More than 30% of the websites on internet are now powered by WordPress, up 5% from two and a half years before, according to a report by W3Techs.
WordPress is a leading content management platform and has become the most used open source script. WordPress security is a significant factor that every site owner should consider for every action that affects the site. These actions include choosing the right plugins to install, the use of relevant themes, as well some other aspects which are frequently used.
Security of a site should be the first thing to keep under radar, and every site administrator must ensure that his site is harder for hackers to violate. Many website owners nag about WordPress security, and blame the open source script for its vulnerability. However, it’s not always the fault of WordPress but the admins. The admins need to take care of a number of key tricks to save the website from being compromised.
Importance of WordPress security:
20,000 websites every week are blacklisted by Google for malware, and over 50,000 for phishing. If your site gets hacked, it can do severe damage to your business revenue and reputation. The attackers can steal customer information, install malicious software, and inject malware. There have been ransomware attacks as well, where users had to pay loads of money to regain access to their own site.
To secure your WordPress site in this era of cyberthreats, you need to follow the below tips.
Simple and quick tips for WordPress security:
1. Keep your WordPress site updated
The new versions of WordPress are released on a regular basis to add new features, fix the bugs, improve security, make the software better, and modernize the user experience.
However, a report reveals that around 50% of WordPress sites don’t use latest version of WordPress.
Most of the times, the hackers get to know about the vulnerability of a software when the software publisher releases a patch for it. When you don’t update your site, hackers find the opportunity to compromise since they know about vulnerability of site. Hence, the users who don’t update their site, are at maximum risk.
There is also a misconception that the small sites wouldn’t be attacked. But several reports clearly reveal that small and medium sized businesses are attacked more than large businesses.
Hence, the most significant tip to secure your WordPress site is to keep it up to date whenever a new version is released.
2. Don’t use ‘admin’ as username
When you install WordPress, never choose the username of administrator as ‘admin’. It is a very common username which can easily be guessed by the hackers to step further.
The hackers need two things to access your account: Username and Password. If you set ‘admin’ as username, chances are that hackers already know one of the two things to hack your site.
If you have already used admin as your username, consider changing it by inputing an SQL query in PHPMyAdmin.
3. Use strong password and keep changing it
Stolen passwords are the most common attempts to WordPress hacking. It is normal for beginners to use weak passwords because they are easy to remember. The weak passwords can be cracked easier than the strong ones.
Hence, set a strong password that you don’t use for other login credentials. Use a random mix of letters, numbers and symbols. If it’s not easy to remember, then use password manager to save it, but make sure to set a strong password. Furthermore, keep changing the password at least once a month
4. Ensure your users also set strong passwords
The WordPress allows you to give rights to a lot of users for publishing guest posts, and more purposes. You need to make sure that the registered users on your site also create a good username and strong password. All your efforts will go in vain if the account of any user gets compromised. It will lead your site to hacking.
5. Enable two-factor authentication
The two-factor authentication is a terrific way to stop unauthorized users from accessing your account. When you enable the two-factor authentication for your site, the attacker will need two things to access your account- your password, and an authorization code that will be sent to your phone via SMS.
It also helps you know that somebody tried to login to your site forcefully, and you can take further action by changing the password.
6. Use quality themes
Many site owners apply themes without knowing their specifications. Don’t use free themes for your site because such themes don’t come with proper security checks.
Use premium responsive WordPress themes like Cloud Host, which are secure for all WordPress sites. These themes also load faster and are compatible with all the major browsers.
7. Delete plugins and themes you don’t use
If you are wondering why to delete the plugins and themes not in use, then it’s because you don’t update them. As mentioned above, when you don’t update them, the chances are that they’re vulnerable to attack. So, it’s a clever idea to delete them.
8. Have backup of site
Despite every security measures in place, no website is 100% secure. Even the government websites get hacked. You should always have a backup of your site, just in case something bad happens to your site. Install a plugin to backup your site to a remote location at least once a day. This way, you will be able to restore your site without losing any data, if it gets compromised.
9. Use web application firewall
Installing a web application firewall (WAF) is an easy to do step which adds extra layer of security to your site. The firewall filters the traffic to your site and blocks the malicious traffic.
Suggested reading: OPTIMIZE WORDPRESS— TOP 6 IMPORTANT TIPS TO SPEED UP YOUR WORDPRESS SITE
These are few of the simplest tips for you to secure a WordPress site. If you have more to add, feel free to do so using comments section below.
