Protecting your WordPress Site from Hackers – Don’t Lose Everything!
WordPress is user-friendly, especially for beginners. However, that is also one of the downsides to the site. Hackers love to take advantage of relatively inexperienced users. This gives them access to sensitive information or the ability to spread malware to unsuspecting visitors. That being said, there are steps you can take to secure your site against malicious intrusions.
Steps to Securing Your WordPress Site
Select a Secure Web Host
A significant factor in WordPress vulnerabilities is low-quality hosting. You must invest in a host that places a high value on security. You will hurt yourself in the long run if you go with a cheaper web host, as a security breach could cost you big time. Therefore, when researching web hosts, be sure to look into the hosting company’s security record. Additionally, you want to make sure they use only the latest technology and standards.
Install an SSL Certificate
A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate encrypts all data sent between a user and your website. An SSL gives you an HTTPS URL and a certificate that reassures visitors to your site of a secure browsing experience. Therefore, knowing how to install SSL on WordPress is crucial, especially if your users are enhancing payment information.
Ensure your Plugins and Theme are Up to Date
A common way that hackers access your site is through outdated plugins or unsecured themes. Therefore you must keep your plugin and theme updated so any holes are patched up. To do this, all you need to do is go to Dashboard > Updates.
Only Install Plugins and Themes from Reliable Sources
A mistake many WordPress users make is getting their plugins and themes from unreliable vendors. A bad plugin or theme can corrupt, deface, or inject malware onto your site. Therefore you need to avoid third-party websites and developers that aren’t endorsed by WordPress. However, even if you get a plugin from the official directory, that’s no guarantee that it’s safe. For this reason, before you download any plugin, you need to look at the stats listed in the sidebar on the right-hand side of the page. Look at when it was last updated and avoid downloading anything that hasn’t been updated in the previous year or more. You should also look at the number of installations and their rating. Do not install anything that has had less than a few hundred installations or received low ratings.
Backup Your Site
You must set up your backups for your site. This way, if there’s an accidental change to the code, a glitch, or a corrupted database, you always have a version of your site saved. This also means that if your site gets hacked and the damage is irreparable, you won’t have to rebuild your site all over again from scratch.
You can do a backup manually or automatically. The manual way is free, but it’s also time-consuming. Luckily, many web hosts offer automated backups. In this case, the host takes care of backing up your files and database. However, you may still want to do a few manual backups just in case.
Disable File Editing
WordPress has a set of easy-to-reach themes and plugin editors. These allow you to have direct access to your site’s code. While this is a useful tool for a developer, it’s highly unlikely that the average WordPress user will need access to these. After all, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you don’t want to be playing around with code. Furthermore, this is an easy way for hackers to quickly execute malicious code or delete entire parts of your website. Therefore, it’s best to disable file editing.
Bolster Your Login Process
Brute force attacks are a common way that someone can figure out your password. This involves trying various number and letter combinations until they figure out your password. To prevent this from happening in two ways. The first is to create a strong login combination. This means choosing a hard to guess the username and a strong password. A strong password is at least ten characters and avoids common words and phrases. Ideally, it should be made up of entirely random letters, numbers, and symbols, that no one could possibly guess.
The next thing to do is to lock down your login page. By default, the login page for your site is yoursite.com/wp-admin. However, you can change this login so that no one can find your login page. The plugin, WPS Hide Login, allows you to switch your login page to any URL you want.
Conclusion
Neglecting the security of your WordPress site leaves it vulnerable to hackers. Therefore, you should follow the advice we’ve provided and secure your site as best as possible to keep your site from being defaced, deleted, or injected with malware.
We hope you enjoyed this promoted post as much as we did!
