How To Secure Your WordPress Website

WordPress homes 35% of websites in the internet world. And as they say “Greater power comes with greater responsibilities”, WordPress also has tons of things to look after. With the growing imprint of WordPress in the web markets, hackers have taken note, specifically targeting WordPress sites. Irrespective of the content and services your site provides, without the right security precautions, you are always at the risk.

Your effort into launching an efficient site is all vain if it finds a way to harm itself. Internet hacking and random attacks are sometimes so predictable that your site can crash at a fraction of a second. So it is always wise to secure your WordPress in the best way possible. Here are a few tips to secure your WordPress website.

1. Update WordPress, themes and plugins regularly

Every update means a couple of changes that often include updates to security features. Updating your WordPress, themes, and plugins with the latest version keeps you protected from pre-identified loopholes and exploits hackers.

Thankfully, WordPress automatically downloads any minor updates. But you will need to make further updates from the WordPress admin dashboard for major releases.

2. Change the WordPress Table Prefix

Installing WordPress with default prefix i.e. “wp_” makes your site data prone to SQL injection attacks. So, the first and foremost thing to do is to change your wp_ to something like wpmy_ or wpnew_ or even something random. 

But if you have installed your WordPress website with wp_ prefix, use plugins to change it. Plugins like Change Table Prefix, iThemes Security and WP-DB Manager does the job with just a click of a button.

3. Change the Default “admin” username

Never and ever use the “admin” username for your administrator account. Any of such easy-to-guess username opens the gate easily for hackers. If the username is so easily predictable, all they need to figure out is the password. You don’t wish to make things easier for them, do you?

WordPress doesn’t let you change usernames by default. So there are few ways you can use to change the username- create a new admin username and erase the old one, use the Username Changer plugin or update username from phpMyAdmin. 

4. Add Two Factor authentications

With two-factor authentication module, the user gives their login details for two different components and the website admin can decide what those two are i.e. A regular password that is followed by a question, a code, a set of characters OR Providing a secret code to your phone using the Google Authenticator app. 

This means only the person who uses your phone can log in to your site. First, install and activate two Factor authentications plugin and then click on the ‘Two Factor Auth’ link over the WordPress admin sidebar.

Some plugins you can use to implement two-factor authentication:

• Google Authenticator – WordPress Two Factor Authentication (2FA , MFA)
• Two Factor Authentication
• Duo Two-Factor Authentication

5. Install SSL Certificate

Single Sockets Layer, commonly known as SSL was earlier used to secure for specific transactions like process payments. But now, as Google has recognized the importance of SSL, the sites given with SSL certificate has move value in search results.

A good hosting company offers free Let?s Encrypt SSL certificate. Otherwise, for websites that accept sensitive information, they should pay the SSL price of around $70-$199/ year. SSL is mandatory for the webpage that processes sensitive information or else the data between your web server and the user’s web browser are delivered in plain text which can be readable by hackers. 

6. Install a WordPress Security Plugin

It can be hectic to regularly check your site’s security. And even then you might not notice the malware unless you regularly get updated with recent coding practices. Thankfully, there are a few WordPress security plugins designed to do the job for you. 

A WordPress security plugin scans for malware to take care of your site security and monitors your site 24/7. Develops prefer Wordfence security plugin as an endpoint firewall and malware scanner. It efficiently assesses the total security status of all your websites in a single view. 

7. Protect your wp-config.php

You can protect your wp-config.php by hiding your wp-config.php file. This prevents hackers from accessing your site. While this procedure is strongly recommended for experienced developers, it can be hectic for newcomers. 

First and foremost, back all your files and then add the following code to your .htaccess file:

# protect wpconfig.php 

<files wp-config.php> 

  order allow,deny 

  deny from all 

</files>

8. Rename your login URL

“yoursite.com/wp-admin” is the default login of a site. Such login is targeted for a brute attack to crack the username and password combination or you may get some spam registrations.

So it’s wise to change the admin login URL. You can also add some authentication plug-in or a security question to the registration and login page. Further, check the most failed login attempts IPs and block them.?

9. Choose a Good Hosting Company

The shining advertisement for the cheap hosting provider is always tempting. But it often causes nightmares down the road. Cases where your URL gets redirecting somewhere else or your data gets completely erased have been noted. 

If spending a couple of more dollars can simply keep your site secure, don’t hesitate. Look, I get that you want an economic starting. But if a good hosting company can form some additional layers of security to your web, why not?

10. Pay Attention to File Permissions

WordPress lets different files to be writable by the webserver. But such permission to write access to your files is dangerous. It is wise to limit your file permissions to loosen those limitations when you need to allow write access. Protect important files for other’s excess. 

11. Back up your site regularly

You might have a hundred ways to protect your WordPress website, but there are always the chances of having the data erased. So, in the end, the best way is to keep an off-site backup somewhere else. With the back-up data, you can easily restore your WordPress website any time you want. 

You can use plugins like UpdraftPlus, VaultPress, BlogVault, BackWPup, etc. 

Wrapping it Up:

Securing your WordPress is a crucial part of having a website. You can be the victim of stories where a hacker drains all the personal information and erases the data. But maintaining your site’s security isn’t though in you adopted simple protection tricks. Just follow the above-listed procedure carefully and you be able to secure your WordPress website easily.

Oh, just make sure you back-up your file even before you make the slightest changes.