Essential Cybersecurity Tips for Every WordPress Host

Ease of use, unmatched scalability, and countless possibilities expanded upon by a thriving community make WordPress the natural choice for website creation. It’s the CMS of choice whether you’re setting up an online store, trying your hand at blogging, or need a homepage for your personal brand.

Sadly, WordPress’s ubiquity is also why cybercrime focused on exposing and exploiting its weaknesses is on the rise. This article provides several actionable tips on mitigating the risks and hosting a secure WordPress website, no matter your niche.

Choose a Reputable Hosting Service

Researching and selecting a dependable hosting provider will ensure the best possible start for your website. On the one hand, stand-out providers constantly monitor their networks for suspicious activities and have measures to mitigate or minimize downtimes. On the other, they can automate security essentials like website backups, malware detection, and server updates.

Hosting providers offer different server options, which may also impact security. Shared hosting is the most affordable option. However, sharing resources with other websites puts your website at risk of code cross-contamination and can impact its performance. Virtual private servers and dedicated hosting are more secure options.

Secure Your Admin Login Page

Gaining administrative access to your website lets hackers access all the data it contains, including users’ logins, sensitive private information, logins, and payments. You’ll want to employ several methods to secure this page. Start by changing its default name from /wp-admin to something less conspicuous.

Create a strong and unique password by using blank characters in it and admin name form the backbone of login security. Limiting the number of login attempts to prevent brute-force attacks is also advisable. Finally, you should set up a whitelist of IPs with admin page access privileges. Excluding all others will make it impossible for hackers to reach the admin page.

It’s possible to whitelist single IPs as well as IP ranges. The latter is particularly useful if you trust more than one person to administer the site and have everyone use a VPN to access the admin page safely from any network or location. However, it’s important to choose a good provider. There are popular debates on which VPN is the best, the most prevalent one being Surfshark vs NordVPN. So, make sure to do your research well before subscribing to a service.

In addition, VPNs also make secure access easier if you ever need to check up on the site while abroad. They allow you to bypass regional restrictions and access content as if you were in your home country. So, the best VPNs will ensure that you maintain consistent, secure connections regardless of your location.

Keep Everything Updated

WordPress is constantly developing, and each update brings new features. Updates also address known security vulnerabilities and offer the best currently available protection from known exploits. Minor updates happen automatically; major releases require updating manually.

The dashboard should inform you of new major updates so you can take timely action. While you’re at it, update the plugins and themes you rely on. Some might no longer be supported and can cause conflicts or pose security risks. Regularly take stock of plugins and themes and replace the ones that don’t keep up.

Install a WordPress Security Plugin

WordPress sites don’t come into their own until you take advantage of the numerous plugins developed and maintained by its active community. Security plugins are invaluable since they provide much-needed monitoring and a suite of cybersecurity solutions that harden your site against various threats.

A good security plugin should offer malware and brute-force protection together with resistance to DDoS attacks. Most feature automated backups and web application firewalls that improve the website’s resistance to common attacks like cross-site scripting and SQL injections while blocking access to known malicious actors. Some security plugins even simplify SSL certification, which is a must for implementing secure encryption via https and getting your site indexed by search engines.

File Editing & Permissions Management

Properly setting up file and folder permissions is essential for site security and stability. Only the site’s owner should have the authority to edit files and folders, while it’s enough for groups and users to read and execute files, e.g., forms or download buttons.

Not even the admin should have easy editing privileges for all files. For example, /wp‑config.php is an essential file that contains core configuration options for your website. Disabling editing permissions for this file and using file managers or PHP clients isn’t as straightforward, but it’s safer.

Conclusion

More than 40% of all the websites in the world are WordPress-based. The developers take their security responsibilities seriously, while plugins and the community actively fill in the gaps. Even so, actively safeguarding your website is the surest way to maintain its security and good standing. Now you know what to do and can start implementing needed changes for your and your users’ peace of mind.