Secure Your WordPress Website from Hackers: Follow the 6 Important Steps

WordPress is the most popular Content Management System (CMS) based on PHP and MySQL. It is an impressive free open-source blogging platform, also used for developing other feature-rich and interactive business websites. According to research, WordPress nearly powers 60 million websites that include 33.6% of the top 10 million websites as of April 2019.

You have made a smart decision, choosing a WordPress Development Services to build your blogging or a professional business site. However, it’s time to think about securing your website due to the cyber threat. We have already witnessed the WannaCry Ransomware Cyberattack in May 2017, targeting worldwide computer systems, mostly using Microsoft Windows Operating System. The hackers today have become much smarter and if you want to outsmart them, follow the important tips mentioned below.

1.    Installing a WordPress Security Plugin

One of the important tasks that you have to conduct regularly is verifying the security of your website. However, you cannot properly identify if your site is infected with malware or virus unless you have some knowledge of coding. However, you can just follow a simple step, which is installing a WordPress security plugin. A security plugin will act as a protective guard, safeguarding your site against any cyber threat or malware. It will also keep a 24×7 vigilance on your site to check the activities.

Choose a security plugin that provides features like security activity auditing, remote malware scanning, file integrity monitoring, and post-hack security actions.

2.    Always Use a Strong Password

Whenever you are creating an account on a web page, make sure to use a very strong password, which is difficult to hack. Also, note that the length of the password should be no less than eight characters. Don’t use your name, date of birth, home address or any other simple numerical as password. A strong password should be a combination of capital letters, small letters, numbers, and special characters.

Creating a simple password is easy to memorize, but then you are compromising with the security of your website. Anyone can crack down on the code and penetrate the restricted area. You can choose a two-way authentication process in which an authorization code is sent to your mobile device along with a password to allow you to log into your account. You need both an authorization code and a password to visit your page.

3.    Choose a Reliable and Experienced WordPress Development Company

Most business entrepreneurs and clients hunt for affordable WordPress Development Company when they want to build a website. So, when you are choosing a hosting provider, make sure you check his experience and other credentials. The top-notch WordPress Development Firm is expert in offering a plethora of services and provides multiple layers of security.

Also, you get the benefit of choosing your customized themes, features and functionalities that are important from a security point of view. A reliable company will help in keeping your website up-to-date using the latest software and server operating system. You can do daily malware scans and get access to their round the clock service at an affordable price.

4.    Installing an SSL Certificate

The Single Sockets Layer, or SSL, is a standard security technology, a must-have feature for all websites. At first, the SSL technology was used for securing some particular transactions such as processing payments. However, Google identified its potential and provides every site with an SSL certificate, which helps in fortifying the security to the next level. It also improves the visibility of the site within the search results.

The SSL certificate becomes all the more vital for websites that contain sensitive information and crucial data such as passwords or banking details. If there is no SSL certificate, the information can be leaked out and the hacker will easily read the confidential data. The Single Socket Layer encrypts the data before transmitting it from the browser to the user server. If you want to avail an SSL certificate for securing confidential information, it is chargeable. However, if your site does not contain any such sensitive data, the certificate is available free of cost.

5.    Always Choose a Professional and Secured Theme

The choice of a theme plays a crucial role in providing security to your WordPress website. WordPress offers premium themes, which are highly customizable and have more features in comparison to free themes.

One of the other advantages of premium themes is that they are designed by professional developers. The themes are passed through various security checks and you also get regular theme updates.

Don’t go for null or cracked themes, which is usually a hacked version of the premium theme. It may contain malicious codes that are dangerous for your website. It can erase important data or harm admin credentials.

There is a feature, which helps to edit the theme and plugin. You have to disable it once your site goes live. It would prevent hackers from getting unauthorized access to the admin panel.

6.    Outfox Hackers: Protect Your Site

Securing your WordPress website should be at the top of your priority list. Aside from these mentioned tips, various steps will ensure that data on your site is fully protected against any malware attack. It includes changing your WP-login URL, restricting login attempts, installing a firewall, hiding the site’s htaccess and wp-config.php files to outwit the hackers from accessing the website.