WordPress security. That is usually the most common answer when we ask our clients what their main concerns are once their website is set up. Because for everyone, including us, an unexpected hack leads to a loss of time, money and credibility that none of us want to go through, whether we have an ecommerce store or manage different sites for our clients. 

Although there is no standard WordPress security solution for all cases, we can follow a series of recommended practices with which to try to shield our website. But before that, let’s also see why our site has such a sweet tooth for this type of malware. 

Why are WordPress sites susceptible to hacking?

It is worth understanding why they happen before looking at what we can do to prevent these attacks. Basically, hackers break into our site with three very clear objectives: 

1. To send spam emails through it. 
2. To get hold of all kinds of confidential information, such as mailing lists, saved credit cards, contact information, etc. 
3. To install malware.

Whatever the reason your site has been hacked, don’t take it personally. This is most likely a large-scale attack such as a Denial of Service (DoS) attack or a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. This means that instead of going after a single website, what hackers want is to attack the infrastructure on which your site operates in order to have an impact on a greater number of sites at the same time. 

It is precisely for this reason that WordPress is often the target of these attacks. After all, it hosts 30% of all websites. But do not spread panic. The fact that WP is open source software with a highly engaged community means that it has a large team behind it that is continually working to improve the security of the platform. 

Just be aware that you can suffer an attack at any time and luckily, you have at your disposal many measures to increase your WordPress security and make it much more difficult for hackers. 

WordPress Security Best Practices

Regularly update your themes, plugins and the version of your WordPress

Keeping your site up to date with all available updates is already a guarantee of WordPress security. Updates exist for a reason, especially in the case of plugins. And security is often the reason for their frequent upgrades. 

So when you feel reluctance, remember that the moment WP developers discover a vulnerability, they immediately work on an update that corrects it, so the longer you take to install it, the more exposed your site will be. 

Of course, if you have contracted a managed service, you can always rest assured that you will be in the best hands and they will be in charge of keeping plugins, themes, and the WordPress core up to date. One less task to cross off the list!

Follow the recommendations for usernames and passwords

You may already know this, but it never hurts to remember that your password must be unique , your username complex, and that a password manager makes your life much easier. 

A couple more things: stay away from typical passwords — hackers know them all — and remember to update your passwords regularly. 

Limit the number of login attempts 

Once you have resolved the issue of passwords and usernames, it doesn’t hurt to go one step further and limit the number of times a user can try to access. It turns out to be one of the most effective ways to prevent attacks on your site. 

Try this plugin , with which you will be able to block for 20 minutes any login that exceeds four attempts. 

Move WordPress login URL

It is enough to change the login URL to your WP, which by default is usually formed by simply adding /wp_admin to the end of the UR, to put another obstacle to hackers. 

You have many ways to do it. Our advice is to start with the WPS Hide Login plugin. Of course, when you change the URL, remember to share it with the other collaborators and/or with the client. 

Use two-factor authentication

Another great way to ensure the WordPress security of your site is to use two-factor authentication, a method that creates a second, temporary password that is renewed every 30 seconds or so. Once implemented, hackers will have to guess both your regular password and the one generated by this security system. And do it with a margin of just 30 seconds. 

Add a captcha to your forms

By now you will have realized the importance of shielding access to your site through the login page. But it is not the only way. We must not forget about your blog comments, checkout pages and any other open forms you have on your website. 

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