Best Practices and Plugins For a Secure WordPress Site
In an era where online threats loom large, keeping your WordPress site safe is paramount. You can achieve this with the right combination of plugins and best practices. Something as simple as having a strong password can go a long way in keeping hackers away from your site. A security plugin can also save you from security breaches.
If you are a site owner, the task is to know what to do. Often, site security is not straightforward as there are too many hoops and loops but with the help of this comprehensive guide, you will have the know-how to secure your WordPress site.
Why WordPress Security Matters
WordPress powers over 40% of the websites on the internet. With such a huge portfolio, it has become a prime target for cybercriminals. Corporations big and small depend on WordPress to run their businesses and any potential breaches can lead to loss of sensitive data, damage to reputation, and even legal consequences.
That’s why securing your website is non-negotiable whether you run a mega enterprise or just a tiny blog at some corner of the internet. The good thing is that doing so is not particularly hard. Below is a list of the top practices for securing your WordPress site.
1. Use Strong Passwords
Using a strong password is something you can easily manage to do and secure your site in the process. By having a strong password, you will guard against one of the most common WordPress site attacks — brute force attacks.
The reason for this is that strong passwords, which combine letters and special characters are hard to guess. Use strong passwords for your email, admin login account, and on your server account. Make sure that all the passwords are separate. If you have trouble keeping up with that many passwords, use a password manager to store them.
2. Update everything
To get the latest security patches on your theme, CMS, and plugins, update everything! WordPress is an open-source enterprise that keeps getting updated and maintained regularly. Each year, there are several major releases that are sometimes major improvements on previous versions.
By having the latest version on your site, you can ward off hackers who take advantage of bugs in older versions. The same goes for plugins. Always make sure that you are running the latest version of your favorite plugins.
3. Limit Login Attempts
A brute force attack can penetrate a website with the strongest password as long as it is allowed to continue indefinitely. That is why it is always advisable to limit login attempts.
If you or someone else fails to get the right password after say three of five tries, the next step should be a request to change the password from the system. This protection measure should require access to an email or a phone.
4. Install SSL security
Secure Sockets Layers (SSL) is a security protocol for creating encrypted links between a web server and a browser. Websites need SSL certificates to keep user data and transactions secure.
SSL-secured sites are difficult to hack because any communication between them and the browser is encrypted. So, unless hackers have a way of decrypting the communications, they cannot intercept the data.
SSL certificates are mostly free and come as part of the hosting package. To see whether your website has SSL enabled, look at the left-hand side of the web address. If you see a padlock-like icon, it means that SSL is enabled.
5. Two-factor authentication
To add an extra layer of security, enable two-factor authentication. Aside from a password, users on your site should provide a second verification method such as a code from a mobile app or one sent to an email address.
6. Automatically logout idle users
Logged-in users can sometimes forget to log out and this can pose a security threat. Malicious actors can hijack their sessions to steal passwords and other sensitive data. They can also install malware.
That’s why you should automatically log out users who have been idle for long periods of time. In any case, they can always log back in when needed. The Inactive Logout Plugin is a great tool that can help you with this task.
7. Set appropriate file permissions
To restrict unauthorized access to important files and directories on your site, set strict permissions on your WordPress site. These will ensure that only authorized persons have access. A question you should ask is whether certain permissions should be granted in the first place.
8. Deploy Plugins
Finally, you need to deploy security plugins to help with the defenses. The reason for this is that security plugins help you cover more ground. Below is a list of the best WordPress security plugins.
Top Security Plugins for WordPress
- Wordfence security
Wordfence is a comprehensive security plugin that offers firewall protection, malware scanning, log-in attempts limiting, and more. It really depends on your particular security situation, but if you ever need a plugin that covers all bases, Wordfence is a solid choice.
2. Sucuri Security
Like Wordfence, Securi Security is another comprehensive security plugin. It provides over 30 ways to protect your site including database backups, brute force protection, malware scanning, and file change detection. The lowest Securi package starts at $199.
3. All-in-One WP Security & Firewall
Like the name suggests All-in-one WP Security and Firewall is a one-stop solution to all your WordPress security problems.
4. Jetpack by WordPress.com
Jetpack’s free version includes basic security features like brute force attack protection and downtime monitoring. The premium version offers advanced security options.
Conclusion
With the right practices, you can easily secure your WordPress site. A security plugin will also help you cover all the bases. Good luck with keeping your website secure.
