WordPress is the world’s number one content management system, it is easy to use, has many great features, and has powerful SEO. WordPress is getting more popular day by day, and with this growing popularity increases the security threats. Hackers try to exploit your website in many ways, but you can secure your website with some security settings. I will tell you some simple tips on how to secure WordPress website from hackers.
How to secure WordPress site from hackers:
Change the admin username
The first thing you can do is change your admin username because a hacker’s first choice is to enter the website is through username. You should change your username from admin to something more specific. The website should have only one administrator, and other users like a writer or guest author, can be set as contributors and any other user that are not being used should be deleted.
Use email address as login
You put your username by default to log in to your website. But instead of using a username, you can use an email address to secure your website. Anyone can predict a username easily, but email ids are hard to predict. Any user account is created with a unique email ID, which makes it hard for the hacker to log in.
Limit login attempts
The simple way of preventing the hacker to attack the website is to limit the login attempts. You should minimize the login attempts of your website. You can install the WordPress Limit login plugin which helps the WordPress firewall block the IP addresses that try the fail login attempts in certain time.
Backup your website
Always backup your website on a regular basis. If your website gets damaged or hacked, you can restore it with your backup. Because if your website get hacked, you have to start from the beginning or try to find the damaged file to make your website secure again. With the help of the backup, you can always restore your website last secure work. Make a backup of both WordPress and database files and store the backup files in a secure location.
Set a strong password
Never use a simple and easy password; always try to play with words to make your password strong and powerful. You should use lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and special characters to improve the strength of your password. If you have a strong password hacker will have serious hard time breaking it. For the best WordPress security, you need to make your password secure, use a combination of at least 10-16 characters long. Using strong password, you can secure your website from malware.
Regularly update your website
Stay up-to-date to make your WordPress website secure and fast. Many hackers gain access of the website through plugins of older versions. The update is meant to fix bugs and improve security. Many plugins, extensions, and themes have auto update, but you should check from time to time for new updates. Complete all the updates of the following:
- WordPress Themes
- WordPress Plugins
- WordPress Extensions
- WordPress Core Installations
- All the other applications that have been installed
And one thing more if you have installed a custom designed theme than you should maintain it with the help of a developer. Because if your theme is not well maintained than it will be easy for the hacker take control of your website. Always maintain your theme to make your website secure.
Delete unwanted themes, plugins, or extensions
You should delete all the old and unwanted plugins, themes and extension which you no longer use. Always maintain these things because if you do not hackers will feel welcomed to damage your website. Always check for updates. If your plugin, theme, or extension is not updated for 2 years, you should delete it. If you use other applications like Joomla, Drupal, etc, sign in to all the applications and remove all the unwanted and old extensions.
Enable 2-factor authentication
You can always use 2 factor authentication login to make your WordPress security strong and powerful. With the password, you can add mobile phone sign-in, secret code, or secret question to make your WordPress website the most secure website. 2 factor authentication is the best security feature. With this feature, no one can hack your website.
You should know that the mobile phone login is the premium feature of Wordfence.
Secure the wp-admin directory
The most important part of the wordpress website is the wp-admin directory. If your wp-admin directory gets hacked your whole website gets damaged. You should protect your website with two logins on for logging in to the website and one for the admin area. Wp-admin directory must be protected with a password. Only give access to the specific parts of the WP-Admin area, lock the rest.
You can also secure the admin area by using the Wordfence plugin. It encrypts the password and make your security strong.
Migrate to a reliable VPS host
You should migrate your website to a reliable VPS host. If you are using a shared hosting service, then you should move it to the secured VPS host. Many companies provide hosting services for the WordPress. These companies provide full support for the security of your website. If your want to secure your website and want to make it work fast you should get your own hosting server.
Check server settings
Hackers can hack your website through web server you need to protect your sever. Always check your server settings. You can use strong password for the admin account and FTP. You should also enable the email notification for your website every time someone login to the website you will be notified.
Final Words
By following these simple steps you can secure WordPress website from hackers. Hackers always have an edge to break into your website if you don’t make your WordPress website security strong. Share this article to help others secure their website.
