Security must be your first priority if you have a website that is visible to your customers. Besides, if you have chosen WordPress CMS, you definitely should not take security for granted.
There isn’t any denying that WordPress ensures security, but since it is an open-source platform, there are always some chances of being a victim of vulnerabilities. Thankfully, now you can easily make sure of WordPress security with a few simple steps.
So, this article will be completely dedicated to finding some of the most common ways of securing your WordPress website from dangerous vulnerabilities. Apart from this, we will also find several other details.
Table of Contents
What is the importance of WordPress security?
Let us find out the reasons why all successful websites want to prioritize security, especially the ones built in WordPress. This is applicable to businesses from different industries, sizes, and reputations.
It keeps your reputation and information protected
Most hackers look for visitors’ personal information so they can use it and enjoy its benefit. Basically, there is no one way they can use such information as there is no end to it.
In case of any security breach, it results in leaking public data, ransomware, identity theft, server crashing, and several lists of unfortunate happenings. There is no denying that none of this will help you build your brand but only damage your brand’s reputation and waste your valuable time and money.
Your customers expect security
When your business has attained growth and reputation, you need to pay attention to your customers’ requirements by solving their problems and meeting their expectations. One of the primary problems with customers is being insecure about their data.
In case you’re not able to provide the assurance, it can result in reducing your customer base. Remember that undermining customers’ trust will directly hamper your brand reputation.
You must know that customers always look for websites where they can trust that the information is also safely stored and not being hacked. Since there are payment and basic contact information, you need to ensure the utmost security measures that your customers should know.
Google looks for secure websites
If you have updated about the changes in the Google algorithm, you must know that a secure WordPress website is one of the basic factors to maintaining a good rank and search engine. But you must be wondering why?
Well, the answer is that websites can be searched easily. The security of your website will have a direct impact on the visibility that comes from the search engine. It is probably the simplest way to boost search ranking when you make sure about your WordPress website security.
So, you need to protect your website as it is the major concern of search engines. It is a must for every website owner to ensure security for their users and visitors about their safety by taking a few steps.
Is WordPress a safe choice?
WordPress is a known content management system famous for its simple workability and great ability; however, it remains vulnerable to attacks like any other CMS.
WordPress websites are definitely known for cyber attacks. Report of WordPress security, Wordfence, which is a firewall service, blocked a massive 18 .5 billion requests of password attacks on the websites. That is almost 20 billion attacks on WordPress websites.
You might not be surprised knowing that almost 42.7% of websites are built on WordPress. Still, 20 billion is a huge number when it comes to market share. The unfortunate thing is that 8 out of 10 risks are categorized under high or medium security.
Thankfully WordPress has a huge security team that includes top-notch engineers and researchers who are in search of system vulnerabilities and releasing updates to secure their software. However, they can cover the core functionality, but the problem is the way it is served to the users.
As this is open-source software, it means that anyone can easily find its source code to distribute and modify. It can be customized to any extent and optimized according to the requirement. You can find thousands of themes, plug-ins, and developers who can easily modify the codes themselves.
As you cannot leave it to the core team, you must take proper steps to reduce online threats. So today, we will find out the steps to secure your WordPress website. However, before that, we will also find out some of the most common WordPress security issues.
Some of the most common WordPress security issues:
You might be ruining your website if you don’t pay attention to all the numbers we have mentioned about the trades. However, if you don’t know the most common ways of cyber-attacks on WordPress websites, you can find the following.
Cross-site scripting or XSS
XSS generally happens when attackers start injecting malicious code to the back end of their targeted website. This is generally done to get information and make the functionality disrupted. It can be easily introduced in a complex manner through the backend or by simply submitting responses in user forms.
Brute force login
This is considered the simplest type. It generally occurs when the attackers use automation software to enter password and username combinations. It eventually becomes successful in guessing passwords and usernames. Brute force hacking can be detrimental for websites as it can easily get access to information protected by passwords. Not taking proper protection can lead to a great loss.
Database injections
We are all aware of the SQL injection. It generally takes place when attackers submit harmful code on the website by means of user input, like a contact form. It happens to store the codes on the database. Just like the XSS attack, the harmful code sent by the attackers will run on websites to get confidential data in the website database.
Denial of service attacks or DOS
This is another very common kind of attack that prevents users from getting access to the website. DOS attacks are mostly made by overloading servers with traffic and resulting in crushing it. The access can be worse when it is a distributed denial of service attack or DDOS.
Phishing
In case any attacker gets in charge of pretending to be a legit service or company, it is commonly known as phishing. The attempts are generally made to get personal information, download malware, or when visit any dangerous website. In case the attacker gets access to the WordPress account, they can harm your website by taking away the database.
While there is a range of ways you can be attacked, above are a few types of attacks generally observed in WordPress. So, it is time that we look forward to finding different ways of securing our world press website. If you have not taken it into account yet, it is time that you should.
How to secure your WordPress website?
Now that you have got the information about the types of attacks and the benefits of choosing to secure your WordPress website, it is time that we make attempts to reduce such threats.
WordPress website security will require you to follow a set of different legitimate practices. Some of these are general, while others are specific to WordPress websites. So, if you wish to maintain a safe WordPress website, make sure that you follow the best practices to enjoy a safe and secure site.
Best practices for WordPress security:
Make sure about the login procedure
So, first things first. The basic step to securing your WordPress website is to make sure you choose a proper login procedure. Make sure that you select a password and login procedure in a manner that keeps away from malicious attempts.
- Choose strong passwords: It is always recommended that you should always never fall back on choosing passwords that are really hard. People who use 123456 as their password have the biggest chances of getting cyber-attacked. So make sure that you use strong passwords, or you can use the password manager to get recommendations for strong passwords to secure your WordPress website.
- Two-factor authentication: Two-factor authentication is another way of keeping your website secure. It will need users to verify signing in with another device. This is, again, simple and extremely effective in keeping your login safe and secure.
- Do not choose a username like Admin: There are chances that the very first username that attackers will use during the login attempt is admin. If you have created a user with an easy username and simple password, it is advisable to pay attention to it.
- You must limit the login attempts: You should place a limit while choosing the number of times a user can enter the wrong credentials. When you limit the attempts, it prevents hackers from making brute-force logins. Some hosting firewalls and services might be beneficial for you. However, apart from this, you can also start installing plug-ins to ensure safety.
- Create auto logout: No wonder you should always pay attention to logging out from your WordPress account, but an auto logout can also help strangers from getting out of the account. Even when you forget, you can ensure that the account will auto log out after a fixed period.
- Place captcha: You definitely have seen this particular security feature included in many websites. This is an additional security layer provided by the website to verify that you are a living person. You can definitely use plug-ins for adding captcha on your website.
Look for a secure posting on WordPress
When you’re selecting a Service for hosting your website, there are some factors that you must take into account first; however, security must be your top priority. Make sure you consider the services that the hosting service provider has taken to protect the information and reduce cyber attacks.
With many service providers for WordPress hosting available, choosing one that ensures great protection is always advisable.
Update your WordPress
Websites that use outdated WordPress software are mostly the target of hackers. So, it is a must for you to check and install the updates so that you can get rid of vulnerabilities. These are mostly observed in the older versions.
In order to update the latest version of WordPress, it is recommended that you first keep a backup of your website and then check whether the plug-ins are compatible with the latest WordPress version. Make sure that you update the plug-ins to reduce the attacks.
Use the latest PHP version
It is always advisable that you use the latest version of everything on your website. Similarly, upgrading the latest PHP version is another crucial step that you must take to ensure WordPress website security. You must know that WordPress keeps notifying you when the upgrade is ready to install. You can easily find them on your dashboard.
After this, WordPress will prompt you to choose the hosting account and upgrade to the PHP version. In case you do not have access to the hosting account, it is better that you get in touch with the developer and make the required upgrade.
You can install more than one security plug-in
It is highly recommended by professionals to install more than one reputed security plug-in on the WordPress website. These plug-ins will perform more security-associated work, including website scanning for altering source files and infiltration attempts that can make your website susceptible and prevent chances of theft like hotlinking.
While there are several reputed plug-ins available, some of them cover almost everything that you need. Irrespective of the plug-in that you choose to install, whether it is security associated or not, you always need to ensure that it is legitimate and reputed. Do not choose just any security plug-ins that you are not sure of.
Use secured WordPress theme
Just as you should not download any plug-ins on your website, you should also limit the use of any theme that might look appealing. In order to prevent vulnerabilities that happen from WordPress themes, make sure you choose one that complies with the standards of WordPress.
To make sure whether the theme meets the requirements of WordPress, it is always recommended that you copy the website URL in a tool like W3C validator. It will tell you if the theme that you chose complies with the standard and is a safe choice.
Don’t forget to use HTTPS or SSL certificate
SSL is one of the most common technologies that is used to encourage connections between visitors and websites. It ensures that the traffic between your visitors and your website remains safe without any intervention.
So, you need to make sure that your WordPress website has SSL enabled. You will find different packages that you can choose according to your requirements. In case you are using WordPress, you can use the dedicated SSL plug-in. This will not only result in boosting the SEO of your website but also helps to create a great first impression for your visitors. Remember that Google will always warn its users if they do not follow the security protocol. This can greatly hamper website traffic.
If you’re not sure whether the world press website has the SSL protocol enabled, you can visit its homepage. If you find the URL begins with https://, it means that the security is enabled. However, if you do not see this exact match, you need to get the SSL certificate.
Firewall installation
You can choose a firewall that sets in between the network hosting other networks and the WordPress website. It can prevent unauthorized traffic from getting access to your system on networks. Using a firewall makes sure to keep away malicious activity by getting rid of the direct connection between your and other networks.
While there is a range of choices, you can install a WAF or web application firewall plug-in to protect the WordPress website. Make sure about the firewall type and the plug-in that works perfectly for your requirement.
Keep a backup of the website
No doubt that website hacking can be really bad for the owners. What’s even worse is that you lose all the information. So, you have to ensure all the information on your website is properly placed and will help you from attack. This way, there would not be any data loss. It is better when you choose automatic backup by choosing the many plug-ins.
Advance security practices
Find out characters from the user input
In case there is a part on your website that accepts visitors’ responses, whether it is a contact form or payment form, or even a comment section, there is an opportunity for a database injection attack or XSS attack. It becomes easy for attackers to enter malicious code and disrupt the backend of your WordPress website.
In order to get rid of this problem, it is always better that you find out the special characters from the user input before the site process and storage in the database. With the several plug-ins available, you can choose one that has the capability of detecting malicious code.
Limit permissions from WordPress users
In case the WordPress website has many user accounts, it is recommended that you change users’ roles to limit access. What press mostly has six roles that every user can choose. When you limit it with admin permissions, it can reduce the chances of getting attacked by hackers. Limit the users, and it will not cause any problems on your website.
Never take security for granted
Cybercriminals are constantly looking for ways to leverage the online presence of big companies and use it against them. Even when security engineers are developing new upgrades and methods, it is a must for website owners to take every possible step to ensure security. Always keep in mind that you have to maintain customers’ safety if you wish to enjoy great recognition in the market.
While cyber-attacks are becoming regular every day, it is a must for website owners to take the right preventive measures to ensure the best security for their customers. However, as a new owner, you must make sure you keep an eye on your core business. So it is always better that you choose an experienced WordPress expert who can keep an eye on the website. His experience and knowledge can provide the best WordPress website security.
If you are looking for one such experienced person, you can choose Digital Habibi. With more than seven years of experience in this field, I can make sure that your WordPress website has all the security measures to prevent no data leaks and get the best customer security.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can find all the steps that you require to make your WordPress website secure mentioned above. However, to sum it up in a few sentences, I will always tell you to look for secure themes logins and use a strong password and username. Apart from that, do not forget about the SSL certification, as it plays a major role in terms of security and ranking. However, it is better to look for an expert if you feel intimidated about performing the steps.
WordPress is extremely secure as it has its own code developers and engineers working on the security. You can find the updated versions of logins and themes available in this CMS. However, since there are always some chances of getting hacked, it is better that you follow the security protocols To ensure the best use.
Remember that it is not easy for anyone naive to start using WordPress like a pro. It can be really hard to use security protocols by following best practices. For such times, you can choose an expert who has knowledge of WordPress to make the security optimization.
Whether you create a blog or a general website, all the above tips can be highly beneficial. These are some of the most effective security protocols that are all being used by the top websites to make sure of cyber attacks. So, always ensure that you take the best steps to ensure security and prevent illicit activities.
