It’s that time of year! Time to set yourself up for success by making sure you start with a solid foundation.
January is when we recommend an annual audit—including your password management and other accounts, such as hosting and domains—for all of our clients, both nonprofits and small businesses. However, this can be done at any time of the year. As long as you do it—that’s all that matters!
Our clients often struggle with password management. Smart password management allows you to keep your organization safe and fully in control of your online accounts.
Where do I start?
1) Track down your passwords now.
Ensure you have passwords for your domain registration, current website login, Google Analytics, Google Business listing, and social media accounts.
2) Set up a password manager.
A password manager will help you wrangle those passwords in one secure space. We recommend either LastPass or 1Password.
3) Update your passwords.
Now that you have your password manager in place, make sure your passwords are complex enough without worrying about remembering them.
4) Use a generic organization email address for your accounts.
Generic organization emails, rather than individual employee emails, ensure you maintain access to your important accounts even when your staff comes and goes.
5) Share your passwords as needed.
Many password managers will allow you to share access to certain accounts. This ensures everyone who needs access gets access.
6) Un-share passwords when they are no longer needed.
Many password managers also make it simple to un-share passwords with people who no longer need access to your accounts.
7) Document, document, document.
Take a moment to write down some policies and processes around password sharing. Run through these processes at your next staff meeting, so everyone is on the same page.
Want a more thorough look? Check out our article on password management here.
Do you have access to these critical accounts?
You can use a password manager for all of your personal and professional passwords. As part of this audit, make sure you have access to these important accounts for your organization. And make sure you have a secure way to share them with others in the organization (current and future) as needed. Below are a list of the critical accounts we recommend gathering and organizing ASAP:
1) Website Hosting Server
2) Domain Registration
3) Current Website Backend
4) Google Analytics
5) Google Business Listing
6) Social Media
Want a more in-depth look? Check out our article on these six accounts you should have access to if you want to successfully manage your website here.
Which password management software do we recommend?
Once you have your passwords, you’ll want to organize and manage them. We recommend using a password management software, such as LastPass.
Check out our article on LastPass here.
It’s never the most fun task to do on your to-do list, but it will make life within your organization so much easier throughout the year. Happy new year, and happy auditing!
