As the most popular platform for building websites, WordPress is a prime target for hackers who look for vulnerabilities they can exploit to gain access to your files and data. Hackers try to infect your site with malware, steal personal data, ransom you for access to your website or even completely destroy it.
To ensure your WordPress site is secure, there are a number of things you should do immediately after configuring the settings so that the hard work you put into creating your site is not lost. In this article, we’ll explain the security measures you should undertake, why you should undertake them and how they can be easily achieved. (For full protection, there are additional security features that your web host should provide and there are some security settings which you should have set up during configuration.)
Here are our 5 vital post-installation WordPress security tips
- Install a security plugin
Security plugins offer website owners some exceptional security features. These include:
- Blocking attackers and the network of IP addresses they attack you from
- Preventing web crawlers, scrapers and bots from scanning your site for vulnerabilities.
- Enforcing users on your site to use strong passwords.
- Locking out brute force attackers.
- Scanning for vulnerabilities in files, themes, and plugins and for other backdoor hacking security holes.
- Malware and phishing scanning
The list above contains the main actions that the plugins undertake, but they also carry out numerous other security activities that can harden your website.
There are several good-quality, security plugins to choose from and you can install them directly from your WordPress admin panel. (Click on Plugins in the sidebar, select Add Plugin and type security in the search box.)
The most popular security plugins are Wordfence, BulletProof Security, Sucuri, All In One WP Security and Firewall and iThemes Security. You can read more about each of them by following the link. All of them are free, but some do have premium features. You should always read the plugin description and reviews before installing.
- Automate your WordPress, theme, and plugin updates
One of the biggest security vulnerabilities of WordPress is having outdated software running on your website. As hackers find ways to exploit weaknesses in software, developers are constantly releasing updates to patch any security holes. You need those newer versions to ensure you are not leaving the backdoor to your website wide open especially as hackers scan the internet looking for older versions they know they can break into.
For this reason your WordPress software, themes and plugins need to be updated constantly. If you install a security plugin, like Wordfence, you will be no r />A backup can save years of work from being lost and ensure that your business is back online very quickly. One alternative method is to use a backup plugin which will save the data on storage such as Google Drive, Dropbox or your own computer’s hard drive. There are a number of backup plugins to choose from in the WordPress repository check carefully to see which one offers you the functions you need for your business.
Conclusion
We cannot stress enough the importance of securing your website: hackers are constantly trying to break into websites and most website owners aren’t even aware that the attacks are taking place. The figures in the tables below show the number of blocked attacks on a small UK website over a 2 week period.
By following our post-installation WordPress security tips, you will be protecting your website from the outset. As a result:
- your admin panel will be robustly secure
- hackers and spammers will be blocked
- malware will be prevented from infecting your site
- other forms of intrusion will be thwarted
- backups will help you recover quickly and ensure you keep trading
If you are looking for a web host that has expertise in WordPress security and offers dedicated WordPress hosting with a raft of security features included, visit our WordPress Hosting page.
