Best practices for keeping your WordPress site secure

Maintaining WordPress website security is mandatory If you want a successful online presence. WordPress has become the prime target for hackers since it powers more than 43% of websites around the globe. According to Forbes, around 30,000 websites are getting hacked every day. 

Here are some common WordPress website security issues:

Plugin and Themes: Plugins and themes can become a security risk if you do not update them regularly. Besides, poorly written codes in a plugin or theme can become a weak spot for cyberattacks. Recent stats show that 90% of the security breaches are happening due to plugin vulnerabilities and 6% due to themes. 

Brute Force Attacks: Continuous unauthorized login attempts are known as brute force attacks. Hackers can get access to your site’s dashboard if they find a successful combination of your password.

Malware infections: There are numerous malicious software that can attack WordPress sites. Security threats like viruses, trojans, and worms can harm your website and steal sensitive data. It can also disrupt your site’s functionality and be used for illegal purposes.

The consequence of a vulnerable WordPress site is far beyond your imagination. Here are the things that you will face if your site is not secure:

• Hackers will infiltrate your site’s sensitive data, including customer info, login information, and transactional information.

• You will lose your site’s reputation and customers, which takes a long time to restore. 

• You have to invest additional money to restore your site, pay legal fees, and pay fines for being non-compliant with data protection rules.

• Search engines will penalize or ban your website if your site contains malware or errors due to security breaches.

Now, you are aware of the common sources of threats and their consequences on your site. So, let's learn the tactics to prevent and maintain your WordPress website security threats.

Update Your Themes, Plugins, and Core WordPress 

Regular updates are the most common and easy tasks for WordPress website security maintenance. This is crucial since each update for plugins, themes, or WordPress core comes with necessary changes. These updates mostly include more features, improved performance, and enhanced security. 

Usually, WordPress updates its core application every now and then with necessary features and security updates. However, the plugins and theme updates depend on its developers or the related company. They provide updates whenever they find a security update or feature update necessary. 

You can automate the WordPress version updates if you are using a managed WordPress host. You can also automate the plugin and theme updates by enabling the auto-update feature within the WordPress dashboard. 

There are some plugins like Easy Updates Manager and WP Auto updater that automatically check for updates. These plugins can automate the entire update process without breaking your site, activating maintenance mode, or causing any errors. 

Note: You can rely on professional WordPress maintenance services to handle the entire update process. 

Ensure Strong Username and Password Management

This is the most common line of defense for preventing hackers from accessing your website. It helps you safeguard your site against brute-force attacks. 

Hackers can easily break simple password combinations which is the primary point to enter your website. Weak passwords also make your site vulnerable to malware infections that can steal your data.

So always use a strong username and password for your WordPress site with some basic settings. First of all, make sure your password is easy to remember. Then, it makes it unique by combining uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.

But what if you are not ready to manage your website password? You can rely on plugins like Passwords Manager or Dashlane to manage your password. Besides, you can hire website management services for overall website management, including security.

Furthermore, update your password regularly for better WordPress website security management. Change your password whenever you suspect a breach or unauthorized access attempt. Plus, choose two-factor authentication to add an extra layer of protection to the login process.

Note: Everyone accessing your website must follow these best practices.

Change The Default WordPress Login URL

You can stop unauthorized access to your WordPress site by changing the default WordPress login URL. Changing the standard /wp-admin or /wp-login.php paths can stop brute force attacks. 

Custom URL makes your login page stronger and more challenging for anyone to access via the original login page. It discourages hackers from accessing your site by showing that you have strong security measures in place. 

With a custom URL, you create a unique user experience and outlook for your customers. This uniqueness builds trust within your users when they see you are maintaining strong security measures. 

You can avoid the hassle of changing the Login URL by yourself by using plugins like WPS Hide Login. Use this plugin immediately after installing, activating, and configuring its settings. You can enter your custom URL slug like  “my-custom-login.php” using the plugin. Lastly, make sure to test the URL and provide it to your hosting provider. 

Minimize Login Attempts On Your Website

As a website owner, you can limit the login attempts on your website whenever you want. This is another WordPress website security best practice that helps protect against brute force attacks. This approach minimizes a user's login attempts so that attackers cannot leverage too many login attempts. 

Limited login attempts also encourage users to be extra careful about using their login credentials. It also blocks users who attempt too many false logins. As a result, attackers move on to their next target, skipping this security measure.

Limit Login Attempts Reloaded plugins help you maintain best practices for securing WordPress login and user accounts. After installing this plugin, you can simply navigate to  Settings > Limit Login. Then, you can configure it to limit login attempts, set lockout duration, and enable notification on lockouts.

Select A Hosting Service That Prioritizes Security 

There are many hosting providers with attractive ads out there in the marketplace. But while choosing, you must ensure it takes WordPress website security seriously. Your hosting service provides the foundation of your website. Thus, it must ensure the following security measures: 

• Offers strong server-level security with firewalls and intrusion detection systems.

• Audits the security of your website and provides detailed results for you.

• Auto-updates the web server software automatically with the latest security patches.

• Offers an easy backup solution that you can implement to restore your site.

• Comes with DDoS protection to ensure your site’s availability even with high traffic.

• Offers free SSL certificate to enforce HTTPS encryption on your site.

You can go on with managed WordPress hosting services that maintain the security measures that we mentioned. Wp Engine, Namecheap, Bluehost, and GoDaddy are some of the best-managed WordPress hosting providers out there. 

A reliable hosting service offers strong security practices with features like IP blocking, Malware scanning, and automatic updates. Plus, you will get expert support to resolve any security issue right away.

Conduct Regular Security Audits Of your Site

You have to put your effort into regular security audits to ensure your WordPress website's security and its integrity. This approach will help you evaluate all the essential security measures of your website. Plus, you can configure the security measures after finding the vulnerabilities during audits. 

Audits can help you determine whether your site needs any updates on core WordPress, plugins, or themes. Try to remove the plugins that you are not using anymore. 

With regular Audits, you can evaluate the effectiveness of your ongoing security measures. For example, you can check your website’s firewall and configure security plugins and backup solutions. 

With regular audits, you can also monitor all the user access and give permission to your site. You should regularly review user role permissions and remove suspicious accounts. This will help you assess that only authorized users are gaining access to your site.

Regular WordPress website security audits motivate you to be aware of the latest threats. As a result, you can make the necessary changes to your site’s security strategies.

Manage File Permissions For Users

You should grant file editing permissions only to authorized and trusted users of your WordPress site. File permission enables users to read, write, or execute files and directories of your site. So, categorize the users and limit their access to your files according to their user role. 

WordPress generally offers 755 permission settings for directories. It allows read, write, and execute permissions for site owners. However, other users can only read and execute the directories. 

The default value for file permission is 644, which allows read and write permission for owners. However, others have read-only permission to use these settings.

The best practice is to assign specific or necessary permission to files and directories. Restrict the permission for critical files like wp-config.php with 640 settings. We highly recommend you avoid using the 777 permission, which allows everyone full access. 

Disable the file editing option so that only authorized users can touch the theme and plugin files from the WordPress dashboard. This practice prevents anyone from changing the theme or plugin files. As a result, anyone with backend access will use a secure file management and version control system. 

Disable the file editing option in WordPress by including the following code in the wp-config.php file:

define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true);

Note: Learn more about file permission settings from WordPress Developer Resources. 

Enforce SSL Encryption For Improved Visibility

You can improve your WordPress website security by enabling SSL ( Secure Sockets Layer) encryption. It encrypts the connection between your website and the browser of your visitors. In this way, it protects your visitors' login credentials, personal information, and payment information.

Your site will showcase a padlock icon in your web browser’s address bar if it includes SSL encryption. This creates trustworthiness in your users' minds, and they feel safe while engaging with your website.

Moreover, SSL encryption is crucial for getting a better position in search engine result pages. Google allows secure websites with higher search engine ranks, especially those with SSL certificates. This is how SSL can improve your website’s visibility with a better position in search output.

Always leverage the hosting provider that offers you free SSL certificates. With this certificate, use HTTPS to configure your website. This enables secure redirection of traffic on your website.  

Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Two-factor authentication provides an extra layer of security during the login process to your site. Users must go through two forms of identification before accessing their account on your site. This means they have to provide a password, a token, or a code using their smartphone or email address.

The 2FA authentication process shields your website from unwanted access or hacking attempts. As a result, unauthorized users cannot get into your website even if you have lost or compromised your password.

Two-factor authentication also tackles brute force attacks and phishing attempts on your site. It becomes almost impossible for hackers to breach your website due to the second stage. Concerned users also feel safe while browsing websites with a two-factor authentication system. 

You can easily implement 2FA using plugins like Loginizer, Wordfence Login Security, and WP 2FA. This plugin comes with user-friendly features and options to integrate two-factor authentication into your website.  

Include CAPTCHA on Your Website

You can also include CAPTCHA in forms on your website, which blocks spam and bot attacks. CAPTCHA is the short form of the Completely Automated Public Turing test that tells Computers and Humans Apart. 

This process adds small challenges for human users during the login process. Users must complete a simple task like matching words, clicking valid images, or clicking checkboxes. Bots cannot identify or overcome these challenges, which makes the login process more secure. 

Hackers can easily submit information to your website using the forms. Thus, using CAPTCHA in forms is the most common best practice. You can also block malicious or spam comments and links on your site using CAPTCHA.

You can simplify the CAPTCHA implementation process using plugins like Advanced Google reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha for WP, and reCaptcha.  

Hire a WordPress Maintenance Service

Let’s say you are busy handling the business aspects of your website as a small business owner. In that case, handling the WordPress website security may not match your skill set. In that case, you can hire a professional WordPress maintenance service to maintain your site’s security.

ThemePaste offers top-notch WordPress website maintenance services that are within your budget. They can handle security, maintenance, development (plugin & themes), theme design, website migration, and more.  You can simply use their service packages and work on your business.

Final Words 

Maintaining WordPress website security is a must if you want to achieve a successful online presence. Take your time to implement the tips we’ve mentioned above. These proven methods can be the foundation for establishing a secure website. Ultimately, your business reputation will increase when your visitors feel safe browsing your website.