7 Ways To Boost The Security Of Your WordPress Website

If you have an eCommerce business, a blog, or even a website, chances are it runs on WordPress CMS. With up to 30.5% of websites using WordPress, it is no surprise then that WordPress sites have a higher rate of hack attempts than any other platform. 

So, it would help if you ensure the security of your WordPress website is at its most optimum. You can protect WordPress site from hackers by following the seven key steps below:

1) Disable WordPress Theme & Plugin Editor

Firstly, in making WordPress secure, you need to disable its theme and plugin editor. WordPress platform has a useful feature ensuring that users have higher flexibility to customize themes and plugins right from the dashboard.

But, this feature has a downside, because the smallest mistake can cause a site crash and other problems for you. A crash hacker can take advantage of to plant malicious codes in your topic to access the site through the backdoor. They can then gain control over your website if it has enough privileges to use the topic editor and plugin.

To protect your website, disable WordPress theme and plugin editor by adding the code: define(‘DISALLO W_FILE_EDIT’, true ) to your WP-config.php file. This will eliminate hacker’s ability to change your website topics and plugins without FTP access. 

2) Limit the Amount of Login Attempts

When you are thinking of how to secure a WordPress site, you should take note of the disadvantages of unlimited login attempts. We know this is a major benefit if you are someone who forgets passwords quickly, but it is a security threat to your website. 

Having an unlimited login attempt on your website will give a hacker more chances to hack into your website using a brute force attack. 

Limit the number of login attempts on your website by using WordPress security plugins like WP Limit Login Attempts. 

3) Use Two-Factor Authentication on Your Website

Also, using two-factor authentication on your WordPress website can significantly improve your site security. 

With Two-factor authentication, asides using a password to log into your website, you need to provide additional verification. The extra verification step is usually providing a uniquely generated code you alone can receive.

Every WordPress user must have two-factor authentication enabled on their site to protect them from brute force attacks. 

To set up, simply:

• Login to your WordPress website backend
• Click on security: link. 
• From there, you will see an option for two-factor authentication.
• Then, add a cell phone number or email address for the authentication process. This will be how the unique code will be sent to you every time. 

4) Make Sure Your Database is Secure & Separate

In making WordPress secure, your database plays a key factor. Simply because a website’s database stores all site information, history, etc. of the site. So, hackers are prone to go for a website’s database. They can do this via methods like automated codes for SQL injections.

So, if you are a WordPress site owner running multiple websites from a single database, it means that should hackers get access to your database, all your websites are at risk. 

So, isolate your database. Here is some advice for ensuring you are running a secure database:

• Use separate databases for any website, blog, eCommerce site, etc. you own. 
• Have dedicated employees called database personnel who have access to your database. Meaning, only database personnel should be granted access to the database. 
• Reduce the number of database privileges database personnel has. For example, you can revoke all privileges asides data read and write. 
• You can also rename your database to throw hackers off. 

5) Hide WordPress Website Login details

Another way to boost the security of your WordPress Website is to hide login details. By merely leaving your WordPress defaults the way they are, you can be opening your websites to substantial security threats. 

If you don’t hide your site’s admin name, all a hacker will have to do is add ?author=1 after your URL, and it will pop up. Then, they can easily use brute force once to hack into your website. 

So, make sure you aren’t leaving all that information out in the open to prevent hackers from being the target. 

6) Have a Regular Backup Routine

Backing up is extremely important for any WordPress owner because 100% security is never guaranteed. So, make sure you are regularly following proper backup procedures. Also, create copies that you can restore, so you never have to worry about losing your information.

This way, if anything happens to your server, you know you can always rely on your backup. 

Several WordPress hosting services offer backup services or automatically back up your data daily. If you want to backup your WordPress website manually, then back up your entire WordPress directory.

7) Ensure you use SSL Encryption

Not all hackers will be able to use brute force on your website. Especially if your website is secure. In such a case, they will try another method. They may try to steal your information or try to break your connection. Using a secure socket layer encryption will protect your WordPress site from hackers. 

You can get a secure socket layer certificate from your site :

• Through your hosting company: Most hosting companies provide SSL certificates for you. 
• From a third party supplier: This can be an alternate method. 

We advise all websites have SSL not just for the security, but also to appear high on Google ranking. 

Conclusion

As a serious website owner, you shouldn’t ignore any of these security tips mentioned above. We advise that you take all these security measures soonest because hackers hit fast, and the effect of a hack is enormous. Just like a writing amateur can use sites such as Online Writers Rating and Best Writers Online to get writing service reviews, if security is something you can’t stay on top of, using various WordPress plugins can help make your website secure.