How to Keep Your WordPress Site Safe: 8 Must-Have Security Tips for Businesses
If you own a business and run a WordPress website, you must know how to protect it. WordPress cybersecurity goes beyond just having a password. It’s a series of smart decisions and little actions that inoculate your site against hackers and your data against prying eyes. And in this blog, I am sharing some practical tips for anyone. You don’t need to be an expert, or even be a novice, to nail your site to the wall the easy way.
Why Should WordPress Security Concern You?
WordPress now dominates more than 40% of the total websites existing on the internet! That makes it a popular target for cybercriminals. Get hacked on your business website and it could cost you:
- Loss of customer trust
- Data breaches that expose sensitive info
- Downtime causing lost sales
- Damage to your SEO rankings
We want to avoid that, don’t we? So let’s delve into some steps that’ll make your site stronger.
1. Update Your WordPress Core, Themes, and Plugins Regularly
The easiest and most effective way to protect your WordPress site is to keep everything up to date. Updates also are patched for security holes that hackers try to exploit.
Here is what you need to do:
- Always upgrade the core of WordPress as soon as a new version is released.
- Regular update of your themes and plugins. Ancient plugins are the simplest way in for hackers.
- Don’t forget to remove any plugins or themes you don’t use. They might even remain a liability.
Tip: Enable auto-updates, but track them. Updates sometimes cause their own problems, so be sure to have backups on hand.
2. Use Strong Passwords and Turn on Two-Factor Authentication
Passwords are the first line of defense.
- Make complex passwords consisting of letters, numbers, and symbols. Eschew cliches and expected structure.
- Never use the default admin user name. Choose something unique.
- Turn on Two-Factor-Authentication (2FA). This requests users to enter a second form of ID, typically a code sent to their phone.
This extra step can prevent 99 percent of automated attacks.
3. Secure Your Login Page
Most hackers try to break in by guessing your login credentials. Here are a few things you can do to protect your login page:
- For more security, change the default WordPress login URL from
wp-login.phpto something unique. - Limit login attempts to stop users after a number of incorrect attempts.
- Add a CAPTCHA in the login page to prevent bots from spamming on the login page.
This renders brute force attacks slower and keeps out unauthorized users.
4. Deploy a Good Security Plugin
There’s no doubt that this is the first step to any website and WordPress shouldn’t be an exception.
But the list of free and paid ones is long, and both have configured complete security solution in one component. Here is what a good WordPress security plugin will do for you:
- Ability to block malicious traffic with firewall protection
- Malware scan that searches for known threats and removes them.
frustrum: Information_frustrum: Known threats can come in the form of malware and can be inhibited from cluttering your drives. - Activity logs to see who has done what on your site
- Automatic backups in case of disaster
A few popular options actually offer all of these features together, however, select one that works well for you and your business requirements that you can afford.
5. Regular Backups are a Must
Now, imagine your entire website is gone overnight — nobody wants that.
- Schedule regular automatic backups: every few days, every week, once a month—with the more frequent backups offered in the premium version of the product.
- Keep backups somewhere other than your hosting server. Keep it on cloud or external drives.
- Verify that your backups work before you need them.
Your backups are your insurance policy if you get hacked or something goes wrong.
6. Secure Your Site With SSL Encryption
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates secure the connection between your visitor’s browser and site. This is especially important if you take payments or gather any type of personal information.
- Use HTTPS instead of HTTP. You can easily determine this by looking at your site’s address bar.
- Most hosting has free SSL certs now – get it on.
- Google gives preference to HTTPS websites in its search rankings so SSL is good for SEO.
7. Reduce the Number of Vulnerabilities on Your Site
Or you call it: Reduce Plugin and Theme Vulnerabilities
All plugins and themes are not at par. Some have security vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit.
Here’s how to reduce risks:
- Only use plugins and themes from reliable sources (WordPress repository, established developers, etc).
- Stick to plugins that are updated often and have good reviews.
- Don’t have just too many plugins – I mean each is a possible risk and a way to slow down your site.
8. Give Yourself a Safe Place to Host Your Website
Your host has a lot to do with how secure a site is. Here’s what to look for:
- Hosting includes malware scanning and firewall protection.
- Servers that are kept up to date with regular software patches and updates.
- Things like automatic backups and just being able to restore easily.
- Good customer support that you can call up right away if something’s not working.
With good quality hosting comes reduction in many common security threats.
9. Monitor Your Site Usage and Logs
Monitoring what’s happening on your site can catch problems early.
- Employ security plugins or your host dashboard to track login attempts, file edits, and suspicious activity.
- Set up email alerts for strange behavior.
- Monitor logs for unusual activity on a regular basis.
10. Educate Your Team
Security is everyone’s responsibility but especially if more than one person uses your WordPress dashboard.
- Educate your workforce about the best security practices.
- Teach them how to recognize phishing emails and suspicious links.
- Require the use of policies, such as strong password and logging out after usage.
Conclusion: Securing Your WordPress Site Is a Piece of Cake
It might seem daunting at the outset to secure your WordPress site. But it doesn’t require expertise in technology. Just follow these tips:
- Make sure your system and plugins are up to date
- Strong passwords and 2FA: Chubb and many of its policyholders should have been using a password manager and two-factor authentication here.
- Secure your login page
- Use a good security plugin
- Back up regularly
- Use SSL encryption
- Use a few plugins and themes
- Choose a Safe Hosting Partner – Opt for a secure hosting service!
- Track activity and teach the skills to your team
When you do this, you safeguard your business, your clients, and your reputation. Keep in mind: with WordPress, website cybersecurity is about layered security technologies working together. Be relentless and vigorous.
CHAINI Keystone
“At the end of the day, YOUR SITE SECURITY is as strong as the decisions you make today. So don’t wait. Begin protecting your WordPress site and protect your business now.
WordPress security and cybersecurity for business are both essential, and in the case of both, there are easy steps you can take today to protect your business.
