WordPress is incredibly popular due to the benefits its ecosystem of plugins and WordPress themes offer. However, despite this, WordPress is vulnerable to hackers.
Hackers can cause damage on your site by stealing user information, installing malware, deleting your content, distributing malware to your visitors, and exposing sensitive data. You might even have to pay the ransomware. This is why, it is vital to pay close attention to your business website because security breaches come at considerable costs. Utilizing a security plugin is the best way to prevent security breaches in the first place.
Why You Need Security Plugins
While WordPress offers a measure of security, security plugins offer a wide range of features that serves to keep your WordPress blog secure from threats. The best security plugins are built to help you tackle a variety of security threats from login security to access restriction while reducing the need to install more than one. They increase the security of your website by offering the following:
- Scanning(site, malware, file)
- Regular security scans and monitoring
- Site firewalls
The 5 Best WordPress Security Plugins
Here are the five best WordPress security plugins out there.
- iThemes Security: iThemes security is a feature-packed WordPress security plugin that is available in both free and paid versions for WordPress sites. The paid version is the better version because it provides access to a horde of great security features like strong password protection, securing your databases, protection against brute force attacks, and providing two-factor authentication, among others. You also get dedicated support and website monitoring.
- Wordfence Security: WordFence Security boasts of an extensive database of criminal IP addresses, and it is excellent at protecting your site from brute force attacks and real-time security monitoring. Besides, you get a firewall protection, login page protection, and IP blacklisting, among others.The free version is excellent, but the paid version offers dedicated support, two-factor authentication, spam protection, and geographic protection.
- Sucuri Security: Upon installation, this plugin will automatically scan your site looking for any infected files or any known sources of security weakness. It then helps you restore or repair your site to keep it secure. It also offers malware scanning, strengthens existing security protocols, and provides regular website monitoring. In all, the Sucuri Security plugin keeps your site protected from online security concerns.
- All In One WP Security & Firewall: This tool is free but not precisely beginner-friendly but it offers a lot of features like user account monitoring, site firewalls, IP protection, malware scans, and a lot more
- Wordfence Security: This security plugin has great ease of use and is quite affordable. The free version offers malware protection and scanning, two-factor authentication real-time monitoring, and protection from brute force attacks. The paid version offers even more advanced features.
Each of the security plugins described in this article has unique features. So, what works for your website depends on the nature of your website. It is always advisable to opt for the paid versions due to the functionalities they offer.