More than 29% of the web is powered by WordPress. With so many WordPress sites out there, the CMS is a frequent target for malicious practitioners. While this type of cybersecurity threat can be scary, you can secure your website by taking some necessary precautions. If you have question like “How to secure wordpress website?” After launching your site, Here are 8 ways to keep your site safe from attacks:
Top 8 Ways to Secure WordPress Website
1) Update WordPress
It’s important to keep your WordPress software up-to-date. To do this, you’ll need to:
- Install the latest version of WordPress
- Update your plugins and themes as well
- Check for new core releases on a regular basis
You can update the core by using the admin area of your site or downloading it from the WordPress website and uploading it manually. You should always use the latest security release of WordPress, which is called the Latest Security Release.
If you’d like more control over what gets updated, you can also choose which version gets updated with these options: Latest Minor Release, Latest Major Release, or Latest Patch Release.
2) Secure your .htaccess file
The .htaccess file is a configuration file that allows you to make changes to your website’s HTTP server configuration. It’s important to secure this file because it contains sensitive information, including your database password, which could be used by hackers if they gain access.
Once you have access to the .htaccess file, you can edit it and change its permissions so they are more secure. Then, if anyone tries to access the file in their browser or through FTP software like FileZilla, they will be denied access unless they use an account with admin privileges.
3) Password Protection
To protect WordPress website from hackers and other threats, you will want to set up a password-protected directory. The easiest way to do this is by adding a password through the user profile area of your WordPress dashboard.
Once you are logged into your WordPress dashboard, go to “Users” > “Edit” next to each username/login account you wish to protect with a password. You can then add an additional layer of security by adding one or more passwords:
- Add a password for admin access (typically found under Settings > General)
- Add a login name and password for accessing wp-admin (the directory containing all files related to administration)
- Add another login name and password for accessing wp-login.php
- A third possible login name and password that protects wp-config.php
The same procedure applies if there are multiple users on one website; just make sure they all have unique usernames so they don’t share the same account!
4) Disable File Editing
To disable file editing, you can use the File Editing Restrictions plugin. To do this, follow these steps:
- Log into your WordPress Dashboard.
- Go to Plugins > Add New and search for File Editing Restrictions. Install and activate it. (If you’re using another method of installing plugins, follow those instructions.)
- Once installed and activated, go to Settings > File Editing Restrictions. Set the time frame in which users are allowed to edit files on your site as well as which types of files they can edit (such as images).
You can also configure this plugin with an option that allows users to request access for a particular file type at any time; just enter their email address in the “Special Requests” field on this page.
5) Limit Login Attempts
The WordPress database has a setting that allows you to set the number of login attempts before your account is reset. You can change this by going to Dashboard > Users > Your Profile and changing the Login Attempts field in the General tab.
You should also create a backup e-mail address for your account so that if you do get locked out, you can still regain access to your website.
6) Two Factor Authentication
By using two-factor authentication, or 2FA, you can ensure that only users with the correct login credentials can access your WordPress site and its content.
To set up two-factor authentication on your WordPress site:
- Go to “Users” in the left sidebar of your dashboard. In the right column, click on “Add new user.”
- Fill out all fields and make sure you check off “Enable Two-Factor Authentication” near the bottom.
- Click “Add User” at the bottom of the page when finished.
- On this page, you will see a QR code that allows us to generate an authentication key from any device with a camera (phone or tablet).
After generating this key we will be able to use it as an authenticator for logging into our WordPress account from another device in addition to typing in our password as before — making it much more difficult for someone else who does not have physical access to our devices being used for authentication purposes such as web browsers, etc., which would otherwise allow them unlimited access via traditional means such as brute force attacks using various combinations of username/password combinations until one matches what someone else knows about yours!
7) Disable Directory Browsing and Error Reporting
Directory Browsing:
Disable directory browsing to prevent access to your files. This can be done in WHM’s Security Center.
To disable this feature, simply click on the “Disable Directory Browsing” link near the top of the page and choose Yes when prompted to disable it.
Error Reporting:
You don’t want hackers using error reporting for their own gain because it can reveal files that are accessible through WordPress.
To disable error reporting, go into your php My Admin account (it may be different than cPanel) and find the wp-config.php file in your database directory and add this line: define( ‘WP_DEBUG’, false );
Final words
We hope you enjoyed reading this article and were able to take away some tips on how to keep your WordPress site safe. Remember that if your site is compromised, not only can it cost you time and money but also compromise your brand or reputation.
Follow these steps to make sure you’re WordPress Security is protected from the most common attacks so that nothing goes wrong with your business’s online presence
FAQs On WordPress Security
The best way to keep your WordPress site secure is by keeping it updated. Make sure that you have the latest version of WordPress and all of its plugins. If you are running a self-hosted site, you can do this by updating the software in your cPanel or administrative backend. If you are using a managed hosting plan, then your host should handle this for you automatically.
The best security plugin for WordPress is a combination of several different plugins. You can use Wordfence Premium and Sucuri Security to protect your site against malware and hackers. You can also use Cloudflare to protect your site from DDoS attacks, as well as Cloudflare Railgun which will help you speed up your site.
Malware can infect your site without you even knowing about it because it can be hidden inside a plugin or theme that you installed from the WordPress repository or another site with malicious intent. If this happens, your site may become slow or stop working altogether because of the extra strain on its resources. You should always check your site periodically for suspicious activity such as unusual spikes in traffic or sudden changes in search rankings (especially if they’re negative).
Brute force attacks happen when someone tries every possible combination of characters until they find an account password that works. You can protect yourself from these attacks by choosing a strong password that includes numbers, symbols, and capital letters.
