Whether an entrepreneur or a business owner, security is a topic of high importance for everyone. WordPress is examined regularly by hundreds of developers, making the platform more secure.
Even though you might have done nothing wrong in launching your site, it can always find itself in harm’s way by random attacks on the internet. Thus, numerous entrepreneurs hire a WordPress development company to make their site more secure.
Here, we will talk about various steps that will surely help you protect your website against WordPress vulnerabilities like Denial of Service, Backdoors, Pharma Hacks, Malicious Redirects, and many more.
Step by step approach to keep your WordPress site secure
Use Strong Credentials
Using a common username (such as your name, pet name, etc.) and plain passwords like ‘abc123’, ‘123456’, etc., are significantly easier to guess and remember. A hacker can easily crack such weak credentials without much struggle.
To solve this issue, make sure to use a complex password containing a combination of nonsensical letters and special characters such as %, &, or ^.
Enable two-factor authentication
Enabling two-factor authentication requires a user to login with a two-step verification method. Firstly, it involves the credentials (like username and password), and secondly, it needs authentication from a specific application or device.
This approach is popular among various platforms. Therefore, you can also add this feature to your site to provide an additional layer of security to it.
Make your WordPress Hosting Secure
Securing your WordPress site is more than locking down it. Going with cheap services to save your money will cause various issues, such as redirecting URLs somewhere else or getting your data erased.
To integrate additional security into your site, you can provide a bit more to a quality hosting company. Additionally, you can opt. for a hosting provider that offers multiple layers of security and boosts up your website significantly.
Limit the Login Attempts
In WordPress, users are allowed to try login multiple times. It can make your site vulnerable by helping a hacker succeed in getting your login data. So, to prevent this, don’t let unlimited username and password attempt to your login form.
While multiple hosting services can do this for you, you can also perform this by using a plugin as – Limit login attempts reloaded.
Make Use of HTTPS – SSL certificate
Installing an SSL certificate and running your site over HTTPS will make your site secure. SSL is an essential security measure for any site that processes critical data like card details and passwords.
Without using an SSL certificate, your browser and web server data will not be delivered in an encrypted format. In contrast, it will be delivered in a plain text format that can be easily readable for a hacker.
Furthermore, an SSL-enabled site is helpful to boost SEO and provide a positive impression of the visitor.
WordPress Security Plugins
As mentioned above, the core software of WordPress is highly secure, but installing plugins and themes can make your website vulnerable.
You can use a security plugin to notify you when a security threat is detected. It will also help you to protect your website against brute force attacks and keep confidential files secure. You may use various security plugins like SecuPress, Sucuri Security, and many more.
In addition, further getting issues, you can take help from agencies or assist WordPress development services for your site’s security.
Site Backup
Backing up your database at regular intervals is highly recommended. When something wrong happens, such as a system crashes, you can restore the database quickly.
In addition, it is advisable to keep at least three backups and store them in different locations or shapes, such as your email account, hard drives, CD / DVDs, etc.
Perform Security Scans regularly
A security scan in WordPress helps to review the files run on your website and detects malicious codes placed by attackers. It is advisable to run it at least in a month or enhance the frequency based on your site’s popularity.
To scan your site, you can use various plugins such as Titan, WP Cerber, Wordfence, Jetpack, etc.
Secure your Database
Some of the approaches to secure your WordPress database include using a strong database name or a varied database table prefix.
By default, for table prefix, WordPress uses wp_. You can alter it to something else like 46xw_ can provide additional security to it.
Firewall Security
A Firewall automatically prevents unauthorized traffic from entering your system or network from outside. It works as a shield between your site network hosting and other networks.
You can use a Web Application Firewall (a WordPress Firewall Plugin) to protect the WordPress site that will make you confident against your WordPress security.
Conclusion
Achieving 100% security is not possible or guaranteed, even by applying all security measures.
Not paying attention to updates, backup, credentials makes your site vulnerable to potential malware. It is vital to always keep your site up-to-date to prevent malicious attacks.
WordPress itself is highly secure, but using the steps mentioned above will definitely help you to keep your site in the best position to fight against a potential cyber attack.
