Top 10 Simple Ways To Secure Your WordPress Website
Most people building a website for their company or business today reach for WordPress. But building the site is only half the job, you also need to know how to protect it from attack. There’s no shortage of people looking for a way into a poorly secured site, ready to steal data or corrupt files the moment they find an opening.
Here are some of the most effective ways to keep your WordPress website secure.
Top 10 Simple Ways To Secure Your WordPress Website:
- Keep plugins and themes updated at all times
- Use a strong username and password
- Use secure hosting
- Activate security plugins
- Use two-step authentication
- Use a WordPress backup solution
- Enable SSL encryption
- Use a security scanner
- Limit the number of login attempts
- Disable the theme and plugin file editor
#1 Keep Plugins And Themes Updated At All Times
Keeping every WordPress component updated plays a genuinely important role in securing your site. Outdated software is one of the more common ways sites end up vulnerable. Turning on auto-updates helps protect against external attacks without extra effort on your part, but either way, make sure you’re always running the latest version of core, themes, and plugins.
#2 Use A Strong Username And Password
A lot of people still use easy-to-guess usernames and passwords, which leaves a site far more vulnerable than it needs to be. Never use the default “admin” username, and skip simple, dictionary-word passwords entirely. Mix in numbers, symbols, and capital letters to make a password genuinely hard to crack.
#3 Use Secure Hosting
Picking the right hosting provider matters more for security than most people give it credit for. Don’t choose based on price alone, put in the research and make sure the host actually fits your site’s needs. Bluehost and GoDaddy are two of the more commonly used options, though the right pick depends on your specific setup.
#4 Activate Security Plugins
Security plugins play a major role in protecting a WordPress site. They track vulnerabilities, flag suspicious activity, and give you the detailed information you need to act before real damage happens. A few of the most widely used options are Wordfence Security, All In One WP Security & Firewall, and Sucuri Security.
#5 Use Two-Step Authentication
Two-step authentication is one of the more effective ways to protect a password and keep hackers out. Alongside the password, you enter a code sent by SMS or email to a registered number or address. Even if someone cracks your password, they still can’t get into the account without that second code.
#6 Use A WordPress Backup Solution
A solid backup solution lets you restore your site immediately if anything goes wrong, no starting over from scratch, no lost content. Plenty of free and premium plugins handle this automatically once installed. UpdraftPlus and BackupBuddy are two of the better-known options worth considering.
#7 Enable SSL Encryption
SSL encryption makes it much harder for anyone to intercept data moving between your site and its visitors. Many hosting providers now include a free SSL certificate, so it’s worth checking for that when choosing a host. If not, certificate authorities like Let’s Encrypt offer free SSL options you can set up independently.
#8 Use A Security Scanner
A security scanner continuously checks your site’s source files for malicious code and flags anything suspicious right away. Catching a threat early gives you a real chance to act before it does damage, protecting both your data and everything else stored on the site.
#9 Limit The Number Of Login Attempts
Most brute-force attacks work by repeatedly guessing a user’s password. Limiting login attempts locks an account temporarily after a set number of failures, shutting that approach down before it gets anywhere. A WordPress plugin can handle this for you with minimal setup.
#10 Disable The Theme And Plugin File Editor
WordPress ships with a built-in code editor for tweaking theme and plugin files directly from the dashboard. It’s worth disabling this by default. If a hacker ever gains access to your dashboard while it’s enabled, they can inject malicious code straight into your files and folders, no separate exploit needed.
These are some of the most effective, genuinely simple ways to secure a WordPress website. If you know of another approach worth adding to the list, let us know.
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