Secure Coding and Deployment Practices

1. Introduction

Welcome to our guide on Secure Coding and Deployment Practices. This document outlines the best practices and guidelines that our development team follows to ensure the security, stability, and reliability of our applications. Our commitment to these principles is paramount, and adherence to this guide is essential in our continuous effort to maintain high standards of code quality and security.

2. Version Control and Code Review

Effective version control and code review practices are crucial for maintaining code quality, ensuring security, and facilitating collaboration among team members. We use GitHub and GitLab as our preferred platforms for version control, leveraging their features to streamline our workflow and enhance code integrity.

2.1. Branching Structure

• Main/Master Branch: This branch represents the production-ready state of our application. All code in this branch should be stable and thoroughly tested.
• Staging/Testing Branch: This branch is used for development and testing purposes, allowing developers to collaborate and test new features before they are moved to the main branch.  The Staging branch should only exist if there is a matching environment that can mirror production.
• Feature Branches: Developers are encouraged to create separate branches for each new feature or bug fix, merging them back into the main branch via pull requests once complete.

2.2. Commit Guidelines

• Atomic Commits: Each commit should represent a single logical change. This makes it easier to understand the history of the project and to identify and revert specific changes if necessary.
• Commit Messages: Commit messages should be clear and descriptive, explaining the purpose and context of the change.

2.3. Code Review Process

• Pull Requests: All code changes should be submitted via pull requests, facilitating peer review and discussion before merging.
• Review Checklist: Establish a checklist of common issues and best practices to be verified during code review.
• Automated Checks: Utilize automated linting and security scanning tools to identify and fix issues early in the review process.
• Knowledge Sharing: Encourage reviewers to provide constructive feedback and share knowledge, fostering a collaborative learning environment.

2.4. Handling Merge Conflicts

• Proactive Communication: Encourage team members to communicate proactively when merge conflicts are anticipated, coordinating efforts to minimize disruption.
• Conflict Resolution: Provide guidelines for resolving merge conflicts, ensuring that code integrity is maintained and the best solution is chosen.

2.5. Post-Merge Validation

• Continuous Integration: Use continuous integration tools to automatically build and test the application after each merge, ensuring that new changes do not introduce regressions.
• Rollback Plan: Maintain a clear and quick rollback plan for all deployments, ensuring that any issues can be promptly addressed.

3. Secure Coding Principles

3.1. Least Privilege

• Ensure that all modules, user accounts, and processes access only the information and resources necessary for their legitimate purpose.

3.2. Input Validation

• Validate all user inputs to ensure conformity to expected formats, mitigating the risk of injection attacks.

3.3. Output Encoding

• Encode data before display to prevent Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks.

3.4. Authentication and Authorization

• Implement strong authentication and authorization mechanisms to secure access to sensitive data and functionalities.

4. Branching and Deployment Strategy

A well-defined branching and deployment strategy is essential to maintain code integrity, facilitate collaboration, and ensure seamless application releases. Our strategy is designed to minimize errors, streamline the development process, and ensure that code is thoroughly tested before reaching production.

4.1. Branching Strategy

Our branching strategy is designed to organize work, streamline the development process, and reduce the risk of conflicts and errors.

• Main/Master Branch: The source of truth for production-ready code. All code in this branch should be stable, tested, and ready for deployment.
• Staging/Testing Branch: Used for aggregating features and bug fixes before they are moved to the main branch. This branch acts as a buffer, ensuring that only well-tested code reaches production.
• Feature Branches: Individual branches created for each new feature or bug fix. These branches are merged back into the staging/testing branch, and eventually into the main branch, once they are complete and tested.
• Hotfix Branches: In cases where immediate fixes are required in the production environment, hotfix branches can be created directly from the main branch.

4.2. Deployment Practices

Our deployment practices are designed to ensure smooth and error-free releases.

• Automated Deployments: Utilize DeployBot to automate the deployment process, ensuring consistency and reducing the risk of human error.
• Environment Parity: Strive to maintain parity between the staging and production environments, ensuring that code is tested in an environment that closely mirrors production.
• Rollback Procedures: Establish clear and tested rollback procedures for each environment, ensuring that any issues can be quickly addressed.

4.3. Continuous Integration and Delivery (CI/CD)

Implement CI/CD pipelines to automate the testing and deployment processes, ensuring that code is consistently tested and deployed according to best practices.

• Automated Testing: Configure automated tests to run on every commit and pull request, ensuring that issues are caught early in the development process.
• Staging Deployments: Automatically deploy commits to the staging/testing environment, allowing for real-world testing before production release.
• Production Deployments: Ensure that only thoroughly tested and reviewed code is deployed to production, minimizing the risk of errors and downtime.

4.4. Monitoring and Feedback

Implement monitoring tools and feedback loops to track the performance and stability of the application in different environments.

• Performance Monitoring: Use tools to monitor the performance of the application in real-time, identifying and addressing any issues promptly.
• Error Tracking: Implement error tracking to log and analyze any issues that arise, facilitating quicker resolution.
• User Feedback: Encourage user feedback on new features and changes, providing valuable insights and identifying areas for improvement.

5. Limitations and Disclaimer

5.1. No Guarantee of Bug-Free Code

• While adhering to these practices significantly reduces the risk of bugs and vulnerabilities, it does not guarantee bug-free code due to variables like user interaction, server responses, and traffic.

5.2. No Guarantee of Uninterrupted Operation

• These practices aim to minimize downtime and ensure stable operation, but uninterrupted service cannot be guaranteed.

5.3. Continuous Improvement

• Encourage learning from any issues that arise and continuously improving practices and guidelines.

6. Conclusion

This document encapsulates our dedication to secure coding and deployment practices. By adhering to these guidelines, we strive to minimize issues and enhance the stability and security of our applications. Our commitment to excellence is unwavering, and we continuously seek to improve and uphold the highest standards in our development processes.

7. References and Resources

To further support our secure coding and deployment practices, we recommend the following resources for additional information and guidance:

• GitHub Documentation: For best practices on using GitHub, branching strategies, and pull requests. GitHub Docs
• GitLab Documentation: Comprehensive guides and examples for utilizing GitLab in your workflow. GitLab Docs
• WordPress Codex: For WordPress-specific coding standards and best practices. WordPress Codex
• WP Engine Resource Center: Guides and tutorials for managing WordPress sites on WP Engine. WP Engine Resources
• Servd Documentation: Best practices and guidelines for using Servd with WordPress. Servd Docs
• ACF Documentation: Official documentation for Advanced Custom Fields, including guidelines on using ACF JSON. ACF Docs
• Database Backup Strategies: Articles and tools for ensuring reliable database backups. Example Resource

8. Addendums: Specific Tools and Platforms

In our development workflow, we utilize various tools and platforms, each with its own best practices and workflows. Below are specific guidelines and considerations for some of these tools:

8.1. WordPress Platforms

• WP Engine and Similar Platforms: When using WordPress hosting platforms like WP Engine, which handle tracking and updating of the WordPress core themselves, we only track theme files and plugin files in our version control system. The platform’s built-in tools manage core updates to ensure security and stability.
• Git-Backed Services like Servd: If we are utilizing a git-backed WordPress hosting service such as Servd, it is crucial to adhere to their specific best practices for branch organization and deployment. Refer to the platform’s documentation and support resources to align our workflow with their system.

8.2. Advanced Custom Fields (ACF)

• When using the Advanced Custom Fields plugin, we leverage the ACF JSON feature to track and deploy changes made to field groups in the WordPress admin UI. This ensures that field configurations are versioned and can be consistently deployed across different environments.

8.3. Database Management

• Local Development: For local development purposes, we download a copy of the database to run on our local machines as needed, ensuring at least a monthly update. However, this local copy is not to be considered a replacement for proper database backup practices.
• Database Backups: Ensure that regular, automated backups of the database are configured and stored securely. These backups are essential for disaster recovery and should be tested periodically to ensure integrity.