6 simple steps to make your WordPress site more secure
- Reduce the area of attack
- Keep this page updated
- Change your password
- Use unique username
- Make backups often
- Install the security plugin
WordPress is the world's most common tool for building websites, the large number of WordPress websites makes it particularly interesting for hackers to target them. But most hackers are looking for easy targets for their activities and with some simple means you can have a basic protection for your website which makes the hacker turn his focus elsewhere. Here are some simple tips to make your website more secure.
Reduce the area of attack
When you talk about protecting your website, you usually mention the attack surface as an important part to consider. Attack surface refers to the amount of code available for hackers to get into your website, the larger the attack surface, the greater the opportunity.
Since wordpress is a tool where you use themes and plugins where the code is already written for the user, there is also a lot of code that is unused. Therefore, it is extra important to reduce the attack surface by using as few plugins and themes as possible and removing those that are unused.
Keep this page updated
Perhaps the most important thing to keep your website secure is to keep it updated. Since a WordPress website is made up of many different components, it's important to keep everything up to date to reduce the risk of intrusion. Make sure to log in at least once a week and update your website. Always make a backup of your site before updating. Then start by updating your plugins/extensions, then your theme and finally wordpress. Also, do a check of your site so everything works between each part.
There are often warnings from security companies that some plugins/extensions have security issues, usually the manufacturer of the extension is quick to plug the hole. But if you don't update your plugin/extension, you may be stuck with an insecure site for a long time. So keeping your site updated at regular intervals is an easy way to make your site more secure.
Change to a secure password
Everyone probably knows this tip already, but it's no less important for that. Having a password that is secure can keep you safe from breaches.
Mix lower case, upper case, numbers and special characters and use at least 10 characters in length for a secure password. To remember your passwords, you can use a password manager on your computer to keep track of your passwords for you. Also remember to change your passwords at regular intervals.
Use a unique username
One way to make your wordpress website more secure is to use a unique username for your login. A good username can be a full email address while your name or e.g. admin is easy for hackers to crack.
Make backups often
To secure your website, we recommend that you back up your site at least once a week so that you can restore your site if you have an attack or something goes wrong during an update.
Install a security plugin
A good way to strengthen your site is to install a security plugin on your site. The plugin then scans your site for malware. But keep in mind that here it is also important to keep the plugin updated. There are many security plugins to choose from but use one that has many users, is compatible with your version of wordpress and is updated frequently is recommended.
Did you know that we at Digitalpartner offer service & security agreements?
We always take a long-term view when we build websites for our customers. That's why we offer service and security agreements that are customised to your needs. Among other things, we can make sure to keep your website safe from hackers. Contact us to find out more!
