosting costs more, yes. But updates, security, caching – it’s handled. You write. You publish. You sleep.

A VPS, on the other hand, gives you control. More freedom. More responsibility too. If “server configuration” makes you sweat, maybe don’t go there yet.

One thing I’ve learned : readers are impatient. If your blog takes more than 2–3 seconds to load, they leave. Just like that. You feel it in your stats. It hurts.

E-commerce hosting : no compromise here

If you’re running an online store, let’s be clear : cheap hosting is a bad idea. Period.

An e-commerce site handles payments, user accounts, inventories, real-time actions. One slowdown during checkout and… sale lost. Maybe forever.

Here, I strongly recommend cloud hosting or a powerful VPS. Scalability matters. Black Friday, promotions, social media buzz – traffic spikes are real.

Cloud hosting surprised me, honestly. You pay a bit more, but resources scale automatically. If traffic jumps, your site stays up. No panic. No emergency emails to support at 2 a.m.

Security is another point. SSL, backups, monitoring. For a shop, these aren’t “options”. They’re basics.

Ask yourself this : would you open a physical store with a door that sometimes doesn’t close ? Same logic.

Quick recap (because decisions are easier this way)

• Showcase website: Shared hosting, simple, affordable, no stress.
• Blog: Managed WordPress hosting or small VPS for speed and growth.
• E-commerce: Cloud or solid VPS. Performance and security first.

Simple ? Yes. But only if you match the hosting to the actual use. That’s the key.

Final thought (a bit personal)

I’ve seen people spend weeks designing a site… and 10 seconds choosing hosting. That’s backwards. Hosting is the foundation. Invisible, sure. But if it cracks, everything on top shakes.

So take five minutes. Think about your site today. And tomorrow. Choose accordingly. Your future self will thank you.

Honestly, the first thing I tell people is this : don’t panic and don’t rush. I once met a café owner in a small coastal town who picked an agency after a single phone call because “they sounded nice”. Six months later, the site still wasn’t online. Nice voice, zero delivery. That’s why taking a bit of time to look around matters. Even browsing a few local references like https://site-web-ariege.fr can help you understand what’s realistic and what’s just marketing talk.

Start with your real need, not with tech words

Before calling anyone, ask yourself a simple question : what do I actually need this website to do ? Sell products ? Get phone calls ? Look credible when people Google your name at 11pm from their couch ?

You don’t need to say “CMS”, “framework” or “SEO architecture”. Frankly, if an agency expects that from you, that’s already a red flag. A good agency adapts to your level, not the other way around. They should translate your goals into technical choices, calmly, without making you feel dumb. If you feel lost after the first explanation… something’s off.

Look at their past work (and really look)

This sounds obvious, but people skip it. Go to their portfolio. Click on the sites. Open them on your phone. Wait for them to load. Do they feel smooth or clunky ? Do you understand what the business does in five seconds ?

Perso, when I see three beautiful screenshots but broken links everywhere, I run. A website isn’t a poster, it’s a tool. And tools should work. If possible, check a site built two or three years ago. Does it still hold up ? That tells you a lot.

Pay attention to how they talk to you

This part is underrated. Do they listen more than they talk ? Do they ask questions about your business, your clients, your budget limits ? Or do they jump straight into a pre-made solution ?

I find that reliable agencies often hesitate a bit. They say things like “it depends” or “we’d need to check”. That’s healthy. The ones who promise everything in a week, for cheap, with zero constraints… yeah, maybe not.

Transparency beats low prices, every time

Let’s be real : budgets matter. But ultra-cheap offers usually hide something. Missing support. No updates. Extra fees later. I’ve seen invoices double because “that wasn’t included”. Painful.

A trustworthy agency explains what’s included, what’s not, and why. Hosting, maintenance, content updates, backups. You don’t need all the details, but you need the big picture. If they avoid the topic or stay vague, ask again. Your future self will thank you.

Ask simple questions (and judge the answers)

You don’t need technical questions. Try these instead :

“If I have a problem, who do I call ?”
“Can I update my content myself ?”
“What happens if we stop working together ?”

Clear answers = good sign. Confusing answers = warning light. It’s that simple.

Trust your gut, but back it up with facts

Sometimes, everything looks fine on paper, but something feels weird. Too pushy. Too fast. Too vague. I’ve ignored that feeling before, and I regret it every time.

At the same time, don’t choose only on emotion. Compare two or three agencies. Take notes. Sleep on it. Choosing a web agency isn’t marriage, but it’s not a one-night thing either.

In the end, you’re allowed not to be an expert

That’s the key point. You don’t need to understand code, servers or plugins. Your job is to know your business. Their job is to make it visible online.

A reliable web design agency makes you feel confident, not confused. If, at the end of the conversation, you think “okay, I get it now”… you’re probably on the right track.

And if you’re still unsure ? Take a step back. The right choice often becomes obvious when the noise fades.