Do you know that 455 million websites on the internet are using WordPress CMS? This implies that 35% of the web is owned by the WordPress. There are 400 million people who access WordPress websites monthly. This tells us how important this is to maintain your WordPress website security.
WordPress CMS is the most popular content management system right now. But if your data is still at risk of breach after using WordPress CMS, then why use it?
In year 2018, 2% of the hacked websites were those which were hacked due to the core security of WordPress. Whereas most of them were hacked due to the users own negligence, such as using insecure WordPress plugins. If you're using WordPress, beware of the potential cyberattacks on your site.
In today's article, we will cover the methods that you can use to keep your WordPress website secure.
7 Ways To Maintain WordPress Website Security
Following are the 7 methods to ensure WordPress website security:
- Use Secure WordPress Hosting
- Always Keep Your PHP Version Updated
- Use Strong Passwords
- 4. Use Two-Factor Authentication
- 5. Use Only Secure Plugins For Your WordPress Website
- 6. Limit The Login Attempts On Your Site
- 7. Install SSL Certificate To Your WordPress Website
Let's dive deep and know about these methods to secure our WordPress website.
1. Secure WordPress Hosting Is Vital For Your WordPress Website Security
Choosing a secure WordPress hosting is a preemptive measure towards securing your website from potential cyber attacks. WordPress hosting plays an important role in keeping your WordPress website secure. That's why, you just can't choose a random hosting. Choose a WordPress hosting that gives security in multiple layers. Don't make hasty decisions in choosing right hosting for your WordPress website.
Look for different options. You wouldn't want to overlook the need for right WordPress hosting if a cheap hosting is available. Obviously, if the cost of hosting is relatively low, it could potentially be risky. The other factor to look for is that if you're not a person with know-how about the technology, you can't think about hosting your WordPress website on VPS (Virtual Private Server). So it's best to find a hosting that you can trust to handle your security concerns.
After buying a secure hosting, you can feel relaxed that your WordPress website is secured. Generally, a hosting that performs malware scanning on a daily basis is considered better for WordPress website security.
2. Always Keep Your PHP Version Updated
PHP is an important part of WordPress websites. So always try to keep the latest version of PHP on your site. Generally, every PHP release is compatible with WordPress for 2 years. PHP's latest version is 7.4. However, PHP.net supports 7.3 and 7.2 versions as well. This implies that the WordPress users that are using version 7.1 are a potential prey for the hackers.
There are some amazing facts about WordPress. These stats show that 32% WordPress users are operating on older PHP versions. This is vulnerable for the WordPress website security.
It is true that for website owners, it will take time to check the compatibility of their code with latest PHP versions. But this is not an excuse to operate your website on older PHP versions.
3. Strong Passwords Are Important For WordPress Website Security
It is surprising to know people overlook the need to have a strong password for their WordPress website. According to a report from SplashData, the most used password for WordPress website in year 2018 was '123456'. If you're not surprised to know this, let me tell you that 'password' was also being used as their password.
Obviously you don't a developer to tell you that WordPress websites with such passwords are a sitting duck for hackers. If you can't create a strong password for your website, you can seek help from a digital customer service. A digital customer service is a system that uses digital platforms such as texts, chat messaging and social media in place of VoIP phone system to offer solutions to your queries.
While strong passwords make your WordPress website secure, so many people also complain about the difficulty they face to remember a password. But there are so many best password manager software available in market for this purpose, These software store, manage and even help you create strong passwords.
4. Use Two Factor Authentication For Your WordPress Website
Two-Factor Authentication, or 2FA, is an additional layer of web security that requires users to use two different authentication methods to verify their identity. In this case, a security code or a special security question is sent to the users phone number or email. For best website security for WordPress, use of 2AF is an effective way.
Many people use prefer Google Authenticator app which sends a code on users' phone number.
5. Use Only The Secure WordPress Plugins
Mostly WordPress users prefer WordPress website security plugins for their site's security. However, this sometimes may backfire. To ensure WordPress website security check, WordPress offers some security plugins and Wordfence is one of those WordPress security plugins.
According to Wordfence, in 2016, there were 60% of the websites that were hacked due to the vulnerable WordPress plugins. So you need to keep in mind that you shouldn't run the plugins having no verified security on your WordPress website.
If you're wondering how to make sure a plugin is safe, it's best to download plugins from the 'featured' or 'popular' category on the WordPress website. And if you're using a paid WordPress security plugins, make sure you download the plugin from the developer site.
6. Restrict Login Attempts On Your WordPress Website
There are no limited number of login attempts to your WordPress website account. That means if you forget your password, you can try it as many times as you want. Well, if you have a habit of forgetting your password, this may sound like a benefit that you can keep on trying unlimited times, but this may put your site security at stake.
You must know that hackers too are aware of this thing, and they exploit it. They create a list in which they add most popular usernames and passwords from previous hacked websites. Then they use bots and perform countless login attempts using different combinations of username and passwords. This method sometimes work and the other time it doesn't. This type of attack is called brute force attack.
However, if you put a limit on the number of login attempts, you can lower these attacks, if not completely eradicate. For example, if you limit your login attempts to three, any failed attempt after the first three will lock you out for some time.
7. Install SSL Certificate On Your WordPress Website
One of the best ways to ensure the WordPress website security is to install a Secure Socket Layer on our site. Installing an SSL will make sure that the data transfer between your visitors and server is safe. This converts your website from HTTP to HTTPS.
Hackers use man-in-the-middle attack to monitor the data transfer between the server and the visitors for HTTP websites (sites having no SSL). This results in different cyber attacks on your site. And if your site is HTTPS, all the data on your site is encrypted. Hackers can't monitor it.
Get The Better Of Hackers In Terms Of WordPress Website Security
No doubt, the cyberattacks on WordPress websites are increasing. But with the available technological resources and better tips, you can save your secure your website from cyber attacks. We have discussed 7 ways which you can practice and ensure your WordPress website security.
But keep in mind that even after ensuring all WordPress website security checks, you still need to have a constant eye on any unusual activity on your site. With proper monitoring and updated security, you can keep your sites from the cyber attacks.
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