7 Killer Tips to Secure Your WordPress Website

Your business cannot run without having a website. As important as it is to have a website, it is even more important to have a secure website. Without a secure website, your prospects and customers would not be able to trust you and ultimately, it will hamper your conversion rate.

To help you drive business growth, here are 7 tips to secure your website in 2024.

Read here complete WordPress security guide

#1 Build your Website on a Robust Host

Your website host influences the performance on your website to a great extent. Therefore, it is imperative to choose a strong website host that can help in boosting search engine rankings. The most popular website hosts are the ones that provide flawless customer service and many great features.

#2 Migrate your Site to HTTPS

Generally, the transfer of data between client and server happens over HTTP protocol. At the time a website visitor checks your homepage, the content, media, and website code reach the visitor’s location via this protocol. Transferring the data through this method poses a risk of security issues. Therefore, you should switch your website to HTTPS as it encrypts the information that is transferred between the browser and the server. Keep this handy guide to migrate To HTTPS with SSL Certificate or you can get free help from SSL installation service provider.

SSL certificate for eCommerce website is a must as the users are required to enter various types of data ranging from login details to payment information to personal details.

#3 Keep the Login Credentials Secure

Choose your login credentials wisely to prevent the bad guys from gaining access to your website. Whenever you build your website, you will be asked to set your login username and password. By default, the username is selected as admin, but it is recommended that you change it for security reasons.

Set your password as something that is not easy to guess. It should not be related to you in any way. You can use a password generator to draft a strong password. WordPress has its own password generator to make things easy for you.

In case you have a website with weak login credentials, you can easily modify it without any hassles. You can create a new user and assign the administrator role to it after attribution of the existing content. Later, you can delete the original account.

#4 Execute Web Application Firewall

Firewall is principally a program that blocks every unwanted attack on your website. It is quite possible that your computer or device already has a firewall installed. A Web Application Firewall or WAF as it is commonly known as is used for websites. You can protect servers, particular websites or group of websites through a Firewall.
Firewalls on WordPress websites usually act as a barrier so that no unauthorized elements can access your confidential information. It effectively controls any activity going on, in your website, identifies hacking attempts, malware, and all such actions that can be a threat to the website security.

#5 Put into Action Two-factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication means the use of a smartphone or any other device that can confirm your login. It is a two-step process that needs to be followed while logging into your website. It can get a bit time-consuming but it ensures a secure experience for you like nothing else.

With two-factor authentication, you can visit a WordPress website and provide the username and password. Subsequently, you will get a unique code on your mobile device that will be needed for logging in. As a result, you will be able to verify your identity and show that you have access to a private device that no one else uses except you.
Two-factor authentication can be easily applied with the help of a simple plugin. You can either choose the plugin names Two-Factor Authentication or Two-Factor Plugin.

Regardless of the one you select, you should plan well in advance so that you can collect the phone numbers of the employees and all the necessary information that will help you employ two-factor authentication effectively on your login page.

#6 Update Plugins and Themes regularly and Choose them Wisely

The key advantage of themes and plugins is that it is most readily available. WordPress allows you to make a well-designed website with the help of such easy-to-use tools. Despite the ease of use, sometimes it is quite likely that you end up installing faulty or insecure plugins. Non-technical professionals might not be able to figure out the reliability of a plugin. As an implication, you should be extra cautious about the themes you choose.
Here are some tips to help you out.

• Go through the user ratings and feedback so that you can understand the kind of experience they have with the respective plugin or theme.
• It is advisable that you check the date the plugin or theme has been last updated. In case it is not done before six months, it might not be secure.
• Install new plugins and themes one by one so that you can determine the reason if things do not turn out to be as expected. Make sure you create a backup for your website before making any major changes.
• We strongly recommend that you install your plugins and themes from genuine sources only – namely WordPress.org Theme and Plugin Directories, ThemeForest and CodeCanyon.

As far as updating your plugins is concerned, select a batch and then click on the Update button. Do not update all of them at a time as far as possible.

#7 Organize Your File Permissions

Numerous series of folders and files store your business information, data, and content. They are organized into a proper hierarchy and every series has a permissions level. These permissions are depicted by a number with three digits where every digit serves a purpose.
The first digit is for an individual user, the second digit represents members of your site, while the third one stands for the people in the world.
Suppose a file has a permission level of 390. This means that the primary user can read and edit the file, the group can read but not edit and no one else will be able to get access to it.

Wrapping Up

Rather than overlooking the importance of website security and putting it at the mercy of hackers, it is better to have it secure. Imagine if your website gets hacked, you will lose all the information that you have so far.

Precaution is certainly better than a cure!