WordPress security is always a hot topic throughout the WordPress community. There are many ways hackers and bad people of the Internet try to infect your site. (List of ways hackers compromise your site.) 99 times out of 100 this is not a personal attack. When a bot finds a lesser trafficked site with vulnerabilities, it becomes an easy target for their attack. Trust me, most of the time, no one is out to get you, you just left yourself exposed.
Being practical problem solvers, Trinity Web Media wants to give our readers and clients a resource how to keep your site secure in four steps. These four steps will increase your chances of keeping your most valuable business asset, your website, safe.
WordPress Security in Four Steps
• Advanced WordPress Credentials: WordPress security all starts with with login credentials. If you use WordPress credentials such as: admin/password123 you are asking for trouble. Set a unique username for every site you use. Make sure your password meets WordPress’ minimum security requirements. Also, install and activate WordPress plugins like Limit Login Attempts, to prevent bots from rolling through scripts of common passwords. I know, this all sounds so rudimentary, but you would be surprised how often we see these simple things overlooked.
• Update WordPress: Your site should always have the latest version of WordPress installed. Many times when WordPress is updated and released it is to fix security vulnerabilities. Backup your site, update WordPress and give yourself a pat on the back…you’ve just made it a little harder for the bad people to get you.
• Keep WordPress Plugins Updated: This goes along the same lines of updating WordPress. Old releases of plugins have backdoors and other ways hackers can inject your site. WordPress security depends on how active you are with your updates. As with updating WordPress make sure you backup your site before updating plugins.
• Choose a Reputable WordPress Host: As the old adage says, “You get what you pay for.” Just like in life, web hosting is no different. When our WordPress Maintenance team fixes hacked sites there are similar commonalities, one being hosting price points. Hosts that charge a very small fee are usually more vulnerable to attacks that WordPress managed hosting or some of the other hosting companies who are geared up to fight attacks.
Of course there are more ways to make your site even more secure, but this is a great place to start. Start with tackling the small things and see how far that takes you. All of the four WordPress security tips can be executed by users of all skill levels. Go ahead, take a moment and see how of the four items you have dialed in or take time and lock things down. You will be glad you did.
While I’ve known Greg for years from our time together in the marketing scene, I’ve only recently had the chance to work with Trinity Web Media on a client project. Not only was the team professional and their work spot on, they were amazingly quick to respond and required very little hand-holding along the way. I chalk that up to their past experience and a deep understanding of best-in-class services.
I have hired Greg and the Trinity team multiple times for work on my own websites, and have also hired them to work on behalf of multiple clients. He is simply a pleasure to work with, in every respect. Smart but without the giant ego of some developers, Trinity Web Media works with his clients to achieve their vision in the best way possible — with careful attention to their interests, and thoughtful recommendations based on his expertise. • Susan Baier – Founding Marketing Strategist – Audience Audit