WordPress is the most widely used CMS (content management system). It powers over thirty percent of all websites. But as its popularity grew, hackers began to pay more attention to try to find its weaknesses. Regardless of the type of website you have, you won’t be excluded from potential hackers. If you don’t take the necessary measures, then your website is more vulnerable to hacking. As with everything tech-related, you must make sure that your website is secure.
In this blog, we’ll give you our top 10 tips to make your WordPress website secure.
1. Choose the Right Hosting Company
The easiest way to make your website secure is to opt for a hosting provider that gives you multiple layers of security.
It might be tempting to choose a cheaper hosting company, since saving money on hosting means you could invest it somewhere else in your business. But it would be best if you didn’t go for this option. It may, and usually does, cause havoc later on. Your data could be gone entirely and your domain name/URL could start to redirect to something else.
If you pay a bit more for an excellent hosting service, then you’ll automatically have more layers of security for your website. Also, an important side benefit of utilizing a good hosting service is that you’ll have better speed for your website.
2. Consider Premium Themes
WordPress premium themes, by most accounts, appear more professional and can be customized more than the free theme options. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for with WordPress themes. The money made by premium themes goes towards highly skilled coding developers and testers to ensure that all the most essential WordPress metrics are checked off out of the box. You’ll have full control over customizing your theme, and you’ll have all the support you need in case something goes wrong with your website. And most importantly, you’ll get regular updates for your theme.
3. You Need a WordPress Security Plugin
It takes a lot of time to always check your site security for viruses. If you aren’t always staying up to speed on the latest coding practices, you might not even know if you’re staring at a piece of malware in your code. Thankfully the need for constant vigilance of coding has been filled by WordPress security plugin developers. A security plugin will do the job and monitor your website for malware 24/7 so that you know what’s happening to your website.
4. Create a Strong Password
Passwords are essential for a secure website, but unfortunately, the effectiveness of a good password is often underestimated. If you’re using a simple and easy to guess password, then change it immediately! A user with advanced methods can easily crack your simple password and break into your site without issue.
So, it’s essential to use a complex password using password generator websites. Chrome even has a built-in password generator that auto-fills for you. The generated password is also saved in your Google account so that you don’t have to write it down anywhere or remember it.
5. Turn Off File Editing
When you get your WordPress website up and running, you’ll find a code editing option within your dashboard that lets you edit your plugins and theme. You can find it by going directly to Appearance and then Editor. Alternatively, you can find the plugin editor under Plugins and Editor.
However, after your website goes live, you should disable this feature. If a hacker should get access to your WordPress admin control panel, then they’ll be able to put sneaky, harmful code into your plugin and themes. These codes are often so well crafted and sneaky that they can pass by completely undetected (until it’s too late, that is).
However, you can disable the ability to edit the theme file and plugins by copy and pasting the following code into your wp-config.php file:
define(‘DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT’, true);
6. Get SSL for Your Website
SSL can benefit all types of websites these days. In the old days of SSL, it used to be used mainly for payment transactions. But in recent years, Google has recognized the importance of a safe and secure browsing experience. Therefore they give websites with an SSL certificate more “weight” in the search results.
Besides that, SSL is not optional for websites that handle sensitive information like passwords or credit card information. Without SSL, the data transferring between your web server and the user’s web browser is shown in plain text, which can be easily read by hackers. But with SSL, this sensitive data that you don’t want to get into anyone else’s hands will be encrypted before it’s transferred. This means that hackers will have a much harder time trying to read and make sense of that data, thus making your website more secure.
7. Change the Default “yoursite.com/wp-admin”
The default login for WordPress is “yoursite.com/wp-admin.” If you leave it at this default, it will make it easier for hackers to crack your password and username combo. Also, if you allow users to subscribe, then you might get many spam registrations. To stop this from happening, you can simply change your admin login URL. You could also include security questions on your login and registration pages.
8. Put a Limit on the Number of Login Attempts
By default, WordPress will allow users to attempt to log in as many times as they want. Usually, the only time that this could be helpful is when you forget which letters are capital letters. However, not having a limit set in place for reducing login attempts can leave your website vulnerable to attacks.
With the limit, users will be temporarily blocked after too many login attempts. This would ensure that a hacker gets locked out before they can complete their attack.
There are WordPress plugins available to provide this feature for you.
Conclusion
WordPress security is an essential element of your website. If you neglect the security aspects of your WordPress website, you’ll be much more vulnerable to hackers. The good news is that maintaining your site’s security isn’t difficult, and it doesn’t cost a penny either. While some of these solutions might seem advanced, Salt Manage is always here to help answer your questions. Contact us here.
