7 Highly-Effective Ways to Secure Your WordPress Site

7 Highly-Effective Ways to Secure Your WordPress Site

Methods that will save you both time, and money! There are currently over 76 Million WordPress Blogs in existence, and so it’s no wonder security hardening methods are so sought after.

A shocking statistic revealed that of the ten most vulnerable WordPress plugins, five are commercial and widespread. For this reason we find it appropriate to discuss some basic, but highly essential and effective methods to further barricade your WordPress Castle.

There are some fundamental concepts that either you or most certainly your web developer should know.

WordPress Updates

I cannot stress enough, that as time passes and you’ve ignored the update notifications your WordPress site becomes all the more vulnerable. Detailed information is provided to the public with every update, outlining the security holes in the previous version and their correction. The moment this information goes public the countdown begins towards an inevitable security breach. Keep your WordPress updated, make it a habit. If you don’t have the time or know-how, talk to your web-hosting provider who should have added managed support available. You can set automatic WordPress updates by adding the following code into your wp-config.php file : define( 'WP_AUTO_UPDATE_CORE', true );

Plugins Need Updating Too!

The same way you need to update your WordPress, you must, I repeat must update your Plugins on a regular basis. They essentially serve as the backdoors to your WordPress fortress. If you wish to maintain a secure environment you’ll need to patch up the cracks in your doors and tighten the bolts. Updating your plugins will do just that for you.

Make a Serious Password

and Remember It Remembering and using a strong password is like using reinforced titanium barricades as opposed to wooden sticks for your WordPress castle gate. You would be surprised just how many unsuspecting users still use ‘12345’ as their password, and that’s just the start of their ignorance. You can think of something random including a variety of symbols or use a tool, my personal favourite strong password generator.

Choose the Right Hosting Provider

Deciding where you’re going to host your WordPress site is like choosing which neighbourhood you’re going to move to with your wife and kids. You certainly don’t want to have to pack everything and move every month or two. Save yourself the time, and don’t jump from one provider to another driven by ‘Black Friday’ type deals. Perform comprehensive research beforehand. Your hosting provider is the foundation of your online presence, so it’s essential to choose wisely. A managed hosting solution is perhaps the most optimal, giving you the peace of mind and time to focus on your own projects. Not to mention, a managed host can replace the need for an additional high-rate web developer’s services.

Activity Tracking

When something goes astray, you’ll need all the information you can get your hands on to debug the crisis and find out what went wrong, and in some cases, who caused it. Tracking your dashboard activity can be helpful in this scenario, making it easier to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Every IT professional knows the importance of understanding why something happened, as it can always be avoided by taking the right measures.

Limited Login Attempts

Three Strikes You’re Out! Limiting your login attempt is a very quick, and easy way to avoid the common practice hackers use to gain restricted access. Typically they use a tool that runs through endless password possibilities until they get lucky. By limiting the login attempts to your WordPress site’s restricted portals, down to say, three (I’m personally not the forgetful type - set it to 5 if you are), you’re a step closer to a secure WordPress site.

Avoid Using ‘’admin’’

as your username There’s not much to say about this one, it’s rather straight-forward. Someone with bad intentions will automatically assume you’re using this username. Why make it easy for them to take control of your money maker when you can take such a small step towards better security.

Wrapping it Up

These are just some of the few basic ways to control the fate of your WordPress site. There are far more advanced techniques out there to ensure a completely secure site, however, ideally these would be handled by your hosting provider. Maintaining a WordPress safe from intrusion can become a full time job, and that’s not something any designer, web developer, or digital agency can afford to do.

Posted by RobertH

RobertH

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