If you own a WordPress website, you’ve most likely put a lot effort into choosing the right theme, uploading engaging content, and promoting the site to other people. Imagine how frustrated you’ll be when you log in to WordPress one day and discover that your site has been infected with a virus and/or all your data has been deleted! Imagine how furious you’ll be when you can’t even log in because someone has hacked into your account and changed your username and password!
All of these are scary scenarios, but you can fortunately avoid them by taking a few simple but highly important steps to safeguard your WordPress account and site and keep them away from hackers’ reach. Here are some of the things you can do:
Pick your username and password wisely
WordPress had previously use “admin” as its default username, so it’s not really surprising if this is your current username. However, you have to realize that many hackers have caught on to this and are using “admin” to hack into people’s sites and accounts! So, as soon as possible, change your username into something unique and more secure.
The same principle applies to your password. Don’t use your birthday or your social security number, and avoid using common passwords like “123456”, or even “password”. Instead, come up with something that has both uppercase and lowercase letters as well as numbers, punctuation marks, and symbols and can’t be easily read by humans.
Use a security plugin
WordPress plugins do a wide range of tasks like generating contact forms, promoting social media sharing, and letting you manage and customize your content. There are also plugins that focus on security and thwart hacking attacks, such as WordFence and Login LockDown. Install one of these security plugins and let them help you protect your site.
Make it a habit to install updates
WordPress often releases updates that patch up vulnerabilities in its themes and plugins, which can be used by hackers to access the system and take control of your website. However, these updates won’t get installed all by themselves, so make sure to download and install them as soon as thye become available.
Choose a dependable web host
Even if you install the best security plugins, they would still be useless if your web host isn’t particular about keeping hackers away. In fact, many websites have been hacked not because their owners used weak passwords or didn’t use security plugins but because the companies hosting them had lax security.
So, aside from taking the steps above, you should also do your research and decide which web host is the right option for you. Make sure to choose one that’s highly focused on security and offers a range of anti-spam and anti-malware tools. Some of your best options include BlueHost, HostGator, DreamHost, and InMotion.
Backup your site regularly
Even if you’re careful, you never really know when something bad would happen to your site. Because of this, you have to make it a point to backup your site on a regular basis. You can do this manually, but you can also use WordPress plugins like BackupBuddy, VaultPress, and The Duplicator, which making backing up your website easier. Don’t forget to ask your host if they have a backup system in place.
Take these steps now and keep your WordPress site safe and secure!
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