There are many advantages to using WordPress, which is why so many millions of blogs are created with this application. It’s easy to use and learn and has lots of features so you can customize your blog the way you want. One problem with WordPress being so popular, however, is that it’s a tempting target for hackers.
In this article, I will share some tips to help you protect your WordPress site so that it’s less vulnerable to attacks.
Why Your WordPress Site is Vulnerable
No website is completely secure. Yet some sites are more likely to be targeted by hackers than others. Unfortunately, WordPress sites are often chosen by hackers for a few main reasons.
- Many Sites to Choose From -The very fact that there are so many WordPress blogs makes them a target.
- Lots of Themes and Plugins -These can be doorways to sneak in viruses and malware.
- Many WordPress Sites are Created by Beginners -This often means that sites aren’t properly safeguarded.
According to a recent WordPress security article I read on Top10Wordpress.com, every WordPress site is a potential target. The good news is that there are a few simple steps you can take to greatly reduce the chances of being a victim.
Be Careful What You Download
There are thousands of themes and plugins you can download for WordPress. Most of these are safe, but you should be careful about where you get such things. Getting free applications from the internet can be risky. You should always do some research before downloading something to your WordPress site.
Use Secure Passwords
One of the most common newbie mistakes is to use passwords that are easy to guess. Many people use simple number sequences, the names of their children or pets or their birthday. Keep in mind that it’s very easy to find out information about you publicly nowadays from social sites, online phone directories and other such sources.
Passwords should contain both upper and lower case letters, numbers and other characters. They should be random and not connected to anything else in your life (phone number, social security number, birthdate, etc.).
Stay Current With Updates
WordPress updates are frequent, and it’s a good idea to keep up with them. You probably won’t notice many differences when you update to the latest version. Many of these updates are done to patch holes in security (though they may also be to fix glitches in WordPress itself).
Updating WordPress only takes a few seconds, and it can help prevent many problems. Make sure you log in to your WordPress dashboard regularly so that you’re notified about new updates.
Limit Admin Access
The more people who have access to your WordPress site, the more vulnerable your site will be. Even if you trust everyone who has admin access, it’s still creating more opportunities for problems (such as someone not using a secure password).
For one thing, everyone with admin access should have a unique user name. Don’t use a generic one like “Admin”. Also make sure that everyone uses a secure password and doesn’t share it with anyone who isn’t authorized.
Use Secure Web Hosting
Your web hosting company plays a major role in protecting your site from attacks. A good web host will have measures in place to prevent hackers from gaining access to your site.
It can be risky to use small or inexperienced web hosting companies. They may perform well enough under normal conditions, but they may not have the resources or expertise to prevent hackers from breaking into sites. Your site will be much safer if you use a large and reputable web hosting company.
Conclusion
Even though I started off by pointing out that WordPress sites are often targeted by hackers, you don’t have to let this scare you. If you take some commonsense precautions you can discourage the vast majority of attacks from occurring. To stay up to date to latest WordPress news, make sure you check out Top10Wordpress.com.
Hackers generally seek out easy targets – either that, or very large and profitable sites. If you are a small or medium sized site and you implement the above safeguards, you won’t have much to worry about.
