Many blog owners wonder how to secure wordpress site. WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that has been around since 2003. It is currently the most widely used system on the planet, accounting for more than 25% of the top 10 million websites. Moreover, most than 60 million blogs from around the world are using WordPress as their CMS.
During the past decade, WordPress has been continuously improved and upgraded to meet up with the latest Internet standards.Besides themes, plugins, and other integration features, WordPress has also improved its security with every subsequent update. In an ever growing technological world, especially since the whole planet is connected through the internet, having a website with strong security is of utmost importance. As a website owner, you should be constantly keeping yourself updated with the latest Internet security news. Hackers are a present-day issue that could kill your business if you’re not defending yourself properly.
So how exactly do you improve the security of your WordPress website? I’ll guide you through 5 easy steps. Feel free to pause your read and implement any of the security measures that will be discussed below at any given time.
Step 1. Always keep WordPress updated to the latest version
As with any open source software, with each update, WordPress publishes the change log. Any potential threat that has been discovered in the previous version will receive a fix and a notice. Updating to the latest version will ensure your safety against possible attacks that try to take advantage of the past version’s security holes. Moreover, you should also keep all of your plugins and themes up to date.
Step 2. Regularly change your password
Hundreds of thousands of brute force hack attempts happen every day. Maybe some happen on your website as well. Maintaining a strong password and changing it on a regular basis is a basic step that doesn’t require extensive tech knowledge. Anyone can do it and everyone should do it. Consider having passwords that include upper-case and lower-case letter, and numbers. Longer passwords are also harder to brute force, so I recommend it to be at least 10 characters long, perhaps containing even multiple words.
Step 3. Use a malware monitor
Malware might not seem as problematic as hacking attempts. However, it could lead to serious website downtime, which will obviously lead to a lower conversion rate, and most importantly, a drop in Google Search Rankings, if your website is flagged for malware. The obvious solution here is to hire a professional anti-malware security team. Most importantly, they shouldn’t only tell you where your website has flaws, they should also repair any damage that was done.
Step 4. Keep back-ups of your files to secure WordPress site
Backups are not entirely a security feature, but they will surely help you if anything goes wrong. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Keeping your backups on external drives is also an extra precaution that you should consider.
Completing these 5 steps should increase your website’s security. There’s no rush and nobody is forcing you to go through all of the steps. However, the more steps you complete, the more secure your website will be. Remember: A secure website also accounts for happy visitors!
Step 5. Use a reliable web hosting service
Look for a web hosting service that prioritizes security over anything else. There are plenty of options on the market, you will just have to do your research to find the offer that suits your needs best. Don’t be cheap when it comes to security, because it will cost you more in the long run.
Completing these 5 steps should secure wordpress site to the basic level. There’s no rush and nobody is forcing you to go through all of the steps. However, the more steps you complete, the more secure your WordPress website will be.
If youa re not sure about how to secure wordpress site yourself you can always ask for some wordpress technical support, like our MyWPStaff team.
Remember: A secure WordPress website also accounts for happy visitors!