With WordPress having a market share of over 60% of websites built with Content Management Systems and also used in developing over 40% of all websites globally, it has become a prime target for cyber attackers looking to exploit vulnerabilities. From malware infections and brute-force attacks to data breaches and phishing scams, WordPress sites face many security threats that may lead to downtime, data loss, and reputational damage. Whether you are a business owner, blogger, or developer, protecting your website is essential to safeguarding sensitive information and maintaining user trust.
Website security has not just become a concern for owners of large enterprises, small businesses and personal websites are also at risk. Consequently, implementing best practices helps prevent unauthorized access, ensures data integrity, and enhances overall website performance.
In this guide, we will explore essential security practices, including keeping WordPress core, themes, and plugins updated, strengthening authentication, securing forms and user data, enabling firewall protection, and setting up automated backups. By taking these steps, you can protect your WordPress site against cyber threats and ensure it remains safe and functional for visitors.
Keeping WordPress Core, Themes, and Plugins Updated
Regularly updating your WordPress core files, themes, and plugins is one of the most important security measures you may deploy to secure your website. This is because outdated software or applications is a major security risk as cyber attackers usually exploit vulnerabilities in older versions to gain unauthorized access to your website. Therefore, failing to update your website leaves it exposed to known threats that may easily have been prevented with the latest patches.
To ensure that your site remains protected, enable automatic updates of the WordPress core files and plugins. This feature is built in and may be activated by the owner or administrator of the website. Alternatively, plugins such as Easy Updates Manager also allows administrators to enable the auto-update for themes and plugins. Note that for major updates, it is recommended that you test the changes to your WordPress website on a staging site before applying them to your live website to avoid compatibility issues.
In addition, choosing secure, well-maintained plugins and themes is crucial to the security of your WordPress website. You should only install plugins and themes from reputable sources such as the WordPress Plugin Repository or other trusted developers in popular online marketplaces. One important step before downloading or purchasing a theme or plugin is to check reviews, update frequency, and compatibility with the latest WordPress version before going ahead. Also, consider regularly reviewing and removing unused or outdated plugins to reduce security risks and improve site performance.
Strengthening Authentication and User Access Control
A common entry point for hackers into a WordPress site is weak login credentials or unrestricted access to the site. This has made securing authentication and user access control critical for preventing unauthorized logins and data breaches on a WordPress site.
A simple yet effective way to strengthen authentication and user access control is to enforce the use of strong passwords and two-factor authentication. Since weak passwords are easy targets for cybercriminals, using long, complex passwords that are a mix of numbers, symbols, and letters may significantly improve security. Adding two-factor authentication plugins such as WP 2FA or Google Authenticator offers an additional defense layer, ensuring that if a password is compromised, unauthorized users would still not easily access the site.
Another important step is limiting admin access. Rather than granting full administrative privileges to all users, website owners should assign roles based on necessity. Also, disabling the default “admin” username is critical to preventing brute-force attacks. This is because “admin” is the most commonly targeted username. Hence, changing it to a unique identifier makes it harder for hackers to guess login credentials.
Protecting Against Malware and Vulnerabilities
One of the most effective ways of securing your WordPress site is by installing a reliable security plugin. The WordPress plugin marketplace is replete with robust security plugins, such as Sucuri, Wordfence, or iThemes Security. These plugins come with a horde of features, including malware scanning, firewall protection, and login security. All these features combine to protect your site from hackers by reducing the risk of unauthorized access. Regardless of any of the listed security plugins you opt for, you can be assured of constant monitoring of file integrity and blocking of malicious traffic.
While many security plugins offer automatic scans, you should also consider running manual checks for suspicious files or unusual behavior or actions on the state. If you notice suspicious files or actions not initiated by anyone with access to the site, consider taking immediate action by restoring a clean backup.
WAF, also known as Web Application Firewall, may be used to block malicious traffic before they get to your site. This tool helps prevent SQL injections, brute-force login attempts, and hacking attempts. If you go for a cloud-based option such as Sucuri Firewall, you can get an additional defense layer against cyber-attacks.
Securing Forms and User Data Collection
While forms are important for user interaction on a WordPress site, they may become a gateway for spam or cyberattacks if not protected. Usually, hackers exploit vulnerabilities in forms to steal sensitive information, inject malicious codes, or launch phishing scams.
One way to protect these entry points is by implementing CAPTCHA and spam filters. Tools like Akismet and Google reCAPTCHA help prevent bot-driven attacks, reducing the risk of spam submissions and brute-force attempts. Additionally, setting up field validation and input sanitization ensures that only legitimate data is accepted, preventing SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.
Equally important is ensuring secure customer data collection practices on your WordPress site. Storing collected data securely and complying with privacy regulations, such as GDPR, further strengthens users’ confidence about your site.
Note that broken or unsecured forms may severely impact the security and credibility of your WordPress site. They may lead to data breaches or loss of customer trust, reinforcing the need for reliable form solutions.
Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan
Even with the best security measures in place, your website would still not be completely immune to attacks or technical issues. This is why considering a strong backup and disaster recovery plan is important for safeguarding your WordPress site as it helps you prepare for potential data loss or unexpected failures.
To set up a backup and disaster recovery plan, you may set up automated backups using UpdraftPlus, VaultPress, or BackupBuddy. These plugins may be configured to schedule regular backups, ensuring that you can revert to a previous backup if required.
Securely storing backups is equally important. Relying solely on local storage can be risky, as hardware failures or server crashes can result in data loss. Instead, consider using cloud-based storage solutions like Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3 for offsite redundancy. Maintaining multiple copies in different locations ensures accessibility even if one storage option fails.
Hardening WordPress Security Beyond the Basics
Although installing security plugins and running malware scans are highly recommended, it is important to take additional steps to harden WordPress security to further protect your website from sophisticated or targeted threats.
One effective strategy for hardening WordPress is to disable XML-RPC. XML-RPC is a feature that allows remote connections to WordPress. Although this feature is handy for specific integrations, it is also targeted in brute-force and DDoS attacks. By disabling XML-RPC, you reduce the risk of unauthorized login attempts and excessive server requests that may crash or slow down your website. Disabling XML-RPC may be done by including a few lines of code in the “.htaccess” file in your website document directory. Alternatively, you may use a security plugin to disable the XML-RPC.
Another step to securing your WordPress website is restricting file permissions and access to sensitive directories. If important folders or files, such as the “uploads” folder and the “wp-config.php” file, are exposed via open access, hackers may easily modify them. Hence, setting proper permission levels ensures that only necessary users and processes may read, write, or execute specific files. In addition, you may use IP restriction or 2FA (two-factor authentication) to limit access to the wp-admin directory to strengthen security.
Also, implementing SSL encryption is important for secure data transmission. Secure Socket Layers are designed to encrypt communication between your website and its visitors, meaning that sensitive information such as payment details and login credentials are susceptible to interception if not properly configured. Note that most hosting providers offer Let’s Encrypt, a free SSL certificate you may configure for use on your website to improve security and SEO rankings.
Monitoring and Ongoing Security Maintenance
With cyber threats constantly evolving, it has become essential to stay ahead with real-time security measures by implementing ongoing monitoring and regular audits. Doing this can help you detect vulnerabilities and prevent attacks before they occur. Plugins such as WordFence or Sucuri offer live threat detection features that help in tracking multiple failed login attempts, unexpected spikes in traffic, and other suspicious activities.
Recognizing the signs of a hacked website is also crucial for mitigating risks early. Common indicators include sudden website slowdowns, unfamiliar admin users, unexpected redirects, defaced pages, or warnings from Google Safe Browsing. If you notice unusual behavior, running a malware scan and reviewing recent file changes may help identify the breach.
In addition to monitoring, conducting regular security audits ensures that potential vulnerabilities are identified and addressed. Reviewing user access levels, outdated plugins, weak passwords, and file integrity helps maintain a strong security posture. Routine audits also include checking for core updates and SSL certificate validity.
Securing a WordPress website requires consistent effort to protect against cyber threats, data breaches, and unauthorized access. Some key security measures that you may engage to protect your business include keeping WordPress core, themes, and plugins updated, enforcing strong authentication methods, securing forms and user data, enabling firewall protection, and maintaining regular backups to ensure quick recovery in case of an attack.
Note that website security remains an ongoing process rather than a one-time fix. As cyber threats continue to evolve, it is important to implement real-time monitoring, conduct security audits, and apply updates regularly. You should not wait till a security breach happens before implementing best practices for securing your website against cyber threats.
Whether you are running a personal blog, business website, or an e-commerce store, prioritizing the security of the website aids long-term success. Hence, implementing these strategies as soon as possible may go a long way in ensuring the stability of your website.
Ben Hartwig
Ben Hartwig is a web operations director at InfoTracer.com. He authors guides on marketing and cybersecurity posture and enjoys sharing best practices.