How to Improve WordPress Security for Your Website

How to Improve WordPress Security for Your Website. As a popular content management system, WordPress powers millions of websites worldwide. However, with its widespread use comes the potential for security threats, such as hacking and malware attacks. In this blog, we’ll explore 10 steps you can take to improve the security of your WordPress website and keep your data safe.

1. Keep WordPress and Plugins Up-to-Date
2. Use Strong Passwords and Two-Factor Authentication
3. Regularly Backup Your Website
4. Limit Login Attempts
5. Install a Security Plugin
6. Disable File Editing from the WordPress Dashboard
7. Use Secure Hosting
8. Regularly Scan Your Website for Malware
9. Limit Access to Sensitive Files and Directories
10. Regularly Monitor Your Website for Suspicious Activity

1. Keep WordPress and Plugins Up-to-Date

One of the easiest and most effective ways to improve your WordPress security is to keep the platform and all its plugins up-to-date. This is important because security updates are often released to fix vulnerabilities that have been discovered. To ensure your website is always running the latest version of WordPress and its plugins, go to the Updates section of your dashboard and install any available updates.

2. Use Strong Passwords and Two-Factor Authentication

Using a strong password is essential for protecting your website from brute-force attacks. To create a strong password, make sure it’s at least 12 characters long, includes a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Additionally, consider enabling two-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security. This requires users to enter a unique code in addition to their password, making it more difficult for hackers to access your website.

3. Regularly Backup Your Website

Regular backups of your website are crucial in case of an attack. If your website is compromised, you can restore it to a previous version and avoid losing any important data. There are several plugins available that can automate the backup process, such as UpdraftPlus or BackWPup. Set up a backup schedule and make sure to store the backup files in a secure location.

The plugin we use and suggest is Backuply the reason we back this plugin even after being new in business is, it’s really easy to use.

How to Backup your WordPress site

4. Limit Login Attempts

Brute-force attacks are a common security threat for WordPress websites, where hackers try to guess your login credentials by trying multiple combinations. To prevent this, you can limit the number of login attempts to your website. A plugin such as Limit Login Attempts Reloaded can help you do this. After a certain number of failed login attempts, the plugin will temporarily block the IP address trying to access your website.

You can use a plugin named Loginizer to protect your website from Brute-force attacks

Loginizer to Improver WordPress security

It is one of the best plugin to use to protect your website from Brute-force attacks, it has 1 million active installs which means, it’s been able to protect it’s users and will be able to help you protect your websites too.

Loginizer provides features like:-

1. Two factor Authentication
2. Passwordless Login
3. CSRF protection.
4. Brute-force protection
5. CAPTCHA
6. Changing WordPress admin slug
7. Changing WordPress admin Login slug and more…

5. Install a Security Plugin to improve WordPress security

Adding a security plugin to your website can provide an extra layer of protection and help you monitor for any suspicious activity. Some popular security plugins include Wordfence and iThemes Security. These plugins can scan your website for malware, block malicious traffic, and provide firewall protection.

We suggest you use Wordfence it’s been protecting websites for long and have a big database of malicious IP’s. hence it can provide better protection.

6. Disable File Editing from the WordPress Dashboard

By default, WordPress allows you to edit theme and plugin files directly from the dashboard. However, this can pose a security risk as it gives hackers the ability to modify your website’s code if they are able to access your dashboard. To disable file editing, add the following code to your wp-config.php file:

define( ‘DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT’, true );

7. Use Secure Hosting

The hosting platform you choose can also impact the security of your website. To ensure your website is secure, choose a hosting provider that offers regular security scans and has a solid track record of uptime and performance. Additionally, consider using a managed WordPress hosting provider, as they often provide specialized security measures for WordPress websites.

There are many hosting providers these days, some big names are Kinsta, WP Engine, EasyWP there are many more, you can suggest your hosting provider in the comments.

8. Regularly Scan Your Website for Malware

Regularly scanning your website for malware is crucial in detecting and preventing any security threats. You can use a plugin such as MalCare or Sucuri Security to scan your website and detect any potential security threats. If a threat is detected, these plugins can help you remove the malware and secure your website.

Here we would suggest MalCare, the reason being we have just tried malcare, Sucuri is a great service too WPBeginner uses it.

9. Limit Access to Sensitive Files and Directories

It’s important to limit access to sensitive files and directories on your website, such as your wp-config.php file. You can do this by using .htaccess files or by changing the file permissions.

10. Regularly Monitor Your Website for Suspicious Activity

Finally, it’s important to regularly monitor your website for suspicious activity. This includes monitoring your website logs for unusual behaviour, such as excessive traffic or login attempts from unfamiliar IP addresses. You can also use plugins to monitor your website for changes.

Conclusion

These are the steps which will help you improve WordPress security of your website. There another thing which you can do with the 10 ways mentioned above that is implementing Cloudflare. Cloudflare protect your website in a big way.

If you have any other way you use to protect your website then please add it in the comment section.