WordPress websites are getting immense popularity because of the platform robustness and ease of use. It works on an open source script that has its share of advantages and disadvantages.
The biggest disadvantage of running a website on an open source script is that it is more susceptible to cyber-attacks and is likely to get hacked by perpetrators of cyber-crimes.
Here are top 5 tricks to secure your WordPress website from hackers.
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1#. Use the latest version of WordPress
Always remember that you should use the latest version of any software program that you are using. WordPress is no exception. This is not the ultimate solution to prevent your website from getting hacked, but it is NECESSARY. To check whether you have the latest version of WordPress, you should log in to the WordPress admin account. Go to the updates panel to determine the version of WordPress that is in use. Using the latest WordPress version adds to the difficulty of the hacker and mitigates its likelihood.
Pro-tip: Determine whether your website is hacked and eliminate all the threats as soon as you figure out. Moreover, you should also keep all your WordPress themes and plugins updated.
2#. Limit access to your WordPress files
Suppose you have an index.php file on your website and everyone has access to it. A cyber-criminal can update such files so that the visitors get redirected to the malicious website inflicted with viruses. We strongly recommend you have all files as 664 and all folders as 775. Keep wp-config.php as 660 or keep it out of the WordPress public_html directory. Limit the file permissions but before you do it, put your website offline so that it is not visible to the visitors.
Pro-tip: Educate your employees regarding the repercussions of the security breach and make them aware of the confidentiality so that they would maintain the secrecy of customer information without revealing it to anyone else.
3#. Avoid buying the unlimited hosting plan
Though it gets tempting to buy the unlimited hosting plan for the website, it is best to refrain from buying it. It is light on the pocket to have your website places on a single server, but this makes hacking a cakewalk for the cyber-criminals. For example, imagine you have 15 websites on a server with an unlimited hosting plan. It might be possible that you neither check one of the websites nor update it.
This can cause the hacker to get access to your website through the loopholes and breach your security. It can put the remaining 14 websites to the risk of getting hacked. It is a lot riskier than it sounds.
4#. Switch to HTTPS for better security
HTTPS helps to encrypt the data transmitted between the server and the browser. It is advisable to install SSL Certificate on your website right now to improve the security of your WordPress site. It helps to boost your search engine ranking and increase the traffic to the site.
If your website includes multiple domains, you can buy Wildcard SSL Certificate that secures all the different domains with the help of a single certificate. That will allow you to save time and money while enhancing your SEO and website performance.
5#. Add two-factor authentication
E-commerce websites based on WordPress should certainly take into consideration this point. To secure the transactions and validate that it is not a fraudulent attempt, two-factor authentication is a must. It will allow you to send a system-generated one-time password through a text message or email that will be accessible exclusively to the respective individual on his device. Doing so will reduce the cases of invalid transactions carried out by malicious agents.
Wrapping Up
There are many steps you can take to secure your website from hackers, we have discussed the most fundamentally important steps here. The more you do to secure your WordPress site, the harder it gets for hackers to break in.
