Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) may sound like an algorithmic error, but is actually nothing more than a tacky botnet. It deserves your attention because that is what it takes away from your website.
Thousands of online stores and other ecommerce websites lost business last year on 21st of October. Guardian reports this attack as probably the largest of its kind.
It created huge ‘bogus traffic’, causing disruption of services hosted on the target server. Mirai botnet was found to be the major source of malicious attack traffic.
You may be one of the thousands of companies that suffered from this or a previous DDoS attack. Wondering how to win traffic back? Here are a few ways:
- Have an immediate response ready– Send an email to clients, customers and subscribers about what happened. You may want to attach a site link that explains DDoS.
Make sure to list steps you have taken since then to prevent future DDoS attacks and reassure them that no personal information was compromised.
Finally, let them know the site is up and running and they can continue where they left off.
- Cart reports– Most ecommerce sites have the capability to capture information of customers, including contact details and products placed in the shopping cart.
Make use of this information if a customer was browsing or purchasing the items when the attack happened. Prepare a carefully worded email to remind them about the abandoned cart, encouraging them to complete the purchase.
- Discounts and free delivery– This one never fails. Display a small yet noticeable sign on your website letting them know why the site went down and entice them with an offer they just can’t refuse.
You can do the same by sending emails to subscribers and visitors. Introduce a discount offer on your products/ services, offer free shipping or quick delivery, or anything else that boosts business again.
- Backup email servers– Ecommerce sites are used to emailing order receipts for confirmation. However, a DDoS attack on your site may harm the automatic email function too. This can result in chargebacks and cancellations.
Try a backup server to send emails. Better still, host a message if emails can’t be sent immediately to let the customers know. Make sure to send a follow-up email about the order as soon as things get fixed.
Whether or not you have had a terrifying experience with a DDoS attack, you should take steps today to prevent it in the future. Avail one of our numerous plans hosted on Romania servers that come with free limited DDoS mitigation.
You can also opt for 1Gbps, 10 Gbps and 20Gbps DDoS protection and mitigation add-on for Netherland VPS and dedicated packages.