How to Ensure Security on WordPress – A Detailed Guide for Newbies to Seasoned

I’m often asked by my people, “Why can’t I just build a website myself?” Even when I tell them to use WordPress to make the process handy, they also simply ask further “how to ensure security on WordPress?”

Well, you could try to recreate the wheel, but you’d probably end up wasting countless hours in the process. And, you know that time is money. But whether you choose to build your site yourself or hire someone like me to do it for you, using WordPress is a no-brainer. Not only it helps you to create your website but also it helps you to ensure security on WordPress if you can deal with it accordingly.

WordPress is an easy way to create a website, blog, or online store without needing any technical knowledge. It has become very popular in recent years due to its ease of use and ability to customize the content you deal with it. But it’s also very popular for hacking. Since we all know that opportunities come with a lot of challenges & at the same time vulnerabilities. This article aims to guide you on how to keep your WordPress site secure.

A Few Words Before Stepping Into Deeper

If you’re running a WordPress website, it’s important to take security seriously. WordPress is a popular target for hackers, and a successful attack can jeopardize your site and your users’ data. Fortunately, there are a few simple steps you can take to reduce your risk. Keeping your WordPress website always secured is very important. Whether you are a newbie or a seasoned WordPress user, you must keep your site always secure from any kind of malware attacks to provide security to the data stored on it.

As the world’s most popular content management system, WordPress powers millions of websites and bloggers worldwide. While WordPress is a secure platform, there are still some steps you need to take to secure your website. In this post, I’ll share some WordPress security guides to help you get started with enough security protection.

Now, I am going to tell you some useful tips that will help you in making your WordPress website safe and secure from any kind of hacking attacks meaning how to ensure security on WordPress. I’ll also explain what each step entails I’ve got from my experience in ensuring a site to secure on WordPress.

How to Check Security on WordPress

There are several ways to make sure your site isn’t vulnerable to attacks. One of them is by using an anti-virus program. This will help protect your computer against malware and viruses. Another thing you can do is use a firewall. These programs allow you to block incoming connections to your server. They also prevent malicious software from accessing your system.

Checking security on WordPress is quite easy if you know what you are doing. There are several plugins that can help you keep your site safe from hackers, bots, etc. This section will show you how to use those plugins to make sure your blog runs smoothly. You might be wondering thinking about how to check the WordPress security of your website. There are certain ways to make sure your site is safe by inspecting the security on WordPress or checking whether your website has been compromised by hackers.

One of them is by using a plugin called Sucuri. It scans your site every day and tells you what needs fixing. This free service scans your site every day and alerts you when there are any issues with your site. Another way is to use a free service called Wordfence to run a manual scan yourself using this program. It checks your site for vulnerabilities and alerts you when something goes wrong. Both services will alert you to any potential threats, so you can take action before hackers do.

The first plugin we’re going to discuss here is called “WordFence Security & Firewall”. This free plugin allows you to secure your website against malicious attacks using its advanced firewall system. You can set rules for each of your users, allowing them access to different websites or restricting their access based on certain criteria. If someone tries to break the rules, they won’t get past the firewall. The best thing about this plugin is that it supports 2-step verification and offers user accounts to block unauthorized attempts.

You only need to click on the link below to install the plugin. Then go to Dashboard → Plugins and activate it. Make sure you scroll down until you find ‘Wordfence’ in the list of plugins and then click Install Now. Once installed, you will instantly be able to see its icon at the top right corner. On the left side panel, you will see Settings where you can configure the options related to the plugin.

Another plugin is Sucuri, an easy-to-use plugin that helps you keep your website secure. You can install it on WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Magento, PrestaShop, and other platforms. It will scan your site daily and tell you if there are any issues. If there are, you’ll get a notification about it. You can also add custom rules to check specific pages or files. There are many plugins & tools available in the market like this, but Sucuri is the best because it works well and is very affordable to use.

WordPress Security Levels

If you want to know how to keep security on WordPress sites, you should know about WordPress security levels. There are certain ways to measure the WordPress security levels. If you’re new to WordPress, you might not realize how many security measures are put into place to protect your site and ensure the security on WordPress. In fact, WordPress has three different levels of security. You can choose between the highest level (Level 3) or the lowest level (Level 1). Level 3 provides the strongest protection against hacking attacks, while Level 1 offers the least protection.

If you’re running a website with WordPress, there’s a good chance you’ve been warned about the dangers of hacking. After all, hackers have made headlines recently for targeting websites such as Sony Pictures Entertainment, Ashley Madison, and even the White House. By giving the article a solid read, you’ll understand how can you protect your website by maintaining all of these security levels.

Basically, WordPress has three security levels that can be used to protect your website from being hacked. These three security levels are defined as “high”, “medium”, and “low”. If you are unfamiliar with these security levels, here is a brief description of each level.

High Level – This level is the highest security setting. High SSL encryption (SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer) is provided along with other advanced features like anti-malware protection. You would want to use this method if you have any kind of sensitive information displayed on your sites, such as credit card numbers, or personal data.

Medium Level – Medium security means that your website is encrypted, but not to the same degree as the high level. The second-highest security setting is provided through the use of TLS/SSL encryption. This level uses the same technology as the high-level security, however, the low-level does not provide some of the advanced features.

Low Level – Low security provides only basic encryption and no additional features. This is usually the lowest security setting you will find on a WordPress website. Be sure to keep this in mind when choosing which security level you wish to use.

WordPress Security Threads

There are two main ways hackers try to break into your website to crack the security on WordPress. One method involves using an exploit to gain access to your server. This type of attack usually occurs when a hacker finds a vulnerability in your code while breaking the security on WordPress. The other method involves social engineering. Social engineers use human manipulation to trick people into giving up sensitive information. They do this by pretending to be someone else online.

As we know that the WordPress site is vulnerable through its security threads. We can not only find out some vulnerabilities but also give us a solution to prevent them from happening in other ways. Now we need to understand what are those vulnerability and how it happens? So here I have shared some of my knowledge related to this thread.

You can use any plugin or theme vulnerability on your website. Because after installing these plugins and themes, our site becomes vulnerable because they contain vulnerability code in their files. These kinds of vulnerabilities occur due to a lack of attention to the coding part. If you don’t read and check the file carefully then there might be some chance for you that someone else would hack your site. So always try to look at the code before downloading it.

Sometimes our sites get hacked because of malicious spamming campaigns. In this case, if your site has been affected by spammers and hackers, then you should take the necessary steps immediately. If you have been getting e-mails from someone who claims that they are affiliated with my website, then I would like to inform you that these people are not associated with my site at all. These messages are being sent out by spammers and scammers looking to make money off of unsuspecting victims. If you receive any suspicious e-mails (with links to websites that look sketchy), then please delete them and do not click on any links inside. Here are some steps to follow in order to security on WordPress:

i. Disable comment spam bots

Most web hosts have their own “spam protection” that can be activated to stop automatic comments from being posted. This should be done BEFORE the post is published. If not, then the comment may still end up showing up after publishing.

[Please note that this method only works for WordPress installations.]

ii. Spam filters

Some email systems require users to enable spam filtering before they are allowed to send emails. These filters usually work automatically when someone sends a message to you, but sometimes the filter fails to catch messages sent by automated programs/bots. You can set your mail client’s system properties to prevent these programs from sending you any further spam.

ii. Block IP addresses

There are many ways attackers can try to gain access to your website through brute force attacks. One of the best ways to stop these types of attacks is blocking IP addresses based off of the referrer URL. This way you can stop the attack at its inception. If you have any questions regarding using this type of feature please contact me through my profile.

To block IP addresses, you can use a WordPress plugin. This plugin uses the PHP function get_headers() to retrieve information about the user’s HTTP request before processing the rest of the script. The get_headers() function includes some useful variables that can help you block specific IP addresses and domains from accessing your site. You may want to use this feature if you are hosting multiple sites on a single server on your network.

Additional recommendations

i. You need to protect yourself against spammer attacks. Make sure you have anti-spam software installed on your server. Also, make sure that your server’s operating system is updated (and keep it patched). There are many free anti-spam tools out there. We recommend using SpamAssassin from the Apache group.

ii. If you want to avoid hacking attempts, don’t give away your host’s IP address without asking permission first. This can lead to you being blacklisted. Ask your web host for help and ask them how they prevent these kinds of attacks.

iii. Use strong passwords. Don’t use words from dictionaries. Never share your password with anyone. Create unique passwords for each website you visit. Remember to change your passwords periodically.

iv. Keep your computer virus scanner updated at least once per year. Scan your mail regularly too.

The Nitty-gritty on How to Ensure Security on WordPress

If you’re looking to ensure security on WordPress and keep your website safe, there are some things you should consider doing. First off, you need to install an anti-virus solution. An anti-virus program scans files on your computer and alerts you when something suspicious is found. Secondly, you should set up a firewall. Firewalls are used to block unauthorized access to your network. Lastly, you should update your WordPress installation regularly. Updating your WordPress core is easy. Simply visit the WordPress Updates section of your dashboard and click “Update Now”.

How to Ensure Security on WordPress [ A Bit Deeper Guide]

WordPress has been around for a long time but still remains vulnerable to hacking attacks today. Hackers can easily gain access to your site through various methods, from brute force login attempts to cross-site scripting hacks. If your website runs on WordPress, there are chances that someone would hack into your system and steal your data or use your resources without your consent.

You cannot prevent hackers from accessing your site, but you can take measures to protect yourself against this risk. You can install malware protection software, implement multi-factor authentication and employ other security measures. There are numerous steps that you can take to ensure security on WordPress-based websites. To ensure security on WordPress, here are some of the crucial actions you should consider doing on your website. Here, this section includes:

• Use strong and unique passwords
• Use two-factor authentication
• Switch to secure protocols
• Disable file editing
• Taking backups
• Change database prefix
• Prevent information disclosure
• Protect your wp-config.php file
• Install an SSL certificate
• Set up a password-protected login page
• Configure the admin panel
• Create a user account
• Restrict access to certain areas
• Protect your site with Cloudflare
• Keep your software up-to-date

Now, let’s start with the first one.

1. Use strong and unique passwords

The first step in protecting your WordPress site is to use strong and unique passwords. This means using different passwords for each account, including the one you use on your hosting provider or email server. To ensure security on the WordPress site, it’s also important that you use a password manager and change your passwords regularly.

When choosing a password, make sure that it meets several criteria: at least 8 characters long; contains both lowercase and uppercase letters; contains at least 1 number or symbol; uses mixed case (e.g., “password” instead of “passw0rd”)

2. Use two-factor authentication

Using two-factor authentication could be the simplest one for ensuring security on WordPress. Two-factor authentication is a method of confirming the user’s identity after they have been granted access to something. In other words, it requires that you provide two things before being able to use the service. A typical example would be something like entering your email address and password, then receiving an email to confirm that you are who you say you are.

Two-factor authentication isn’t a new thing and most sites have it implemented these days, but did you know that WordPress has built-in support for this feature? It’s true! All you need is an app that supports OAuth2 authentication or just sign-up with Google Authenticator (which uses OAuth 2).

How to use it to ensure security on WordPress

After setting everything up and adding the plugin, go back into your settings page where all of your other plugins are stored in order to find this one under Security Keys. You’ll see three options: Enable Two Factor Authentication, Use Custom Password, and Use App Password. Selecting “Enable Two Factor Authentication” will prompt another window asking which app should be used for two-factor authentication (since there could potentially be multiple). Selecting “Use Custom Password” allows users without smartphones or tablets access by using their own unique password instead of using apps such as Google Authenticator or Authy (which both require smartphones/tablets).

Finally selecting “Use App Password” allows users who don’t have either type of device access by creating their own private key based on what devices they do have available so long as they meet certain criteria first: minimum number length required plus minimum length between numbers when creating randomness within certain ranges set by default values set in line with industry standards published here: https://www[dot]wordpress[dot]com/docs/security/two-factor-authentication

3. Switch to secure protocols

The next step you should take to make sure your WordPress website is secure is to switch over from HTTP to HTTPS. That’s just a fancy way of saying that you should use HTTPS instead of HTTP.

There are several benefits to using this secure method, including:

• Preventing Users from Leaving Unwanted Comments
• Encouraging Users Not To Steal Content From Your Site
• Making Sure Visitors Are Logged In Before Allowing Them To Access Certain Areas

If you’re a WordPress user, there are a few things you can do to ensure the safety of your site, especially to ensure security on WordPress. First off, turn on HTTPS in the admin panel by going to Settings > General and selecting “Force SSL.”

If you want added protection for all logins and administrative areas on your website (which is recommended), create one of two redirects:

• A permanent 301 redirect from http://www.*yourdomainnamehere*/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https://www.*yourdomainnamehere*.com/wp-login.php
• A temporary 302 redirect from http://www.*yourdomainnamehere*/wp-admin/*to=https://www.*yourdomainnamehere*.com/wp-admin/*

4. Disable file editing

One of the easiest ways to protect your sites is by disabling file editing. This will prevent users from accessing the Dashboard and make it much more difficult for a hacker to access your files and database. In order to do this, you can install a plugin such as Restrict Content Pro or BulletProof Security. Or if you don’t want to install a plugin, you can do it manually through FTP by completely removing the write permissions (chmod) on all files in wp-content/uploads directory:

Disabling file editing is a must, and thankfully there are many plugins that make it easy to do. However, you may want to disable it manually if you’re not using a plugin or if your site is on a multisite network and the plugin doesn’t work for you.

When manual disabling of file editing is necessary, I recommend making sure that each user on your site has the appropriate permissions. You can do this by going into Users > All Users and looking at the “Permissions” column in their profiles. If any of them have been granted access as an editor for one or more roles (for example: author, contributor), then they’ll be able to edit files from within those roles until something else changes their permissions again.

5. Taking backups

Now that you know about backups, let’s talk about how to make them. I’m going to cover two different types of backups: full and incremental.

A full backup is a complete image (or snapshot) of your entire site, including all files and data. That’s everything. If you’re backing up for the first time, this will be your initial backup and should be done manually by copying all files from the server onto another device or location where they aren’t accessible from the web. This can also be done automatically with some plugins, but only if they have an option for creating full backups on a schedule.

An incremental backup is a newer version of an existing full backup file that contains only changes since its last revision—in other words, it saves space compared to creating brand new copies every single time something changes in the database or codebase of your website. You’ll want both kinds because they serve different purposes: The former being used as a historical record of everything that existed at one point in time while the latter helps move things along faster when restoring files/data after accidental deletion or corruption has taken place within WordPress itself.”

6. Change database prefix

The next step is to change the default database prefix. The default prefix for WordPress installations is wp_.

• To change it, open your wp-config.php file and add the following line: define(‘DB_NAME’, ‘yourprefix_’);
• Replace `yourprefix` with something long and complex that’s unique to your installation (e.g., “wc&_kai”). This will prevent hackers from guessing your database names. It also prevents WordPress from automatically creating databases with the same name as other users on an account, which can become problematic if two people are working on the same website at once (and no one wants to be named “admin”).

7. Prevent information disclosure

With the wp-config.php file, you can ensure that any unauthorized users will not be able to access and change your website’s database credentials.

It should be protected using a .htaccess file, which is an Apache web server configuration file that controls how your site acts on the Internet. The .htaccess files should be stored in the root directory of your website and should not be stored in a folder called “wp-admin” or “wp-content.” Instead, they should be placed in a subdirectory called “.gitignore” so that they are ignored by Git when you’re uploading new files to the git repository (you’ll need to create this folder before proceeding). You can also encrypt this file if you want by creating another copy of it called ‘wp-config–encrypted’.

8. Protect your wp-config.php file

You should always protect your wp-config.php file. The wp-config.php file stores your database credentials and other sensitive information, so you want to ensure that it isn’t visible to the public.

A good starting point for protecting this file is by using an .htaccess file in the root directory of your website or online store. An .htaccess file allows you to configure how files are served on your site, and it can help prevent access to the wp-config.php file by blocking its URL path (for example: http://www.examplewebsite/wp-content/themes/AvadaTheme/favicon-96×96). This will force WordPress users to use the direct URL path when accessing this important configuration area of their site, which means they’ll get an error message if they try to visit it directly without using a specific URL path instead (such as http://www.examplewebsite/?page=letsgo).

You should also consider storing these sensitive files outside of obvious places such as inside one main directory named “wp” or “htdocs.” For example, if you want to place all WordPress’ configuration items under /var/lib/wordpress/, then create another folder above this location called “config” or something similar; in turn, place all individual files into subfolders within there (such as `wp`, `uploads` etc.). This ensures that hackers won’t be able to locate everything easily when trying brute force attack methods against them!

9. Install an SSL certificate

An SSL certificate is used to secure data sent between a website visitor’s browser and a web server. This ensures that no one else can access the data being transferred. If you are running a website that handles sensitive information, then you will need to install an SSL certificate in order to ensure that the data being transferred is secure. Without an SSL certificate, anyone could theoretically intercept the data being sent between the browser and the server, which could lead to serious security implications.

When a website has an SSL certificate, the data that is sent between the browser and the web server is encrypted. This means that even if someone else was able to access the data, they would not be able to read it. This makes it much more difficult for someone to steal information from a website that has an SSL certificate. That’s why you should keep this into consideration on a priority basis.

10. Set up a password-protected login page

Use strong passwords. This may seem like common sense, but using strong passwords is one of the most effective ways to protect your website from hackers. Make sure your passwords are at least 8 characters long, and include a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols. If you’re using a self-hosted WordPress site, you need to set up a password-protected login page. You can do this by following these steps:
i) Log into your hosting account.
ii) Navigate to Settings > General.
iii) Click “Login Pages” under the “General Options” section.

11. Configure the admin panel

Once you’ve logged into your admin panel, click the “Add New” button.
iv) Enter a name for the new login page (e.g., “Admin”) and select the type of login page you’d like to use (e.g., Basic).
v) Select the URL where you’d like the login page to appear (e.g., http://example.com/wp-admin).
vi) Click Save Changes.

12. Create a user account

If you’re using a shared hosting account, you won’t need to do anything else. However, if you’re using a VPS or dedicated server, you’ll need to create an FTP user account.
vii) Log in to your web host’s control panel and navigate to the File Manager section.
viii) Find the folder named wp-content.
xi) Right-click the folder and choose “New Folder.”

13. Restrict access to certain areas

You should restrict access to certain areas of your website so that only people who need to see them can view them. This will help prevent unauthorized users from accessing sensitive data.
x) Create a new folder called.htaccess.
xi) Paste the following code into the newly created.htaccess file:

14. Protect your site with Cloudflare

If you’re looking for more WordPres security tips, check out our guide on how to secure your site with Cloudflare. Cloudflare protects sites against DDoS attacks, malware, spam, and other threats. You can also set up email notifications so you’ll know immediately if there’s any trouble.

Cloudflare offers free SSL certificates that provide website security along with other features including web page caching, DNS protection, and access control. Cloudflare’s global network includes over 1 million sites protected using their service and is trusted by leading technology companies like Netflix, Twitter, GitHub, Shopify, WordPress, Disqus, and Dropbox. In addition to free plans for individuals and small businesses, Cloudflare has paid plans designed specifically for large enterprises.

If you follow the security tips in our guide, you can help protect your site from DDoS attacks, malware, spam, and other threats. You can also set up email notifications so you’ll know immediately if there’s any trouble. By taking these precautions, you can help keep your site safe and secure. This is important because if your site goes down, you lose valuable traffic and revenue. Cloudflare alone can help you prevent this from happening.

15. Keep your software up-to-date

WordPress releases new updates regularly, and many of these updates include security enhancements. Keep your software up-to-date. So it’s important to make sure you’re always running the latest version of WordPress. You can do this by installing the latest version of WordPress and updating your plugins and themes. This regular update helps to ensure security on WordPress.

What to Do If You’re Hacked

If you’re a WordPress user, it’s important to understand the basics of WordPress security. There are a few things you can do to try and recover your site if it gets hacked. If you find yourself having been hacked, here’s what you should do:

i. First, make sure that you understand how much damage was done to your website. In this case, we’ll assume that they have taken over your entire domain (in other words, everything after www.yourdomainname.com). This means that they could have changed any files on your server, including the database containing user information, password hashes, etc. To figure out how severe the situation really is, log into the cPanel (or similar) account management tool for your host and download a file called SiteCheck. You can use this to see exactly what files were affected by the hacker.

ii. Next, delete the contents of the.htaccess file stored in the root directory of your site. Because this file contains access rules for all requests to your site, deleting it will prevent unauthorized users from seeing any content, even though they may still have complete control over your site. You’ll want to remove any malicious code or scripts added to the.htaccess file through the hacking attempt, but don’t worry too much about removing references to your own custom pages since these are only used to track visitors. Also, don’t forget to restore the backup copy of the.htaccess file that you did before the hack occurred.

iii. Lastly, change the passwords of any accounts that were compromised. Make sure that any passwords stored in databases are not easily cracked; consider using bcrypt, PBKDF2, or something else instead. Don’t reuse passwords across multiple websites or services, either.

iv. After changing passwords, check to see if any additional credentials have been compromised. Any email addresses associated with your site might have had their passwords stolen, and you might need to change the details on those emails if possible. Be careful not to give out private information in any online forms, especially any financial ones.

v. Finally, reset your security settings on various sites. Hackers often take advantage of weak links between two different systems that share login credentials. Resetting your Google Analytics account settings will help protect against data theft. Use a strong password for your Google Account and ensure that you’re logging in from a secure browser like Chrome or Firefox. Avoid reusing passwords for any sensitive information online.

vi. Monitor your site for any further breaches after making sure that you’ve corrected the problems described above.

vii. Furthermore, make sure you have a backup of your site that I share earlier in this guide. This will help you recover quickly after any damage has occurred.

viii. Check your logs carefully. Logs record every request made by visitors to your site. They also show you where the requests came from. Check these logs frequently to see if anything unusual happened. xi. Finally, contact your web host. Ask them to reset your password and remove any malicious code from your server. This is how you can have a quick fix and ensure security on WordPress.

In brief, these are some other tips & tricks to consider:

• Stay calm
• Ensure the maintenance mode on your website
• Record and report with all relevant details that can help solve the issue
• Reset access and all other permissions
• Analyze the issue
• Review related websites and channels
• Reinstall backup, themes, and plugins
• Change your site passwords again
• Alert your customers and stakeholders
• Ensure that your website isn’t blacklisted by Google
• Follow the above-mentioned best practices

Remember, if all else fails, you can try and rebuild your site from scratch.

To Tie Up 

Security is an essential part of every website, but it’s especially important for WordPress sites. The CMS is a popular target for hackers, as it powers millions of websites worldwide. Fortunately, you can protect yourself by following some best practices and installing the right plugins. In this article, we’ve shared some significant tips for staying safe when using WordPress.

Hopefully, this article helped you understand why WordPress security is important and how to ensure security on WordPress. It’s always a good idea to keep yourself informed on the latest security measures. Also, don’t forget that sometimes it’s better to let a professional handle your site’s security rather than trying to do it yourself. So, that’s my conclusion about the WordPress security guide from now. I think this information can help anyone who wants to develop websites/blogs easily and safely. So if you are looking for some best tutorials about WordPress then I hope you can find them here. 

I hope you enjoyed our latest post and update on WordPress security. Remember to stay vigilant, always keep your eyes open for new vulnerabilities or attacks, and to follow these steps for keeping your site safe. As hackers get smarter and bolder, so do we—it’s a matter of staying one step ahead! Good luck!