WordPress security is a big deal. Knowing how to secure your WordPress site from hackers needs to be a top priority. If you’re not careful, countless hours and dollars can be wiped out in the blink of an eye.
Following WordPress security best practices from the beginning will save you a lot of stress and headaches in the future.
As the world’s most popular content management system, hackers quickly uncover and exploit WordPress security vulnerabilities. While the platform provides regular updates to fix known exploits, new ones are inevitably discovered, and the cycle begins again.
What are Common WordPress Security Issues?
You don’t need to be a tech genius to understand the basics of WordPress security issues. The technology behind the attacks might change, but the weak points almost always remain the same.
Understanding where you need protection is the first step to learning how to secure your WordPress site. Here are some of the most common vulnerabilities to protect yourself against.
Weak Passwords
Since the very beginning of the internet, weak passwords have been the easiest way for hackers to gain unauthorized access to your accounts. This includes passwords to your WordPress admin dashboard.
To help you understand how serious an issue this is, here is a statistic that will blow your mind. Using a password of seven characters, including uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols, will take a competent hacker just four seconds to crack.
When two-factor authentication (2FA) became widely adopted, it was a revolutionary advancement in password security.
Outdated WordPress Themes, Plugins, and Software
Software is updated for a reason. Many times, it’s to add features, but more often than not, these updates include security improvements. Leaving your WordPress software, theme, or any plugin out of date can make your site vulnerable to attacks.
Most of those offer auto-updates these days, but it’s not always easy to remember to turn them on. Sometimes, they’re buried in settings and difficult to find. Using software to take care of updates can help give you peace of mind.
No Backups
When you back up your WordPress website regularly, it won’t stop hackers but provides a safety net for when things go wrong. Having a recent backup means you can restore your website to how it was before an attack.
Hackers aren’t the only reason to secure your website. Countless other things can go wrong. You could accidentally delete an important file, or your web host could do the same. Either way, having a backup is crucial to getting your site up and running again as quickly as possible.
WordPress Plugins to Secure Your WordPress Site
Figuring out how to secure your WordPress site from hackers might sound complicated, but SolidWP makes it easier than ever. They offer a set of products designed to make even the most inexperienced WordPress users completely safe.
1) Solid Security
Solid Security, formerly iThemes Security, is a highly recommended plugin to address WordPress security vulnerabilities. It provides many features and settings to stop hackers in their tracks.
Stop Brute Force Attacks
Brute force attacks are when hackers use software to guess passwords. This software is capable of attempting thousands of passwords in a matter of seconds. With Solid Security, you can limit login attempts and block IP addresses that fail too many times.
Force Two-Factor Authentication
Sometimes, no matter what you do, passwords get leaked. Requiring everyone with authorized access to your WordPress site to set up two-factor authentication provides an extra layer of protection. A hacker cannot gain access without having control of the user’s email or phone, even if they have the password.
Site Check
Site check lets you know if any files on your website have been changed. Enabling this feature is part of WordPress security best practices. Hackers often inject malicious codes into your site’s file system to cause unintended behavior. With site check, you’re notified of any changes instantly so that you can take immediate action.
Site Scan
No matter how diligent you are at going through each setting and selecting the best options, some things still might be missed. Site scan will analyze your entire site for any remaining WordPress security issues.
Automatic Updates
Updating your themes, plugins, and WordPress software is the first thing most people learn about WordPress security best practices. You can actually set this up from the WordPress dashboard, but having all your security features in one place is convenient and makes it easier to remember.
2) Solid Backups
Solid Backups, formerly BackupBuddy, is another product from SolidWP that every WordPress website owner should utilize. It allows you to back up your WordPress site and restore it with just the click of a button. No matter how hard you try to prevent it, things can and will go wrong. Having backups means you always have a way to fix it. Here are a few things Solid Backups can do for you.
Automatic Backups
Scheduling automatic backups means you’ll always have a recent copy of your website ready to go when you need it. It’s a horrible feeling when you need to restore your site and realize you forgot to make a backup. You don’t have to worry about that with Solid Backups.
One-Click Restore
It’s never been easier to restore your WordPress site from a backup. Solid Backups saves an exact copy of your site, so it can easily be restored just like it was. This also comes in handy if you need to migrate your site to a different host or server.
Cloud Storage
It’s extremely important to store your backups off-site. An attack or server crash can wipe everything out if you keep them on the same server as your WordPress site. Solid Backups lets you save your backups in the cloud. You can choose to use their cloud service or your own. Keeping your backups in the cloud ensures they’re safe and ready when you need them.
3) Solid Central
If you manage multiple WordPress websites, Solid Central, formerly iThemes Sync, is a lifesaver. It takes up a lot of time to log into each dashboard to make simple changes. Now, you can manage all your sites from a single dashboard.
Manage Multiple Sites
Solid Central lets you configure security settings on all sites simultaneously, ensuring consistency across each one. You can even backup all your sites from this remote dashboard. This frees up a lot of time and money you can use to grow your business.
Now You Know How to Secure WordPress Site From Hackers
With the knowledge gained here today, you’re ready to tackle any WordPress security issues that try to stand in your way. No matter how hard hackers try, if you follow all the advice mentioned, they’ll never gain access to your WordPress website.
The lineup of products from SolidWP offers so many features that we couldn’t cover them all. There are countless customizations to fit every unique situation and all types of sites. If you are serious about following WordPress security best practices, check them out for yourself.
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