When it comes to WordPress security, it’s both your provider’s and your own responsibility to ensure your website is as secure as possible. WordPress is one of the most popular CMS systems in the world, and therefore, choosing the right WordPress web hosting provider is crucial. In this article, we’ll delve into WordPress security in general and what we do at Polar55 to protect your website.
Because WordPress is one of the world’s most popular CMS systems, it’s also a platform that some individuals attempt to exploit in negative ways. Hence, it’s important to focus on WordPress security when choosing this platform. However, there’s good reason WordPress has become so popular. It’s free and flexible, allowing you to create exactly what you want.
WordPress is possibly more secure than you think. WordPress has a team of security experts whose sole task is to search for vulnerabilities in the platform and patch any holes that might exist. In this way, they strive to stay ahead of hackers who might be attempting the same. With WordPress, you get a team that constantly watches over your website, as well as those of millions of other users. Not bad for a free service, right?
However, WordPress is an open-source system, meaning anyone can contribute to the platform by developing plugins. Although these plugins must be approved by WordPress, occasionally some with security flaws slip through. That’s why it’s crucial to keep your plugins (and WordPress, as well as your theme) up to date. Updates often contain solutions to security issues, and by neglecting to update, you leave a door open for potential hackers. So the first lesson in WordPress security is to update your plugins, WordPress, and your theme.
The second lesson in WordPress security is about passwords. Make sure to choose a strong password for your admin user. The same applies to passwords for your database and FTP with your provider, as you don’t want hackers to gain access that way either. It’s also a good idea to change your password periodically. Strong passwords have always been one of the keys to good security. Therefore, avoid using, for example, your name, your domain name, or consecutive numbers (such as 1234). The more random the password, with a mix of characters, upper and lower case letters, and numbers, the better. It’s also a good idea to use a different username than “admin.”
The third lesson in WordPress security concerns plugins. As a rule, you should install as few plugins as possible since they are often the root cause of security breaches. However, some plugins can be installed advantageously. These include:
- WPS Hide Login: This is a small plugin that allows you to change the admin URL. By default, the WordPress login is always at yourdomain.com/wp-admin/. It’s easy for potential hackers to find, so changing the URL can be a good idea. That way, hackers will already face a challenge when trying to find your login page, especially if you change it to yourdomain.com/systemlogin/ or something similar. You have the freedom to choose.
- WordFence: This plugin comes in both a free version and a premium paid version. However, both versions contribute to your website’s security. With various measures, Wordfence can block a range of attacks.
The above measures are largely about what you as a user should do. Let’s now look at what Polar55 does to offer the best possible WordPress security.
All Polar55 customers are protected by Imunify360. It’s software that runs on the server and constantly scans your files. Its purpose is to find files that might have been hacked. If it finds a compromised file, it’s quarantined, and Imunify360 attempts to restore an uninfected version. In other words, it’s the server’s own antivirus program. A superb service included with your web hosting at polar55.
Additionally, we offer daily backups for 14 days. In case of mishaps, having backup copies of your data is extremely important. If you discover a hacker has been at work, you can roll back to a time before the attack. Then, ensure you implement all aspects of this guide, and your site should be secure again with everything functioning properly. Therefore, choose a provider with free daily backups. Since Polar55 takes care of this task, you don’t need to run backups on your web hosting yourself. You can use the space on your web hosting for other, more important things and leave the backup part to us.
Good luck with your work and securing your WordPress website.
