Website Design – 13 Things to Do to Secure Your WordPress Site

This article was written by our guest blogger Steve Pellan, Head of Digital Strategy at Digital Marketing Solutions .Over 37% of websites today are built with WordPress. It's the most widely used content management system in the world, making it a prime target for hackers. A WordPress website that isn't optimized for security can quickly become easy prey for hackers. WordPress is one of the best website design technologies. But to truly have peace of mind, you shouldn't limit yourself to just website design. Optimizing your security is essential for the protection of your data and the survival of your website.

That's why we've listed 13 things you can do to secure your WordPress site.

1. WordPress Security: Invest in Secure Hosting

Securing your WordPress site goes far beyond a lockdown. To ensure proper WordPress security, you need to purchase hosting from a trusted host that offers technical support (there's nothing worse than waiting on hold for an hour for an agent to finally answer).

You can also host your website yourself on your own VPS. In this case, technical knowledge is required.

Maintaining a fully resilient and secure WordPress environment requires server hardening. This requires multiple layers of security measures at both the hardware and software levels. This will allow the hosting infrastructure to defend itself against even the most sophisticated attacks.

For quality accommodation, you must:

• Update hosting servers with the latest systems
• Use the most up-to-date security software
• Set up firewalls at the server level before installing WordPress
• Configure the server to use only secure network and encrypted File Transfer Protocols (SFTP)

2. WordPress Security: Use the most recent version of PHP

PHP is the backbone of a WordPress site, which is why you should install the latest version on your server. After its release, each version of PHP is often supported for the next two years.

During this period, security issues and bugs are continuously being addressed and fixed. Unfortunately, however, about half of WordPress users are using PHP versions that are no longer supported. That is, versions below 7.3.

This is quite scary considering what it means in terms of the vulnerability of their WordPress sites and data.

3. WordPress Security: Regularly backup your database

The content of all websites is stored in a database. Regular backups of this data are essential. This way, in the event of a problem, you can restore your WordPress site to a previous version.

A minimum of one backup per week is recommended to ensure the longevity and security of your WordPress site. Make sure you have the dates of each backup. This will make it easier to restore your website in the event of a hack that results in site loss or errors.

Check with your web host about their backup policy. Additionally, there are plugins that offer automatic backup services for your WordPress site.

For this purpose, you can, for example, use extensions such as:

• Manage WP
• BackWpup
• UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin

4. WordPress Security: Regularly Update Your Website

To optimize the security of your WordPress site, you must update it regularly.

Here are 5 very important reasons to keep your website up to date.

This recommendation applies not only to the CMS, but also to installed extensions. WordPress developers are constantly working to fix any detected vulnerabilities. As soon as the vulnerability is fixed, a new version of the CMS or plugin is released to correct it.

With hackers on the lookout to exploit the flaw, any outdated WordPress site becomes vulnerable to their attacks. Updating your security extension is also essential as it includes protection against new viruses and hacking systems.

5. WordPress Security: Install a security plugin for your website

Just as computers need antivirus software for security, you can keep your WordPress site secure by using security plugins.

These plugins are often designed not only to protect your WordPress site from viruses, but also to ensure several aspects of your website's security. There are several such as:

• Securi Security
• Wordfence Security
• WP Fail2ban
• iTheme Security

For example, over 3 million WordPress websites are secured with Wordfence Security, which allows for example:

• Monitoring traffic on your WordPress site and blocking suspicious or malicious traffic
• Checking the integration of your files and repairing them
• Enabling 2-factor authentication
• Notify you about new WordPress updates
• Using a CAPTCHA system to block robots

6. WordPress Security: Use only official themes and plugins

Installing or using unofficial plugins is a security risk for your WordPress site. Cracked themes and plugins often contain viruses, and installing them exposes your website to hackers. Therefore, only install plugins that have been validated by WordPress. Check the comments and ratings left by users to get an idea about the plugin or theme. An unverified theme or extension can quickly become a gateway for viruses and hackers. Always use the WordPress “add plugins” option to install your themes and plugins.

7. Uninstall unused plugins and themes

Generally speaking, when choosing a theme or plugin, you should test several. But the bad habit is to leave them installed when you no longer use them or to simply deactivate them. These extensions and themes weigh down your database. In addition, they can become real gateways for hackers, especially if you don't update them. To reduce the risk of your WordPress site being hacked, it is therefore recommended to remove all unnecessary themes and plugins.

8. Changing your login address

Changing your login address can also strengthen the security of your WordPress site. WordPress defaults to www.yoursite.com/wp-admin, a login address that is known to hackers.

Changing this URL makes your WordPress site more secure. You can do this by editing the .htaccess file. Another option is to use a plugin designed for this purpose, such as Custom Login URL . For people without coding knowledge, this second solution is much better.

9. Enabling 2-step authentication

Several plugins offer the option of two-step authentication to enhance the security of your WordPress site. This option provides almost 100% security. This usually involves providing a login code via phone call or SMS after entering your password. To hack your WordPress site, the hacker will need access to your phone and your password, which is almost impossible.

Many extensions offer 2-factor authentication. Examples include:

• Google Authenticator
• Duo Two-Factor Authentication
• Two Factor Authentication

Almost all of these extensions each have a mobile application that works in conjunction with the extension and from which the login code is generated.

10. Deleting your Administrator account

On WordPress, the admin login is provided by default. This is known to hackers, who don't hesitate to exploit it to hack your website.

So don't make it easy for them. First, create a custom login that they can't guess. Then, delete the administrator account. Remember to give the new account admin access before deleting the administrator account.

11. Using an SSL Certificate (HTTPS) to Secure the Connection to Your WordPress Site

You may often see a small padlock at the beginning of certain URLs. You may also notice the following symbol: HTTPS at the beginning of this URL. These symbols mean that the site in question relies on an SSL certificate.

This is a certificate that enables the HTTPS protocol to secure the connection between your browser and the website server.
This service is essential for websites that integrate payment systems (online stores, etc.). It thus secures all interactions between Internet users and your WordPress site. It's also an important element for your website's SEO. Having an SSL certificate influences your ranking in search engines.

12. Securing WordPress Site Against DDoS

This is a denial-of-service attack system. Hackers make your website inaccessible and launch multiple simultaneous attacks against it.
In concrete terms, this involves multiple servers simultaneously performing actions against a target. The goal is to overload it and cause it to crash, rendering it unusable.

To secure your WordPress site against these types of attacks, there are certain plugins you can install. These plugins come with anti-DDoS systems to counter such attacks by mitigating request overload.
For example, you can install:

• Cloudflare
• Or even Sucuri Security

13. Hide your WordPress version

Each version of WordPress has specific vulnerabilities that are known to hackers and can easily exploit them. Hiding the version used to build your website would therefore be a way to complicate things for them and strengthen the security of your WordPress site.

This change is made at two levels:

• In the function.php file
• In the Readme.html file
• Located at the root of your WordPress, it must be deleted.

Steve Pellan is the Digital Strategy Manager at Digital Marketing Solutions. Visit https://digitalmarketsolution.com/ for more information on website design.

About Nexxo

Nexxo Computer Solutions specializes in providing IT and technology services to Quebec businesses. Its mission is to offer Quebec companies IT services tailored to their needs. Acting as an external IT department, it handles all of a company's IT tasks, allowing it to focus on its business activities. It achieves this by collaborating closely with its clients and putting their interests at the center of its concerns.