WordPress-Based Website: Tops Ways to Secure it from Various Threats

WordPress is the most traditional CMS (Content Management System) used by most websites online. It provides excellent support and ensures the technical part of the website gets handled well without needing much technical knowledge.

However, website security concerns are becoming essential for website owners as technology advances. The security threats to a website are increasing, with hackers and attackers aiming to steal confidential information and use it for their benefit; hence, there must be a way to stop these attacks and protect a website.

Security Threats: A Forthcoming Headache for Businesses

According to a Clark School study at the University of Maryland, every 39 seconds, a hacking attempt takes place over the internet to steal personal and confidential data.

Therefore, it is essential to protect your website from these potential attacks and also ensure that your users' data are kept safe from possible breaches. Here are the most common but often neglected signs that lead your website to potential attacks and influence confidentiality and privacy.

Ignoring the Updates

WordPress is an open-source platform to use. Therefore, it delivers version updates from which the minor updates get done automatically while the updates containing major changes must be done manually. These updates often include updated and revised security constraints that help secure your website and protect it from possible security threats.

Ignoring them and not performing the manual updating on time can result in a significant loss for your website as it keeps it away from newer security concerns. According to reports, 61% of the hacked websites were outdated.

(Image source)

This applies not only to version updates but also to your plugins. Many dedicated security plugins help protect your website from possible threats, and avoiding updating them also adds up to you not being concerned about the overall website security and ultimately accounts for your loss.

Not Changing Passwords

Come on! This is the most obvious way a hacker can get into your website and play with everything by trying a few guesses and successfully figuring out the right password. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to change passwords often and let the hacker stay confused by not knowing the right one.

Also, the combination used in your password is essential as short passwords are easier to predict while long phrases are relatively easy. Also, the password must contain a combination of alphabets (small and capital), special characters, and numbers to ensure a stronger one is created.

If you are providing limited access rights to many users, it is advisable to make it compulsory for them to create strong passwords by including constraints when they are creating an account. It protects your website from hacking attempts and implements security constraints for your website users.

Are You Forgetting to Update Your Server?

As WordPress keeps releasing newer updates and versions, you might have stacked up piles of outdated themes, versions, and data that are no longer in use on your server.

To ensure the hackers don't find any data that can be used against you and also to ensure your website keeps on running at an excellent speed, it is mandatory to clear unused and unnecessary data.

For such a small task, you are not required to hire developers or professionals to craft an open-source event ticketing system, and you can perform it by yourself with only basic technical knowledge and save your website for future security risks.

Letting the Idle User Stay Active on the Website

One of the mistakes made by many website holders is letting the idle user remain logged in to the website and not turning on the automatic log-out option.

If a user forgets to log out from the website for any reason, the passerby can edit anything with the rights given to a particular user, and attempts to steal data can happen. Therefore, it is advisable to set a login time limit, and if the user remains idle for an extended amount of time, the system should log them out automatically to reduce the risk of data theft and trespasser access.

Not Taking Backups Regularly

Backups are the ultimate savior of yours in a tough time. There are always chances of successful hacking attempts and site crashes even after taking enough precautions. In those times, backups are the only hope to restart the entire work and make your website live again.

However, because of the time a backup takes and the storage space it uses on the drive, many look away from taking regular backups and often land themselves in a situation where they have to start over from zero again. Therefore, keeping on deleting previous backups and saving newer ones regularly (You prefer taking weekly backups or monthly!) saves you from unnecessary future work.

Summing Up

These are the most common ways that are often left unattended and cause the WordPress website to be vulnerable to hacking attempts and security threats.

Considering even a simple point when dealing with a website is highly recommended, as your business reputation depends upon it. And we certainly don't want potential users to think any less of the website you hold!! Following these simple steps can save your website from future damage and save your reputation in the competitive market.