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5 Ways to Keep Your WordPress Website Safe

WordPress is great. It powers more than 39% of the web. That’s an impressive number and it just keeps growing.

If you’re a WordPress user, you know that plugins are one of the reasons it has a massive market share. There are tens of thousands of plugins which means almost any feature you want to add on your site can be made possible. With that convenience also comes the risk of being hacked if the software isn’t updated or if it contains a loophole.

Keeping your WordPress website safe is important, especially if it hosts sensitive information. There are many different ways you can protect your site, but here are the most important.

Choose a secure WordPress host.

A website is a visitor-facing portal where people can learn about your company and either buy from or interact with your organisation. In order for this portal to be accessible to the masses, a hosting solution must be implemented. 

There are many different hosting solutions available depending on your requirements but fundamentally it boils down to shared, VPS (virtual private server), or dedicated server.

Choosing a web host can be difficult. There are a lot of things to consider, such as the cost, features, and other factors. Ask the following questions:

• Where are their servers located?
• How fast are their servers?
• Do they offer SSL?
• How much is the renewal fee?
• How quickly do they deal with downtime?

In a nutshell, web hosting plays a very important role in how your website performs. A poor web hosting service can cripple your website until you find a way out of it, while a good one can spare you expensive upgrades and make your site perform excellently.

Update your website regularly.

When it comes to keeping your website secure, one of the most important things to do is to update your website regularly. This includes installing the latest version of WordPress and updating plugin and theme updates. Doing this ensures you have all the latest patches and fixes which will keep your site free from vulnerabilities.

Even if you’re not a web developer, updating WordPress can be quite an easy process. All you have to do is login to your website, and click on the Updates option on the sidebar. It will lead you to a page that will tell you if there’s a new version of WordPress. If there is, you can click on the Update Now button.

If you’d like to install WordPress updates manually, you may need help from a web developer since it involves uploading FTP files.

To make sure you regularly update your website, set a reminder in your calendar. You can check if there are new updates monthly.

Use unique usernames and passwords.

Usernames and passwords play a huge part when it comes to protecting your website. There are millions of websites on the Internet, many of which don’t follow best practices when it comes to storing information and keeping it safe.

To determine if your username and password are secure, answer the following questions: 

• Can you be easily tracked by someone who knows your username? 
• Do you use the same username and password for multiple websites? 
• Can someone who has access to your online information easily guess your password?

Your usernames and passwords should be hard to guess but easy for you to remember. As a rule, avoid weak-sounding passwords like your pet’s name, home address, or number combinations that can easily be guessed. Instead, use combinations of upper and lower-case letters, symbols and numbers (e.g., fE!x1).

Enable two-factor authentication.

Two-factor authentication is a security process used to verify the user’s identity when signing into a website or service. It requires two different components to be entered together in order to gain access: something the user has (such as an ID card or mobile phone) and something the user knows (a personal identification number, or PIN). 

The two factors work together to secure your account and make it harder for hackers to gain access without physical access to your ID card or mobile phone.

Enabling two-factor authentication makes it harder for someone to log into your WordPress website. It adds an extra layer of protection by asking for more than just your username and password.

Set a maximum number of login attempts.

If you’re running a website, you don’t just want to keep it up and running. You also want to make sure that your website is secure. There are several steps to increase the security of your website, and one of those steps is to set a maximum number of login attempts. 

When a user enters their username and password incorrectly, the login form will lock them out until the administrator unlocks them. Out of all the techniques used to increase the security of a website, this is one of the easiest techniques to implement.

You can limit login attempts on your own by using a plugin like Limit Login Attempts Reloaded. By clicking on Plugins on the sidebar of your WordPress dashboard, you can easily install and activate this plugin. If you’d like to do this without using a plugin, you may require assistance from a WordPress developer.

Conclusion

WordPress is a fantastic platform for building websites due to its ease of use, customisability, and vast library of plugins. More and more businesses are using wordpress for their website every year. This growth has led to an increase in cyber attacks on WordPress websites. It’s vital that you are proactive about your WordPress security to protect yourself from online threats.

Cornerstone Digital is a WordPress development company in Sydney. We’d be glad to talk to you about making your website more secure. Call us on (02) 8211 0668 or email us at info@cornerstone-digital.com.au.

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Darlyn Herradura

A self-professed book and digital marketing nerd, Darlyn Herradura focuses on building trust between customers and businesses with the written word. She understands that creating valuable content is the best way to get found online and happily spends her time doing that.