WordPress has made the entire task of creating a website reasonably easy. The high amount of flexibility, simplicity, and professional quality themes has made the platform a commonly preferred one. Since establishing an online presence is of utmost importance for any business in today’s digital world, this platform’s open source feature has proved highly beneficial. However, it is this very feature that has also posed several security threats for businesses in the past. Understanding the seriousness of the issue, WordPress has constantly strived towards improving its security features over the years to not just protect data breach, but to also safeguard sensitive customer details. And considering you are serious about your valuable data and intend to protect it from hackers at all costs, paying a close attention to WordPress’ security features is essential. These security tips are designed for beginners to protect their data from any form of cyber-attack.
- Website Lockdown and Password Protection
Every WordPress website is protected with an admin password. Although the platform automatically generates highly secure passwords for better protection, it is strongly advised that you change the password on a regular basis, preferably every two weeks. Having a strong and unique password is your first step towards protecting your website against cyber criminals. Additionally, you must enable the limited login attempts feature so as to ensure that your valuable data is safeguarded against repeated login attempts. A firewall setup automatically takes care of this aspect, if not, you need to install a WordPress plugin.
- Update Themes and Plugins
You ought to constantly update WordPress, themes, and plugins with the latest available version if you wish to protect your website against any security threat. The further you delay the updates, the more prone your website is for a cyber-attack. Regular updates not only resolve potential security threats, but also stabilizes your website. Additional security plugins can also be installed for certain features like website lockdown after several failed login attempts.
- Choose a Reliable Host
Hosting is the key feature of website security as it is the vulnerability of the hosting server that makes a website more prone to hacking attempts. Choosing a good and reliable hosting company will protect your site against various malwares and Trojans. Additionally, the hosting server will also monitor your website on a 24/7 basis, block cyber-attacks, and regularly update your website. However, if you are unaware of good hosting companies, you can always hire WordPress developers to assist you with the same.
- Regular Backups
No matter how secure your website is, always consider maintaining an off-site backup so you can restore your website to a working state at any given point of time. While hacking attempts can hamper your website, other modifications like theme files, code change etc. can also lead to website damage. You can opt for daily or monthly backups, and good hosting companies offer automatic backups, so you can be rest assured that your data is secure at all times.
- Enable Firewall
Installing a firewall is an essential WordPress security tip as this not only identifies malicious traffic, but it also blocks attackers and prevents any form of hacking. A firewall plugin feature identifies SQL injection attacks, XSS attacks, session hijacking, and much more.
- Security Scans
Performed by specialized softwares or plugins, security scans run through the entire website to check any form of malicious or suspicious activity. Having similar functionalities as an anti-virus, suspicious items are removed immediately and secures your website round the clock. Apart from daily scans, certain plugins also have a backup feature that can be availed.
To conclude, implementing WordPress security features is crucial for any website, especially since the digital world is easily hackable if one isn’t cautious. Although maintaining a website with security features isn’t hard, launching one with the right features can be confusing and time consuming. This is the reason why many companies outsource WordPress development services so the essentials can be taken care of in a more professional manner.
