10 Ways To Increase Your WordPress Website Security

10 Ways To Increase Your WordPress Security
  • 10 min read

Having your website hacked can be a nightmare. That should come as no surprise to any business owner or website operator. WordPress website security is a big deal and you need to take it seriously!

While you may feel like you’re immune, website hacking happens more frequently than you might expect. It’s critical that your WordPress website is protected

Across the world, studies show that around 30,000 websites are hacked each day. 64% of companies have experienced a cyber attack on varying levels. 

So, with all that going on,  how can you avoid being hacked and make sure your WordPress website is secure? 

Well, this is where WordPress security comes into play. Security is no joke. A hacked or compromised website can cost you money and hurt your business. Even a few hours of downtime can cost you thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Not to mention, if a hacker compromises critical customer data you store on your site, your business can find itself in very hot water. 

Many businesses make the mistake of setting a few security measures in place for their WordPress website and then never revisiting its security. 

But what many people don’t know is that WordPress security is not only an essential part of setting up your website but it is an ongoing process. It is not something that you can set up and then forget. 

Everything from understanding and setting the right password and performing regular back-ups to partnering with the most secure WordPress hosting partner is necessary to ensure that your website is harder to hack. At Rocket.net, our team understands the importance of security. To help you keep your website (or your clients’ websites if you run an agency), we’ve compiled ten high-impact tips to help you improve the security of your WordPress site so that your website can stand a chance against the ever-evolving tricks of modern-day hackers.

How secure is WordPress?

WordPress powers between 35-40% of the websites on the Internet. It’s an excellent CMS for building out your brand presence online, but that popularity comes with a price. 

Studies show up to 90,000 attacks occur on WordPress sites every minute. You don’t have to be a math whiz to know that’s a considerable number. Fortunately, most of those attacks fail due to security measures put in place by WordPress website owners. Many of the successful hacks on WordPress sites are preventable. 61% of hacked sites are out-of-date, and 8% of successful attacks result from weak passwords.

Security WordPress Stats - 10 Ways To Increase Your WordPress Website Security - WordPress Website Security
Image: WordPress security statistics – Source

Fortunately, by putting measures in place like secure hosting, consistently updating to the latest version of WordPress, avoiding questionable plugins, and taking advantage of all the robust security features available through WordPress, you have the power to keep your site very secure.

How do you increase the security of your WordPress website?

Many hacks occur simply because the site owner didn’t understand how to improve the security of their WordPress website. With a bit of effort, you can quickly put measures in place to boost your WordPress website security, protect your business, and keep your customers’ data safe. 

One of the simplest things you can do to protect against attacks is simply keeping your website updated. Studies show that less than 40% of WordPress sites are running on the latest version of the platform.

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Image: Percentage of WordPress sites running on the latest version – Source

It can be a bit of a hassle to keep up with the latest WordPress updates, let alone keep up with all the constant plugin updates. Fortunately, by partnering with a quality WordPress hosting company like Rocket.net, all of the updating is taken care of for you

WordPress is a very secure platform if you have the right partner and focus, but it’s essential to know where to place that focus. 

To help you improve the security of your WordPress website, let’s dive into the top 10 things you can do to boost your site’s security and keep your business and your customers safe.

Use a secure WordPress hosting provider

One of the most important things to think about when setting up a website is the WordPress hosting partner you select.

And let’s be honest, not all web hosting platforms are equal. Many hosting options lack seriously in the area of security, not to mention customer support, speed, and lots of other critical areas. It’s important that you do your research and select the right partner. 

At Rocket.net, we’ve put the top security measures in place to ensure your WordPress website is protected from malicious attacks. No matter who you host your site with, the attacks won’t stop. The important thing is to host with a provider who has your back and has the right technology in place to eliminate all of those attacks. 

At the time of publishing this article, we’ve blocked nearly 17 million attacks.

Security Stats - 10 Ways To Increase Your WordPress Website Security - WordPress Website Security

Rocket.net is the only all-in-one WordPress platform optimized and delivered by Cloudflare Enterprise. With built-in CDN and WAF, every WordPress install is delivered as fast and secure as possible. 

WAF refers to our always-on website firewall, which includes not one but two firewalls that protect your website from attackers and bots. Rocket.net also provides malware protection and automatic updates. 

Whether you are already considering Rocket.net or are shopping around, you should never choose the cheapest option for your WordPress hosting. Opting for low-cost hosting options leaves your site vulnerable to attack, as these low-cost hosting providers offer minimal security. 

You ensure your site’s safety by opting to pay just a bit more for high-quality WordPress hosting. Whatever the size of your business or however many sites you manage, we have a pricing plan to fit your budget and help your business grow.

Your website is your window to the world, so don’t cut corners. Ensure that you do your research and opt for a well-established company with solid security measures built into its platform.

Keep WordPress up-to-date

A common problem with many websites is that once they are set up, they are rarely updated. 

Lots of owners of small to medium-sized businesses rarely even log into their WordPress back-end for weeks or months at a time. Unless your website is automatically updated by your hosting partner, ignoring the latest updates makes your website extra vulnerable to hackers. 

Why? 

Each new release of WordPress contains fixes and patches that address actual or potential vulnerabilities. If you do not update your website with the latest version of WordPress, you are essentially leaving the door open for potential attacks. And believe me, the hackers are on top of any vulnerabilities and constantly seeking to exploit them.

Security WordPress Updates - 10 Ways To Increase Your WordPress Website Security - WordPress Website Security
Image: Keep up-to-date with the latest version of WordPress – Source

Hackers are notorious for targeting websites with older versions of WordPress. As mentioned earlier, 61% of hacked sites are out-of-date.

Keeping your WordPress site running on the latest version is a crucial component of ensuring the security of your website. Still, it isn’t enough to just update your website with the latest WordPress version.

You should also be regularly logging into your website and ensuring that your WordPress theme and your plugins are all updated. Keep your site updated, and you’ll be significantly better-positioned to protect your site against threats.

Use a strong WordPress password

Weak passwords are another culprit in WordPress websites being hacked. 

It’s not a secret that passwords are vital to your WordPress security. And you’ve probably already realized that using the name of your childhood pet is not the best password option. Today, however, you need to be extra careful. 

Now more than ever, hackers are becoming more innovative and sophisticated, and so should your passwords. 

We recommend that you use these simple rules when setting up your WordPress password: 

  • Avoid using words in your WordPress password to prevent a dictionary attack
  • Include capitals, numbers, and symbols 
  • Make sure that your password is at least 8-9 characters long — but the longer, the better. 

A good password could look something like this:

“Bz51!?K2oV513??@ZkI?L0d”

Quick Tip: we know that it can become overwhelming trying to remember all of your different passwords. So instead of storing them in your mind, on your computer, or in your notebook, why not try LastPass? LastPass is a freemium password manager that stores encrypted passwords online.

Avoid using admin as your username

Back in the day, the default WordPress admin username was, in fact, “admin.” Since usernames make up half of the login credentials, it is easier for brute-force hacker attacks. 

Thankfully, this has changed, and WordPress now allows you to choose your unique username when you install WordPress on your hosting platform.

Now, if your username is still “admin,” then it’s time to change it. The process is simple. All you need to do is: 

  • Create a new administrator account for yourself using a different username and password
  • Login with your new administrator account
  • Delete the original “admin” account

That’s it. You’re done, and your WordPress website is more secure as a result.

Security New Admin - 10 Ways To Increase Your WordPress Website Security - WordPress Website Security
Image: Creating a new “admin” user for your WordPress website

If you are hesitating to delete your admin account because of existing posts, don’t worry; when you delete it, you can assign all the existing posts to your new user account.

Limit login attempts

Limiting your login attempts can be a pain if you’ve forgotten your password, but it is essential in preventing a brute-force attack.The Limit Login Attempts WordPress plugin allows you to specify how many retries will be allowed and how long a specific IP address can be blocked once you (or someone with bad intentions) has reached the number of failed login attempts.

Use 2 Factor Authentication (2FA)

2FA is a two-step process that requires two or three proofs of identity before granting access to your WordPress back-end. This means that even if your password is compromised, a password alone is not enough to pass the authentication check. 

WordPress websites using WooCommerce or course platform software like LearnDash should consider adding this extra layer of security as they are dealing with personal information, unlike blog-only websites. 

There are many 2FA plugins available for WordPress, which have different ways to authenticate your identity, including the following: 

  • A unique password (OTP) sent by SMS/e-mail
  • A phone call
  • A QR code
  • Authenticators
  • A push notification
  • Hardware-based key generators such as YubiKey, SolidPass, etc.

If you are still confused about how it works, let’s look at a quick example using the Google Authenticator app

First, you need to download the app onto your phone and sync it with the WordPress plugin.

After the Google Authenticator app is all set up, every time you log into your WordPress admin account after you’ve provided your password, you will also be asked to provide a six-digit number found in Google Authenticator App.

You’ll open the app and type in the six digits displayed. These digits also change every 20-30 seconds. 

Taking these extra steps may seem tedious, but they can add an extra layer of protection for your WordPress website. It’s completely worth the few extra seconds it takes you to run through the verification process.

Disable file editing

By default, WordPress allows administrative users to edit PHP files of plugins and themes inside the WordPress admin interface. The problem with this is that this is often the first thing an attacker would look at if they managed to gain access to an administrative account. 

To disable editing from within the administrative interface, you should enter the following snippet in the wp-config.php file:

“define(‘DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT’, true);”

You can easily do this via FTP and, once added, doing this will prevent logged-in users from being able to edit themes and files.

Make sure your website uses HTTPS

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a protocol that encrypts the data transfer between your website and your users’ browsers. 

Once you enable SSL, your website will use HTTPS instead of HTTP. You will also see a padlock sign next to your website address in the browsers. 

As explained by Cloudflare, “HTTPS is encrypted in order to increase the security of data transfer. This is particularly important when users transmit sensitive data, such as by logging into a bank account, email service, or health insurance provider.”

So how do you set up an SSL on your website? Easy.Many hosting companies – including Rocket.net – offer a free SSL certificate for your WordPress website.

Consider using WordPress security plugins

Now, if you think: Well, do I really need a WordPress security plugin? Know this stat — The average website is attacked 44 times every day.

How does that make you feel? A bit uneasy, right? Using a WordPress security plugin to protect your website can help put your mind at ease and keep things safe. 

Make sure that you install an auditing and monitoring system that keeps track of everything that happens on your website — security-wise. WordPress security plugins can monitor things like file integrity, failed login attempts, and complete malware scanning. 

There are several free and paid WordPress security plugins out there that can help you accomplish all of this and more. A few recommended WordPress security plugins are iThemes Security, WordFence, and fail2ban.

The good news is if you host your site with Rocket.net, you don’t have to worry about setting up security plugins. Those are already in place, pre-configured for you.

Don’t forget to keep regular backups

In the end, even if you follow all of these tips, your website can still succumb to a hacker attack. This is why you need to do regular website backups. 

However, one backup every six months is not enough. Not only should you have multiple backups available, but you should also make sure that they aren’t stored in the same place. We recommend uploading your latest backups to the cloud and keeping another copy on your server.

Start taking steps to secure your WordPress website

Remember that your website is one of the most essential features of your business. It is a place where you sell your products or your services. It’s the one place in the digital world that you truly own. You must protect your digital real estate. 

Therefore a hacked website can mean trouble for you and your business. It can also mean a lot of time, energy, and money wasted on something that could have been prevented. 

Start protecting your website by ensuring you have the right WordPress hosting partner in place. Update to the latest version of WordPress regularly, and keep your plugins updated as well. 

Don’t bring a weak password game, and put security measures like SSL, updated admin usernames, and 2FA in place. Heed the advice in this article, and you’ll be set to keep your site secure and keep your customers happy.

So what are you waiting for? Is your WordPress security the best that it can be?

Our team of experts is standing by. Most website owners have switched hosting providers multiple times over the history of their site. We’re confident that you won’t look back once you make the switch to Rocket.net.

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