Secure A WordPress Site with our WordPress Security Guide

Protecting Your WordPress Site: Safeguarding Your Digital Fortress

Use our WordPress Security Guide On Protecting Your WordPress Site 

WordPress is the number one CMS platform on the web today and is said to be used for about 27% of the websites. Hackers will always attempt to attack popular platforms as it is more worth their time looking for weaknesses in their armour. However, often popular platforms, and particularly open source platforms, have many developers fighting in your corner creating defences from such attacks.

Understanding the Threat Landscape And Latest Security Measures

Before diving into the protective measures, it is essential to understand the potential threats that your WordPress site may face. Hackers can exploit vulnerabilities in outdated themes, plugins, or weak passwords. They can inject malicious code, steal sensitive data, or deface your website. By being aware of these risks, you can take proactive steps to mitigate them effectively.

Steps to Secure WordPress: Best Practices for WordPress Security

There are many ways to harden your WordPress security like using automatic WordPress updates to keep your WordPress site up to date. 

Secure Your Site With The Latest Version of WordPress

Outdated software is an open invitation for hackers. Regularly update your WordPress core, themes, and plugins to the latest versions provided by their developers. This will ensure that you have the latest security patches and bug fixes, reducing the risk of exploitation.

Keep WordPress Secure – Choose Premium Themes and Plugins from Trusted Sources 

While free themes and plugins may seem tempting, they often lack the same level of security and scrutiny that is provided by premium ones. Invest in reputable themes and plugins from trusted sources to minimize the possibility of vulnerabilities.

Use Strong Passwords to Secure your WordPress Site – Security Best Practices

Protect your WordPress website and improve the security by making it harder for strangers to gain access to your site. Weak passwords are one of the leading causes of security breaches on many WordPress sites. Choose a username and password that is unique, complex, and includes a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters. Additionally, consider using a password manager as a way to protect and store your credentials.

Limit Login Attempts and Lockout A Potential Hacker

Brute force attacks are a common method used by hackers to gain unauthorized access to your site. Install a WordPress plugin that limits login attempts and automatically locks out suspicious users after multiple failed login attempts. This will deter hackers and protect your WordPress site from unauthorized access.

Monitor and Protect Against Malware

Malware can infect your WordPress site through vulnerable themes, plugins, or even compromised user accounts. Use a reliable security plugin to scan for malware regularly and ensure that your site remains clean. Additionally, consider implementing a web application firewall (WAF) to block suspicious activities and protect against emerging threats.

Back Up Your Site Regularly

In the unfortunate event of a security breach or data loss, having a recent backup of your WordPress site can save you a great deal of stress and effort. Set up automated backups and store them securely offsite. This will allow you to restore your site to a previous state quickly.

Secure Your WordPress Admin Area 

The WordPress admin area is a prime target for hackers. Protecting this area is crucial to maintaining the security of your entire site.

Limit access to your WordPress admin area to authorized users only. Change the default admin username, use a strong password, and restrict access by IP address if possible. Furthermore, consider using SSL/TLS encryption to secure data transmission between your users and your website.

Hide Your WordPress Login Page From Hackers

The common way to log in to a WordPress site is to add ‘/wp-admin’ or’ /wp-login’ to the end of the site URL. But there are ways to change this path to whatever you want as an additional layer to secure your site. 

This can be done with a plugin such as Hide WP Admin Login or adding a line to your .htaccess file.

The .htaccess file adds commands to your server and it’s pretty temperamental.  Before you make changes please make a copy of the file and save as .htacess-backup 

This line added to your .htaccess file will change the default extension of wp-login to ‘myloginpage’ or whatever you put in its place. Also (I have to add this disclaimer, sorry) please replace the ‘example.com’ for the url of your WordPress site. 

If you have any 500 error messages then their is an issue with your code. Please double check and if no joy then delete this line of code or upload the backup .htaccess file you made earlier.

RewriteRule ^myloginpage$ http://www.example.com/wp-login.php [NC,L]

WordPress Security Best Practices – Harden Your WordPress Installation

One of the first steps in securing your WordPress site is hardening the installation itself. By following these WordPress security best practices, you can significantly reduce the risk of a security breach.

Keep Your WordPress Version Up to Date to protect against vulnerability and security issues

Regularly updating your core to the latest version of WordPress, and WordPress database updates as required. Also, ensure you have the latest WordPress updates for plugins and themes. This is a crucial way to secure your site and reduce any security risk. Updates often include security updates that address vulnerabilities, so make it a habit to stay current with the latest versions.

Limit Login Attempts 

Limiting the number of failed login attempts can protect your site from brute force attacks. You can enforce this by using security plugins that allow you to set restrictions on login attempts and block IP addresses after multiple failures.

Protect Your Site’s WordPress Theme and Plugins – Update WordPress Software

Your WordPress theme and plugins can introduce vulnerabilities, so it’s essential to take appropriate measures to secure them. Keep your themes and WordPress plugins up to date to ensure you have the latest security patches and bug fixes. Outdated themes and plugins can be exploited by hackers.

Audit Your Theme and Plugin Selections

Regularly review your installed themes and plugins and remove any that are no longer in use. Reduce the risk of vulnerabilities by minimizing the number of active themes and plugins.

Below are some of the best wordpress security plugins available.

Secure Your WordPress Website With WordPress Security Plugins

Utilizing a WordPress security plugin can enhance the security of your WordPress site by providing you with additional layers of protection. Here are a few popular plugins that can help secure your website:

WordFence

THE MOST POPULAR WORDPRESS FIREWALL & SECURITY SCANNER

WordPress security requires a team of dedicated analysts researching the latest malware variants and WordPress exploits, turning them into firewall rules and malware signatures, and releasing those to customers in real-time. Wordfence is widely acknowledged as the number one WordPress security research team in the World. Word fence is a great choice for any WordPress website owner. Not only will it help keep your site safe but if you sign up they send regular updates on the latest threats and wordpress security tips.

At Wordfence, WordPress security isn’t a division of our business – WordPress security is all we do. We employ a global 24 hour dedicated incident response team that provides our priority customers with a 1 hour response time for any security incident. The sun never sets on our global security team and we run a sophisticated threat intelligence platform to aggregate, analyze and produce ground breaking security research on the newest security threats.

Wordfence Security includes an endpoint firewall, malware scanner, robust login security features, live traffic views, and more. Our Threat Defense Feed arms Wordfence with the newest firewall rules, malware signatures and malicious IP addresses it needs to keep your website safe. Rounded out by 2FA and a suite of additional features, Wordfence is the most comprehensive WordPress security solution available.

WORDPRESS FIREWALL

• Web Application Firewall identifies and blocks malicious traffic. Built and maintained by a large team focused 100% on WordPress security.
• [Premium] Real-time firewall rule and malware signature updates via the Threat Defence Feed (free version is delayed by 30 days).
• [Premium] Real-time IP Blocklist blocks all requests from the most malicious IPs, protecting your site while reducing load.
• Protects your site at the endpoint, enabling deep integration with WordPress. Unlike cloud alternatives does not break encryption, cannot be bypassed and cannot leak data.
• Integrated malware scanner blocks requests that include malicious code or content.
• Protection from brute force attacks by limiting login attempts.

WORDPRESS SECURITY SCANNER

• Malware scanner checks core files, themes and plugins for malware, bad URLs, backdoors, SEO spam, malicious redirects and code injections.
• [Premium] Real-time malware signature updates via the Threat Defence Feed (free version is delayed by 30 days).
• Compares your core files, themes and plugins with what is in the WordPress.org repository, checking their integrity and reporting any changes to you.
• Repair files that have changed by overwriting them with a pristine, original version. Delete any files that don’t belong easily within the Wordfence interface.
• Checks your site for known security vulnerabilities and alerts you to any issues. Also alerts you to potential security issues when a plugin has been closed or abandoned.
• Checks your content safety by scanning file contents, posts and comments for dangerous URLs and suspicious content.
• [Premium] Checks to see if your site or IP have been blocklisted for malicious activity, generating spam or other security issue.

LOGIN SECURITY

• Secure your site with two-factor authentication (2FA), one of the most secure forms of remote system authentication available via any TOTP-based authenticator app or service.
• Login Page CAPTCHA stops bots from logging in.
• Disable or add 2FA to XML-RPC.
• Block logins for administrators using known compromised passwords.

WORDFENCE CENTRAL

• Wordfence Central is a powerful and efficient way to manage the security for multiple sites in one place.
• Efficiently assess the security status of all your websites in one view. View detailed security findings without leaving Wordfence Central.
• Powerful templates make configuring Wordfence a breeze.
• Highly configurable alerts can be delivered via email, SMS or Slack. Improve the signal to noise ratio by leveraging severity level options and a daily digest option.
• Track and alert on important security events including administrator logins, breached password usage and surges in attack activity.
• Free to use for unlimited sites.

SECURITY TOOLS

• With Live Traffic, monitor visits and hack attempts not shown in other analytics packages in real time; including origin, their IP address, the time of day and time spent on your site.
• Block attackers by IP or build advanced rules based on IP Range, Hostname, User Agent and Referrer.
• Country blocking available with Wordfence Premium.

JetPack

SAFER. FASTER. MORE TRAFFIC.

WordPress security, performance, marketing, and design tools — Jetpack is made by WordPress experts to make WP sites safer and faster, and help you grow your traffic.

24/7 AUTO SITE SECURITY

We guard your site so you can run your site or business. Jetpack Security provides easy-to-use, comprehensive WordPress site security including auto real-time backups and easy restores, malware scans, and spam protection. Essential features like brute force protection and downtime / uptime monitoring are free.

• Back up your site automatically in real time and restore to any point with one click. Cloud storage starts at 10GB, which is more than enough for most sites, with additional storage options available if needed. Great for eCommerce stores especially Woo.
• Manage migration to a new host, migrate theme files and plugins to a new database, easily duplicate websites, create full database backups, clone websites, repair broken websites by restoring older backups or easily set up a test site by creating a duplicate of your existing WP website.
• See every site change and who made it with the activity log, great for coordination, debug, maintenance, or troubleshooting.
• Examine incoming traffic to your WordPress site with our WAF (Web Application Firewall) and decide to allow or block it based on various rules.
• Add an important layer of protection to your site with our WAF (Web Application Firewall), particularly when attackers actively exploit unpatched vulnerabilities.
• Automatically perform malware scans and security scans for other code threats. One click fix to restore your site for malware.
• Block spam comments and form responses with anti spam features powered by Akismet.
• Brute force attack protection to protect your WordPress login page from attacks.
• Monitor your site uptime / downtime and get an instant alert of any change by email.
• Secure WordPress.com powered login used by millions of sites with optional 2FA (two factor authentication) for extra protection.
• Auto update individual plugins for easy site maintenance and management.

iThemes Security

On average, 30,000 websites are hacked every day.* Cyberattacks in the US increased by 57% in 2022.** Bad actors who want to hack your site, steal your data, and cripple your business are a 24/7/365 threat.

You need a proactive, strategic approach to WordPress website security that protects your site from brute force attacks, malware infections, and other cyber threats.

Solid Security shields your site from cyberattacks and prevents security vulnerabilities. It automatically locks out bad users identified by our Brute Force Protection Network that is nearly 1 million sites strong and leverages your own blocklist. It secures and protects your most commonly attacked part of your WordPress website – user login authentication.

All In One WP Security & Firewall

THE TOP RATED WORDPRESS SECURITY AND FIREWALL PLUGIN

All-in-One Security (AIOS) is a security plugin designed especially for WordPress, now brought to you from the team at UpdraftPlus.
Customers love All-In-One Security because it’s easy to use, and it does a whole lot for free.

All-In-One Security gives you Login Security Tools, to keep bots at bay and protect your website from brute force attacks.

Our Web Application Firewall gives you automatic protection from security threats.

Content Protection Features protect what you’ve worked so hard to build; All-In-One Security eliminates comment spam and prevents other websites from stealing your content with features like iFrame prevention and copywriting protection.

Conclusion

Protecting your WordPress site is not a one-time task; it requires ongoing vigilance and regular maintenance. By following the best practices outlined in this article, you can significantly reduce the risk of security breaches and keep your digital fortress safe from malicious threats. Remember, prevention is always better than cure when it comes to safeguarding your WordPress site. Stay proactive and stay secure!