Hacking your website can be one of the worst nightmares of all website owners. Being open source and the most popular content management system (CMS) in the industry 38.1% of websites) it’s natural for WordPress to be more vulnerable than the others.
Did you know that there are such? Nearly 90,000 attacks every other minute on WordPress sites? To say the least, this can be a cause of concern for many website owners. Fortunately, many simple fixes you can make can protect your ecommerce site from attacks.
To save you the trouble, here are ten ways you can protect your WordPress website from hackers.
1. Choose a Quality Host Provider
You can consider your web host as the road your website lives on. The reputation and security of the host will determine how safe your website is. As a rule of thumb, a high-quality web host that constantly updates its services and tools.
Also, make sure that the host offers round-the-clock support 24 days a year. That way, you’ll get the support you need if things don’t go well. Try to stay away from cheap hosting providers, as this could be the case in most cases Compromise on quality and security.
Tip: Do you want to know who is hosting your favorite website? Use WHSR’s Site Checker tool to view information about a site’s infrastructure and web technology.
2. Keep your website updated
Regularly updating your website can improve performance and reduce the risk of security breaches. Ideally, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the updates available each month.
To check for the latest updates, go to the Updates menu in your dashboard.
3. Avoid null themes
One of the most effective ways to protect your WordPress website from hackers is to choose a theme carefully.
Free themes allow you to get started for free, but they have fewer options and customization possibilities compared to premium themes. Moreover, premium themes undergo several WordPress checks before being presented to you and ensure full support from the developers.
To save a few bucks, it might seem tempting to make a cracked version of premium themes available in an illegal way. But doing just that can put your website at high risk. These themes may contain malware that can exploit your database within seconds. Stay away from issues like this at all costs.
4. Protect the wp-config file.php
The file wp-config.php contains important information about the WordPress installation and is one of the most important files in the root directory of your website. To make the file inaccessible to hackers, move it to a higher level than your root directory.
5. Switch to HTTPS
HTTP is a protocol used to transfer information between any browser and your website. However, it had some security vulnerabilities and was susceptible to data interception by hackers.
HTTPS solves the security issues associated with HTTP and protects the sensitive customer information your website handles. To switch to HTTPS, you first need an SSL / TLS certificate. While most web hosting providers provide SSL certificates, you can quickly put one online.
6. Be careful with the plugins you add
Although readily available plugins are an attractive feature of WordPress, it can be disastrous if you choose the wrong ones. Developers with the least experience in creating plugins can create unsafe and unreliable ones.
To make sure you’re choosing the right plugins, always check customer reviews, the number of downloads, and whether they’re updated regularly. You can also visit the WPScan WordPress security vulnerability database and exploit database archives from Offensive Security to check if a plugin is vulnerable.
Also, make it a habit to regularly update your plugins along with your site theme.
7. Do not allow file editing
When a hacker gets administrator access, one of the first things they will do is change or delete your website files. By files, we mean all files related to your WordPress installation that give hackers administrator access.
To prevent this, you can disable file editing so no one can edit the files. To do this, add towards the end of the wp-config file.php add the following:
8. Limit the login attempts
By default, WordPress websites allow users to make login attempts multiple times. Although this can be a lifesaver if you’re having trouble remembering your password, it’s an opportunity for hackers to damage your site to an irreparable degree.
Try to limit login attempts to a healthy number, and potentially save yourself the hassle of being hacked. You can use a plugin like Login LockDown, Limit Reloaded Login Attemptsdesignated, or WP Limit Login Attempts to record the IP address for each failed login attempt and limit the number of attempts.
9. Change the admin username
During WordPress installation, most site owners may stick to using the administrator username as "Administrator". Hackers are fully aware of such cases and then have to focus on finding the password only.
Make sure you don’t use "admin" in any of the usernames use. Also, when choosing a username and password for administrators, avoid names that are easy to guess and use something that is unrelated and impossible to guess. If it’s too hard to remember, write it down somewhere or use a password manager.
10. Use a WordPress security plugin
Regularly checking your website for malware can be time-consuming, not to mention exhausting, especially if you have minimal programming skills. Fortunately, there are numerous WordPress security plugins that scan and monitor your website 24/7. Sucuri, Wordfence, Jetpack and Security Ninja are excellent examples of WordPress security plugins.
Conclusion
It’s a challenge to fully protect against hackers as WordPress experts identify newer vulnerabilities with each passing day. However, these ten great ways to protect your WordPress site from hackers can undoubtedly reduce the likelihood of your site getting hacked due to frequent security breaches.
It is especially important to regularly update and monitor your e-commerce website, as a hacked website will take hours or even days of your life to repair the damage.
About the author: Samuel Griffith
Samuel Griffith is an experienced web developer and founder of SamBuildsSites.com. He has gained his expertise in web hosting, content management, website design and development. His insights into the latest happenings in the technology industry have been published in some of the most popular blogs on the internet. He helps his customers to build their dream website.
About WHSR Guest
This article was written by a guest contributor. The author’s views below are entirely his own and may not reflect the views of WHSR.