We all want to do everything in our power to keep our personal spaces safe and secure. That goes for natural areas, such as our homes, cars, and work spaces. We also want to keep our cyberspaces safe. This is particularly the case with the sites that we control, such as our WordPress websites. With our ever-growing technology, websites are easier to hack than ever before. WordPress is a secure site, as its developers are on top of any security issues that may arise. However, WordPress has become a target due to its large success. It is unfortunate that there are some who seek to manipulate your content to link to spam and various scams. You do not want to fall victim to these types of breaches and threats. There are some precautions you can take to keep your WordPress site safe and secure.
Make sure you create a strong username. Once you have a long and strong username in place, create an even stronger password. You must ensure that any users who have access to your WordPress site use strong usernames and passwords as well. The longer the password, the better.
Avoid Breaches with Complex Passwords
Some people may get annoyed that you require a password longer than ten characters, but they would be even more aggravated if your site became breached in any way. Require different types of characters, such as numbers and special characters, in addition to upper- and lowercase letters. Long and complex passwords are necessary for keeping your WordPress site safe and secure.
Be careful to whom you give access to your WordPress site. You should be extremely critical of who you allow into your site. Your requirements should be difficult to meet to ensure you only attract those who are trustworthy to keep information to themselves. If you own business, keep people who have access to your website at an absolute minimum.
Plugins Can Help
Look for plugins that control the number of times a person can attempt to log in to your WordPress site. Hackers may attempt to log in over and over again until they are successful. These are known as brute force attacks, and they are relentless. You can prevent these attacks by limiting the number of times a certain IP can attempt to log in. We have all been frustrated when forgetting a password, thus getting locked out of accounts. However, this limit is for our safety. We may not be the only ones attempting to get into our accounts. Adding this security feature is extremely beneficial to your WordPress site.
Using two-factor authentication is a great way to add security to your WordPress site. A two-factor authentication is just that: a login that requires two factors. This can be a password, then a question. It could be a password and then a code is given to you through a text message. You might have to click on a picture to authenticate that you’re not a bot trying to get through a password using automation.
Keeping Secure
The two-factor authentication setup is entirely up to you. Placing security features such as a two-factor authentication helps keep your WordPress site secure.
Usernames are incredibly important when it comes to the security of your WordPress site. It is suggested that email address is used as usernames when you can.
Avoid Admin
Using an email address is just more secure than creating a username. Ultimately, you are in control of the username standards you want to use, but this is a tried-and-true username technique to keep websites and information safe. Don’t use “admin” as your username.
We have already discussed using strong credentials, but passwords are worth talking more about when it comes to security. Not only do you want a strong, long password that includes different and special characters.
Mix It Up
You also want to change your passwords frequently. Yes, it can be irritating to have to remember new passwords all of the time, but it is a small price to pay for a secure WordPress site. Change passwords frequently and limit the number of times a password can be used. Consider changing your password monthly and using a password manager to remember your password for you.
There are versions of WordPress that are more vulnerable than others. People do know how to access which version you are using for your WordPress site.
Check the HTML
The information is shown in the HTML head of each page. You can add this line to remove this information: remove_action ( ‘wp_head’, ‘wp_generation’).
As humans, we like to purge. We spring clean our home. We are consistently ridding our inboxes from spam and junk while carefully filing away important emails and documents. The same concept should be taken with our WordPress sites.
Cleaning Out
Delete plugins that you are not using. The same goes for themes. If you’re not using them, then get rid of them. When you are not using these plugins and themes, you are less likely to update them. Plugins and themes that you are not using become vulnerable, thus make your entire site weak. For a safe and secure WordPress site, purge it regularly.
Speaking of updates, it is important that your WordPress site stays current. Whenever there is a WordPress update that requires you to click to activate the update, make sure your prioritize this. Make sure to backup your files before updating as you do not want to lose anything.
Update Themes and Plugins
In addition to updating your WordPress site, keep an out for themes and plugins that may need to be updated. Always check for updates on themes and plugins that your website contains. Using the most current versions are critical in the security of your WordPress site. Remember to delete any themes and plugins that you decide to get rid of as you update your site.
Use HTTPS
When you use HTTPS, it prevents third-party communication. There are little-to-no modifications in communication between the server and the client when HTTPS is involved. Using HTTPS can also enhance your Google search rank. There are many benefits to using HTTPS, and a more secure WordPress site is one of the most important and beneficial.
Files
Consistently take inventory of your files. Monitor files accordingly to ensure the security of your site. There are plugins that will assist you with monitoring your files and any changes taking place.
Do Not Allow File Editing
Disallowing file editing prevents users from making any changes to your WordPress site. When this feature is activated, even if your site is compromised, editing is not allowed to take place.
Install Additional Protection
You cannot take too many precautions with keeping your site safe. Installing a firewall on your computer gives an added level of protection. It is simple and easy to do and will add to the security of your WordPress site.
There are proper ways to connect to servers when creating or making changes to your WordPress site. Only use SFTP or SSH when connecting to the server.
Make a Better Connection
When you properly connect to the server, the transfers of files are secure. It is worth taking extra precaution to ensure the security of your WordPress site. Make sure the connection stays secure with the lock icon through whatever security certificate the website has.
There are a large number of things you can do to ensure your WordPress site is safe and secure. It may seem like it takes a lot of work to keep your site secure, but it is worth it. Go through these options regularly to do everything you can to keep your site secure. Lookup additional plugins to add security. The more precautions you take in keeping your WordPress site secure, the harder it is for a hacker to break into your space and manipulate your data. Yes, security precautions are worth the hassle. Work with a pro who can take care of these updates for you to ensure ongoing security.
Regular Maintenance
It is beneficial to begin using many of these security practices at the time you set up your WordPress site. However, it is never too late to begin adding security methods to your site. Start with good, strong username and password credentials. You can always change or make additions to your credentials, and you should do so regularly.
Remember to limit access to your domain. Make sure you install updates regularly. Once you have put all of these security methods into practice, you can have peace-of-mind that your WordPress site will not be compromised in the face of cyber security threats and hackers.
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