No matter what you are using to build your site, security should always be first in your mind. Every day, some scary report about a major site being hacked or a sensitive database being compromised hits the web, and it freaks everyone out.
These days WordPress has become a popular tool for website development. It is a great tool that saves you time and money, and of course is free which is always good. As with everything, it is crucial for you to safeguard your WordPress site from potential threats. In fact it is your responsibility towards the users.
I know security can be a difficult process to understand. Don’t worry you are not alone. I had a hard time getting used to it as well. Over time I have learned the importance of taking security seriously. Some of the lessons weren’t pleasant.
As the result of these experiences over time I have learned few steps that can be taken to avoid such situations.
Now for the steps:
1. Maintaining a strong password
This is probably the easiest step to take. Make sure you’re not using common passwords like “1234” or “password.” Make sure you remember to use passwords with variations of numbers, letters (uppercase and lower), and with one or more special characters, and at least eight or more characters in length.
2. Keep up with the updates
Make sure you stay up-to-date with WordPress core updates as well with any plugins that you are using with your site. Keeping your stuff updated will help patch any known security holes.
3. Create Custom Secret Keys
All of the confidential details for your WordPress site are stored in the wp-config.php in your WordPress root directory. Secret keys are one of the bits of information stored in that file, so make sure you change the default secret keys to something else.
4. Change the Database Prefix
Lot of basic setup of WordPress is same across lots of site. This is really convenient but this also means that it is known to the hackers, so it is always a good idea to change the prefix of the database. This can also be easily done on the wp-config.php file.
5. Limit the number of failed login
You can use various plugins available to do this. This is useful in case someone is trying to guess your password manually or using robot.
6. Don’t use admin as your username
WordPress by default assigns “admin” as the username for all installations so it makes it easier for the hackers if you use “admin” as your username.
Follow these basic steps and it will help keep your site safe from hackers. The steps are all quick and simple to apply to your site. They should give you the peace of mind that your site is secure so you can spend your time building a great site in WordPress instead.
There is a lot more you can do to ensure security, but this is a good starting place for any website.
