Your mind must be bombarded with questions revolving around how to secure my WordPress website. If you’re not wondering or a bit worried about it, you need to do it!
Website security is crucial to any organization’s digital reputation and presence. Today, an organization is perceived by its website. And if something happens to the website and its security, I don’t need to tell you how it’ll affect your digital reputation.
Website security is not exclusive to WordPress. Indeed, WordPress is the most popular and widely used CMS (Content Management System) in the world. Let me break the stigma that websites built and run on WordPress are not safe. If it is prone to security attacks and not safe, then why would people still be using it, with a growing user base?
WordPress hosts numerous extensively developed plugins and malware protections that you can install on your website to get the utmost security. Along with that, the core software comes loaded with built-in security features. Plus, frequent updates and a super active community working and contributing to making WordPress better each passing day.
Inclined to know more about WordPress? Decode WordPress from Scratch here!
Now, coming back to securing your website, here is the index to get a quick check!
What are the Common Attacks on Websites?
You need to be careful about the security of your WordPress site to protect your portal from potential hackers. Before learning how to secure your WordPress website, you must know the types of security threats WordPress websites may face.
All websites are vulnerable to security threats. Approximately 30,000 websites are hacked every day! The number of attacks per day is 13000 which targets WordPress websites! So, it means almost every online portal is exposed to hacking attempts at least once, right?
Here is a 10-step guide for you to secure a WordPress site by following some simple techniques!
Maintain An Up-To-Date WordPress Website
Do you update your WordPress core software as soon as it notifies you?
If not, you are risking all your data. A version update does not end with the addition of new features and functionality. It also houses updates to the core of the portal to fix all the possible loopholes that hackers could have identified!
Keep your website up to date and secure it from commonly identified cyber threats. Updates sound much more meaningful now, don’t they?
Go For Security Plugins
Security plugins are important and I’d suggest going with a paid one as they are worth it for your WordPress websites.
You can purchase some popular and widely praised plugins that best fit your website’s needs and requirements. The more complex your website is, the more comprehensive WordPress security plugins you should go for!
Make Good Use of CSP
CSP stands for Content Security Policy. It is the name of an HTTP response header that modern browsers use to enhance the security of the document (or web page).
With CSP, you can implement upstream of an HTTP request to limit the interpretation of XSS attacks. Making wise use of CSP can help you create an added layer of security on your website that will be tough for hackers to penetrate.
Also, this tool sounds like an answer on how to secure a WordPress site with HTTPS!
Utilize An SSL Protocol
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It is a security protocol that ensures data transfer between client and server is encrypted and secure. SSL protocol enables the client to authenticate the identity of the server.
So, when you use this protocol, all the data transfers from server to client, and the entire process is secured. Get an SSL certificate for your website now!
Avoid Lesser-known WordPress Themes and Plugins
Do you know that the themes available on WordPress are not developed by the core team?
Yes, WordPress welcomes third-party developers to provide their themes and plugins on the website to popularize them. Some of these themes may have loopholes that hackers can use as bait to trap your WordPress website.
So, you can secure WordPress login and data by using a popular and well-developed theme. You can also go for paid themes that are secure and effective.
Just make sure that whichever theme you choose is compatible and updated to work with the latest WordPress version. Also, make sure that the theme gets regular updates!
Always Trust HTTPS
Ever wondered why HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) is gaining so much popularity in recent times as a strongly recommended language for developing eCommerce websites?
Well, as its name suggests, it provides enhanced security to the website. It makes the process of transferring data and information from your website quite impenetrable as compared to formerly used languages like PHP.
Protect & Hide Admin Pages
Do you pay attention to your admin pages? Are they protected and hidden well in the website database?
Hackers use administration pages as their prime target to get access to the website. You can secure a WordPress site by simply hiding the pages and information they need access to hack your profile!
Make Investments In Automatic Backups
Well, this small investment can prepare you for the worst-case scenario! So, if a hacker somehow gets to your website, you can recover everything you lost if there is a backup.
Lock Your File Permissions & Directory
Well, the directory and file permissions of your WordPress website are the most important valuables that you need to protect. Implement WordPress blog security by locking these files instead of blocking the permissions.
Make A Wise Choice of Web Host
Your hosting provider has got a lot to do with the security of your website and the safety of its data. Don’t pick one because of just the pricing structure. If you want a cheap yet best option, you can go with self-hosted WordPress. To know more, read Self vs Managed WordPress.
Choose the hosting option that best fits your needs!
Useful Tips
Do you maintain basic security protocols?
As per a report published by the AV-Test Institute, over 450,000 malware threats are released daily on the internet. The odds of your website falling victim to any of these security threats are slim, but, not that slim, right?
Therefore, you must keep a few things checked regularly and make necessary changes to secure WordPress login by all means. Here is all you need to do!
- Apply an additional level of security by using the Two-Factor Authentication feature. This way, if someone makes any ill attempt to login into your website, you would know!
- Make utmost use of parameterized queries as a way of learning how to secure WordPress sites without plugins. With this solution, your website will be able to attain specific parameters to prevent malicious hacking attempts.
- Have you set an error message on your website? If not, do it immediately and keep it simple yet personal. Yes, the more personal it is, the less likely it is for other people to guess it!
- Enhance your WordPress website’s .Htaccess security. It is a hidden file that contains sensitive information that may create loopholes for potential hacks.
- Just like this one, you must also protect wp-config.php at all costs! However, you must know that hiding these files is an advanced process, and you may need professional help to get the task done.
All these basic yet highly effective ways of protecting your WordPress blog security are essential to speed up the process.
Conclusion
Get all the WordPress security plugins you need, all the additional firewalls you need to install and follow the basic security check routine to keep your account safe.
Follow the above-mentioned WordPress security best practices to create a security blanket for your invaluable website.
You must wonder, what will all these security checks cost me?
Well, you must always think like a rational business owner and invest in protecting what is valuable rather than saving a few bucks to end up losing it all!
So, with this basic introduction to all possible cyberattacks that can affect the security of WordPress sites, let us move on to the simple hacks you can utilize to divert the malicious intentions of hackers!
It goes without saying technology has its fruits but they can be both sweet and sour. It is upon you to fill your basket with the right picks!
After all, if we can create technology, we may also learn how to destroy or disrupt it!
Keep your WordPress website functional and highly engaging while maintaining all the safety protocols you can to secure it. If you need any help with the process, you can find numerous service providers online, you can also reach out to us at [email protected].
Good luck with making your WordPress website hack-resistant!
FAQs
WordPress is a safe Content Management System and website builder. But, that does not mean it is safe from vulnerabilities and threats. Thus, just like any other CMS, it is absolutely necessary to have a secure wesbite that can handle different attacks and threats today’s websites face.
You can check the security and potential threats to your website through many ways. One of the most easiest ways to run security scan of your website is with the help of online sources like WPScan, Geekflare, etc. You can also do the same with the help of plugins like Sucuri, Security Ninja, etc.
You can secure your WordPress website without plugins in a lot of ways. The most important thing you can do to secure your WordPress website is to make sure your core software is updated to the latest version, and all your plugins, theme are updated and compatible with the latest version to secure your website.