Best Methods To Secure Your WordPress Website From Hackers

At present, WordPress (WP) is the most popular content management system (CMS) due to its versatility and low-cost options that allows you to create a website without prior knowledge of coding for even free. But its popularity means that hackers are more aware of how this system works and can get into your system with some efforts. It doesn’t help that WP is an open-source software, so its codes are available to those who want to learn it. Plugins are a major source of malware. That’s why you need to consult your WordPress developer in Broomfield about the best ways to secure your WP site like:

Choosing A Secure Hosting Service

You might be tempted to save on hosting costs by going for the cheapest shared hosting plan with the least features, but don’t. You might save your money but the cost of suffering a cyberattack is not worth the savings. Instead, choose a plan that provides your WP site extra layers of security against malware with regular scans and backups among other features. Also, instead of shared hosting, consider virtual private networks or dedicated servers. They are more secure than shared hosting where a cyberattack on one site can affect other sites on it. Managed WordPress hosting is particularly popular for its exclusivity to WP’s security needs.

Use A Strong Password

It’s the most basic security requirement. A password is like a key that lets you in and locks others out. You wouldn’t want a key that could be easily replicable by thieves, would you? Similarly, instead of easy to remember birthdays and roll numbers, you should think of a complex string of characters consisting of special characters like *, _, +, etc. Or better yet, use an auto-generated password.

Change Login URL

Your WP login page is yourdomainname.com/wp-admin by default. Leaving it as such could leave it vulnerable to hackers who specialize in WP code. Subscription-based logins are especially vulnerable to spam registration attacks. To avoid this, have your WordPress developer in Broomfield change the login page URL. Also, add a security question to block bots.

Limit Login Attempts

WordPress lets users login unlimited times by default. If you are a forgetful person, note your password down in your personal diary and change your login limit to two or three at max. This will block cyberattacks while our subscribers can log in after a short time if they fail to login.

Install SSL

Initially, it was exclusively used to secure online payments but now Single Socket Layer (SSL) can be used to secure other sensitive data like login details, credit card details, etc. SSL encrypts sensitive data making it unreadable for cyberattackers. Without SSL, cyberattackers would be able to read this data in plain text format. Google has recognized the importance of SSL and rewards websites that have this encryption with better search engine ranks.

Hide .htaccess & wp-config.php Files

These files host important data about your entire website which is why hackers always search for these files. They can be hidden by adding the following code depending on the file type:

<Files wp-config.php> or <Files .htaccess>
order allow,deny
deny from all
</Files>

These updates should be made only after backing up the site in case something goes wrong. The files can also be moved a step above the root directory without affecting your website’s overall functioning.

Regular Backups

If your hosting service does not provide regular backup to your website then you will either need to do it manually or with a plugin like Jetpack. This will ensure that you have the data needed to go back online in case an attacker bypasses your site’s security and damage it.

Disable Login Hints

Your WordPress website may provide you clues to help you at times you enter a wrong username. This can, unfortunately, make the hacker’s job easier. You must disable it in the function.php file.

These are some simple yet effective ways to secure your WP website.