Creating and maintaining a website on WordPress which is one of the most popular content management systems is a daunting task. But despite being so popular, it’s still vulnerable to online threats in some specific situations.
So, the real challenge is how to protect your WordPress website from such threats? To explore the answer let’s take a look at the ten crucial strategies which can help you do the same.
Make Sure To Use Two Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication is one of the most useful ways to secure your site against online threats. Here, every user is required to go through an additional step to verify their credentials even after they fill their passwords.
When doing this verification, users have to enter a special code which they receive either via email or SMS. This is a full proof measure that can protect your WordPress website from being attacked or hacked.
Give Attention to Building an SSL-Certified Website
Irrespective of the number of sites you own, you are allowed to buy and install an SSL certificate for each one individually. The sites that are SSL certified keep all the sensitive details of your users completely secure when they make transactions.
For instance, such sites encrypt all the credit card credentials of your users and keep them totally safe. This is the best way to stop hackers from capturing encrypted information and decoding it to fulfill their immoral objectives.
In addition, SSL certified sites are provided with a green padlock on its URL by all the major search engines. This enhances users’ confidence as they get to see HTTPS instead of HTTP where the additional “S” stands for secure.
Keep Changing Your Admin Login URL
After setting up your WordPress website, the first thing a proactive software development company should do is that to change its default URL. This is because the default login is very predictable and hence there is more risk of hackers to get an unauthorized entry to your site.
Specifically, this is the best way to keep your website secure against online attacks with the sole motive to target default admin URL pages and should be defined in the requirements during the strategic roadmapping phase.
Don’t Forget to Backup Your Data on a Regular Basis
You can’t predict when your WordPress websites can be exposed to an online threat. This makes it mandatory for you to have a proper backup of all its data, plugin settings, databases, and theme settings.
But the question which comes here is that, why you have to perform this task in the presence of a responsible hosting provider. The problem is that they can do it but not essentially on a regular basis. This makes your data vulnerable to online attacks when your hosting provider is on a break.
You can use different online platforms such as Dropbox and Google Drive for keeping a backup of all your information associated with the site. Also, you can do it by optimizing various WordPress plugins like BackUpBuddy and UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin.
Restrict Your Logins
You should limit the number of times a user has the right to attempt logging in your site. For achieving the purpose, you can take help of different plugins available. By doing this, you prevent your WordPress site from being accessible to hackers. Also, your site will be secure against brute-force attacks.
Give the Charge to a Web Application Firewall (WAF)
A firewall is specifically helpful in identifying and stopping all malicious traffic even before it reaches your WordPress website. You can easily use various alternatives available in the market for the same.
One option is Cloudflare which protect your site against online threats. Also, you can use Sucuri WAF which is blessed with a blacklist removal guarantee and a malware cleanup. Their promise to mend all the issues your site experiences irrespective of the number of pages it has is the cherry on the cake in this case.
In addition, the repair package of this plugin for fixing a broken site is more affordable in comparison to the charges of an average security expert. Let’s understand it in this way. If an average security expert is charging you $250/-hour to mend a broken site. Then Sucuri WAF will do the same task for only $199 per annum.
Be Cautious When Uploading Files to Your WordPress Website
It’s extremely crucial to opt the right way in which you upload files to your WordPress. The first way is by using File Transfer Protocol which is better known as FTP. But it’s advised to use SFTP where the additional “S” stands for security as it encrypts the data that you transfer to and from your servers completely. But in order to enjoy this extra layer of security make sure that your host provides you with this service.
Do Not Use Simple Passwords
Passwords serve as a primary layer of protection for all online transactions. But it’s extremely significant to use the right type of passwords to enhance the security. You should make your password strong enough so that the hackers can’t crack it easily. Also, make sure to mix lower and upper case letters with digits and other symbols such as %, $, and #.
Keep a Proper Track of Your File Movements
It’s important for you to track all your file movements by installing WordPress plugins that allow monitoring the same. This makes it easier for you to identify and spot any illegal access and activities on your site. Also, you can stop them before they actually penetrate enough to spoil the setup.
In addition, you can also use plugins that provide you with all the information on any suspicious activities or modifications made on files by sending you email alerts. These alerts can notify you to take necessary measures to avoid any security disaster.
Take Help of Anti-Spam Protection
Mostly, it’s assumed that spamming is one of the harmless ways of expressing someone’s ideas. But this is not the reality. Hackers use it as a common tool to attack your website. They investigate your site’s submission form and identify the weak links and points. When they find such a link, they use it to send spam messages to other people. And, ultimately you will have to take the responsibility as it originated from your website.
You should always use reliable scripts for your contact forms. For instance, incorporate a field of validation that can stop malicious bots from filling the forms on their own. Also, you can enable CAPTCHA which will ensure that only a human is filling the form.
Wrapping Up
These are the top ten measures you can take to protect your WordPress website against online threats and malicious attacks. This will also ensure that your users can freely perform transactions on your site because there is no risk of their confidential information getting compromised.