While businesses like Wix and Squarespace have enjoyed success recently, they can’t challenge WordPress’s supremacy. More than 30 times as many websites operate on the open-source content management system (CMS) than either Squarespace or Wix.
The open source content management system (CMS) boasts an almost endless versatility, with plugins and themes making it one of the most versatile CMSs online. And just like that, the concepts behind this great software platform may be translated into forums, social networking sites, and e-commerce platforms. However, with this level of popularity, comes its own set of challenges.
There are nearly half the internet’s websites on WordPress. It’s a target-rich environment for hackers, who can exploit nearly half the internet if they identify a vulnerability in the program. And hence, it is highly likely that WordPress websites will be under attack. In order to keep your website secure, you should take these actions.
Add a firewall
Even if your site is fresh, bots that search the internet for WordPress installations will locate it shortly. When they locate it, they will start trying to figure out its vulnerabilities. Firewall plugins are a great way to spot these attempts before they succeed.
One of the most popular alternatives is Wordfence. It’s simple to put in place, and it prevents people from making items on your site more appealing for malicious visitors while also allowing search engines like Google to find you.
This system can also prohibit visitors who keep entering wrong usernames or passwords, preventing brute force attacks.
2-factor authentication
In order to limit who has access to your admin dashboard, WordPress uses a conventional username and password system. To further secure your account even further, make sure to setup two-factor authentication (also known as two-step verification) for your WordPress accounts.
Two-factor authentication (or multi-factor authentication) is a security measure utilized by many websites nowadays that requires the user to input both their username and password as well as a verification code generated by a third device. Your login and password are only part of the information you’ll have to enter. You’ll also be required to enter a one-time passcode that is produced by an app or delivered to you via SMS message. Even if you’re a member of sites like Facebook, PokerStars, or Amazon, you will probably already be utilizing this today, therefore you should know how to do it.
This feature isn’t supported natively in WordPress, therefore you’ll need to find a plugin to enable it. Firewall, like Wordfence, are already installed, so you don’t need to download anything further.
Proceed to configure Cloudflare
Because of this, website owners get increased performance and security from using Cloudflare as a DNS provider. It offers a free package of premium features and a library of business-specific premium features.
It’s configured to start providing security measures right out of the box without requiring any additional work on your part, but you can link it to Cloudflare in order to layer on more security with the ability to block certain critical files like wp-config.php and require users to complete a CAPTCHA in order to access the admin login screen.
To stay current, keep everything up-to-date
Many of WordPress’ plugins and themes are also updated on a regular basis. These address security vulnerabilities in the software, make improvements to the application’s speed, and introduce new features. The first thing we want you to do is to keep your account active and to keep it up to date.
The option to automatically update the system has been enabled in the previous few years, which has made this considerably easier. Just be sure not to forget to manually update whenever new updates are available.
Plugins and themes you don’t use anymore should be disabled and deleted. In addition to removing the possibility of an unknown exploit being exploited to hack your site, this also reduces the risk of you forgetting to install an important update.
Never Lose a Backup
Although maintaining a backup may not prevent your WordPress site from being hacked, it can definitely save you time. It will, however, guarantee that you are able to utilize your site even if it is down. In the event of a worst-case scenario, the site’s directory on your server can be deleted, a fresh WordPress installation can be run, and the most recent backup can be restored.
It is very important to ensure that your backups are not stored on the same machine as the website installation.
Many WordPress backup solutions are available for purchase and/or free, which helps eliminate the possibility of making a bad decision and forgetting to make a backup.
The bottom line
WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) on the internet. The open-source system still runs on 40% of all websites, 30 times more than Squarespace or Wix. WordPress sites are significantly more likely to be attacked than any other CMS. If you already have a firewall like Wordfence installed, you don’t need to download anything else. Cloudflare is a third-party DNS service that offers a number of performance and security benefits. There are numerous paid and free backup solutions for your site.