An open-source script seems to be susceptible to all kinds of attacks. If this is the case, then how to secure your WordPress website? WordPress websites are more secure than their competitors most of the time.
Follow these simple tips and tricks to keep your WordPress website safe and secure.
1. Ensuring your hosting is safe.
- Good hosts
Before setting off on your journey of website security, make sure you are working with dependable, high quality and safe hosting. Remember that not all hosting companies are evenly matched. Research on people’s experiences of hosting companies in terms of hosting quality and individual elements like hosting setup, security, speed etc. Some hosts are simply poor in handling the hosting stress.
‘Fixing’ your host does no good when it comes to low performance and frequent downtime issues. The obvious solution is to switch to a different host that is more secure.
If you are using our services at HostingSpell.com then you should’t worry about best speed and security, we got you covered, 100% promise 🙂
- wp-config.php file
wp-config.php is the most essential file in your site’s root directory. Protecting the file that holds the most crucial information about your WordPress installation means securing the foundation of your website. Moving the file to a higher level than the root directory should make things hard for hackers to break into the security of your site.
- Directory permissions
In a shared hosting environment, wrong directory permissions can be of trouble. Change your files and director permissions to safeguard the website at the hosting level. Set the directory permissions to “755” and files to “644”, to protect the whole file system.
- Hotlinking
Hotlinking is another entity taking your image and diverting your server bandwidth to show the image on their website. Find a WordPress security plugin to block all hotlinking.
- DDoS attacks
A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a malicious cyber-attack. The perpetrator uses various programs to overload your server with a flood of internet traffic. This attack is meant to crash your site and wreak havoc. Check with your web application firewalls to manage and block DDoS attacks.
2. Preventing brute force attacks on your WordPress website
It is usually the user’s negligence that leads to hacker attacks. The owner of a website is responsible for protecting the login page and avoiding brute force attacks.
Here is what you need;
- Website lock-down
Brute force attacks can be curbed by enabling a lockdown feature on failed login attempts. Repetitive wrong passwords lock the site and you will get notified of the unauthorized activity.
- Email to login
Using an email ID instead of a username is a safer way to logging into WordPress. WordPress security plugins allow you to set up login pages that use email address login.
- Login URL rename
Brute force attacks can be avoided by replacing the login URL. This way you can restrict unauthorized access to the login page. WPS Hide Login plugin will surely be of help.
- Passwords
Regularly change your passwords to secure your website. Make sure your passwords are impossible for a hacker to predict.
Tip – complicated phrases are safer than a bunch of random characters.
If you don’t think you have enough time to change passwords often, use a quality password manager. This will help you in generating secure passwords and also save you the hassle of remembering them.
3. Protecting admin dashboard
Admin dashboard is the most protected section of all. If breached, the attacker can do a lot of damage to the website.
Follow these steps to secure your admin dashboard;
- wp-admin directory
The wp-admin directory is the core of any WordPress website. Prevent attacks by password protecting the wp-admin directory. Set this up by adjusting the hosting setup via cPanel.
- Data encrypting
Enforcing a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate is a great way to safeguard your admin dashboard. An SSL makes the data transfer is secure the server and user browsers.
You can either purchase an SSL from a third-party company or look for the free one provided by your hosting company.
Sites with SSL are ranked higher by Google, which in turn increases traffic. Bonus!
4. Secure your website through the database
The database is where all of your site’s information and data is stored. Securing this is essential.
Here are a few tips to secure the database;
- WordPress database table prefix
It is recommended that you change the wp- table prefix to something exclusive. The default prefixes make the database prone to SQL injection attacks. Changing the prefix can prevent such attacks. Plugins can be used to change the default prefix. Plugins like WP- DBmanager should do the job.
- Back up
Regularly maintain an off-site backup somewhere, weekly or monthly. Backups can help restore your WordPress website to the operating state at any given time. Ensure that old backups are deleted after a new one is made.
- Passwords for your database
Using a strong password for the main database is important since this password is the one that is used to access the database. Use passphrases inclusive of cases, numbers and characters.
5. Securing your WordPress website through plugins and themes
Even though themes and plugins are essential for any WordPress website, they can also pose serious security threats.
How to secure your WordPress themes and plugins?
- Updates
Regularly update the themes and plugins. The updates can help fix bugs that can be abused by hackers.
WordPress automatically notifies you with an email about the updates for themes
Plugins are required to be manually updated in your dashboard.
Securing your website should be your topmost priority if you are a beginner. A secure website means a hard time for a hacker to attack. Never compromise on security.
“Security is not a product but a process”
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