Building a ‘Protective Wall’ Around Your WordPress Site
WordPress is a widely adopted content management system because it is free, easy to use (…yes, you must not be deeply rooted in coding to use it), has a wide variety of themes and ultimately, it is secure.
However, with WordPress being increasingly adopted, you cannot be completely safe from hackers with malicious intents. They are everywhere, they breach the security of many websites to steal credit card details, post unauthorized contents, or even carry out ransomware, where they steal confidential data and hold the owners' ransom.
For instance, if you run an online store and your site gets hacked, your customers will be defrauded. The result is that you will lose the reputation of your brand as well as the income you may have proposed to generate from the business.
To avoid all of these, you must ensure that you build a security wall around your site. Even though WordPress offers security, you are not immune to hackers. They work and never get tired. Small businesses are now being attacked as much as large businesses so it is necessary to take caution.
There are several security solutions available for WordPress security and finding the right one means you should know how hackers can capitalize on the vulnerability of your website and what kind of security measure you have in place.
With WordPress being an open-source software powering more than 28 percent of the web, they are largely targeted by hackers and security threats can come as a single bot where automated programs search for vulnerabilities or as botnets programs that attack multiple sites simultaneously from a central node.
In this article, I will be sharing some vital steps that you can take to secure your WordPress site. While those who are advanced in coding and programing may find them as ‘basic’, it may be useful for beginners.
1. Explore WordPress’ security solutions
WordPress, as an open-source platform, has a couple of bug fixes and security features that tackle vulnerabilities when found and fixed immediately. The security threats that are fixed by the bug fixes may be so grave and we may not know because they are always sorted out before announcing it.
2. Backing up your WordPress site
Although backing up your WordPress site does not prevent hacks, it helps you to get back on track after security breaches are sorted out. Backups can be done manually, however, there are a number of plugins that can handle that.
3. Frequently upgrade your WordPress core
Keeping the WordPress ‘core’, themes and plugins upgraded is important because outdated versions may be filled with vulnerabilities which hackers can leverage on.
4. Keeping your dashboard secure
Your dashboard can be likened to the heart of your site, be it a blog, personal, online or business site. Restricting access to the dashboard can be done by creating strong passwords. Strong passwords can be created with the password generator that comes with the dashboard. Even though passwords can be exploited, it is more difficult when they are stronger.
There may be situations where weak links are exploited to gain access to the dashboard. A weak link could be your host provider or platform where you buy plugins. To avoid falling victims to hackers that capitalize on weak links, always have the following at the back of your mind:
- Does a host have a reputation for offering security?
- How often will a plugin need an update?
- How often will the host provide support?
- Are there any positive reviews about the host?
We have seen why WordPress widely adopted and some tips aimed at kicking hackers out of your site, so it is time to get to work. Good luck!
