Your website helps to communicate about your portfolio of products and services. Apart from showcasing your bouquet of offerings, it also acts as the steppingstone for initiating the buyer’s journey. However, the internet has numerous cyber threats, and your webmaster should ensure that proper processes are in place to prevent any eventuality of a cyber-attack.
Statisticians point out that WordPress currently powers 34% of internet and over 400 million visitors visit WordPress websites annually. Apart from this, almost 28% of e-commerce happens through WooCommerce with nearly 280 such online stores opening every day globally. Given the sheer footprint of WordPress websites, it is often at the receiving end of hackers. This risk can be mitigated by imbibing simple processes to protect your site. In this article, we will focus on some of the essential security tips that will secure your WordPress website.
Imbibing necessary IT policies also help
Make sure that you introduce some appropriate IT policies for the website. Some plugins lock the site in the event of repeated failed login attempts. Also limit the number of attempts to login to the back end. It is also best to use an email ID to login instead of a username making it more difficult to guess. Renaming the login URL using some plugins also help to prevent unauthorized access to the site.
You must also disable the editor function in the plugin tab. Now, you can prevent anyone from injecting malicious code into the themes and plugins. Other relevant policies include changing the passwords periodically and using global best practices while deciding your password. Also, use plugins to log out idle users from the site.
Using encryption through SSL certificates
Among the most widespread protocols for website security is the SSL technology. It helps to secure the session with the web browser of the user by encrypting the entire communication. Any cheap Wildcard SSL certificate will be helpful to you. The information gets connected to a cryptographic key, and the session is encrypted.
It is more stringent for an e-commerce website. You will need to adhere to the stricter policies of PCI-DSS that makes having an SSL certificate indispensable. As hackers always target financial information, it is crucial to stop them with a cheap SSL certificate and breathe easy.
Ensuring security at your hosting vendor
There are many hosting vendors providing services at a cheap rate. But you should opt for a vendor with numerous layers of security. It would help if you ideally did a security audit before finalizing your vendor. Your hosting provider should ensure the IT infrastructure is periodically tested and scanned for any vulnerabilities. Do have a look at the security certificates of your service provider and include periodic IT audits as part of your agreement.
Upgrade your WordPress version
WordPress also provides periodic upgrades with additional security features. So, keeping the upgraded version of the application is essential in preventing any unwanted attack on your website. Once the loopholes from the earlier version, if any, are plugged, it mitigates the risks of unwanted cyber-attacks. Upgrading is easy; you can do it from the admin dashboard from the back end of your website.
How to use .htaccess to improve security
The .htaccess is a configuration file that ensures that the web server responds in the desired manner to various requests. The system administrator ensures that users with requisite credentials only can access a directory. Your system admin should prevent any uploading of scripts in the “Upload” folder. It is best if you disable the execution of any PHP files in this folder. You will also need to protect the WP Config file and prevent any unauthorized access that could otherwise create problems for the website.
Take backups of the website
It always serves to be safe than sorry. While you take necessary steps to prevent hackers from accessing your WordPress admin panel, you should always ensure you have proper backups in place for an emergency. It serves to take a periodic backup of the WordPress site so that it becomes easier to go online when anything goes wrong. Some of the best plugins that you can use are UpdraftPlus, VaultPress, BackupBuddy. etc.
Check the audit logs periodically
It is essential to check the activities that are going on the back end of the site. As an admin, you need to have a bird’s-eye view of the changes that are continually happening on your website. You must be having an entire list of all activities and check the audit logs regularly. While you may feel that most of the activities do not carry any risk, you might also come across some mischief or an attack against your site.
Make life difficult for hackers
Some websites also show the WordPress version number. Little do they know about the risks associated with it. Putting up the WordPress version number can allow attackers to fine-tune their attack on your site. Most security plugins can help you to hide the version number. Else you can write code also.
Avoid free themes
We always opt for items that come free. You must have the same thoughts while selecting the WordPress theme. While paid themes have a better UI, they are also tested to pass various checks. These themes are also periodically upgraded to plug any loopholes.
How to prevent injection attacks
Hackers usually target the database with injection attacks and is a significant threat to your site. It happens because the database remains prefixed with “wp_”. You can do it through few easy steps. If you are working on a new site, you can secure the database using a prefix of your choice.
Conclusion
Ensuring the security of the website is of prime importance, you should start with buying a cheap SSL certificate. Also, imbibe few global best practices related to the system admin to ensure foolproof security. We have dealt with most of the essential security tips in detail. Do ensure your webmaster is following these easy steps.
