Top 10 WordPress Security Tips from Experts to Prevent Hacking

Table of Contents

• Understanding WordPress Vulnerabilities
  • Common Security Risks
  • WordPress Security Awareness is the Key
• Top 10 Expert Tips for Preventing WordPress Hacks
  • 1. Keep WordPress Core, Themes, and Plugins Updated
  • 2. Use Strong Passwords and Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
  • 3. Choose a Reliable Hosting Provider
  • 4. Install Security Plugins
  • 5. Regular Backups
  • 6. Enforce User Role Management
  • 7. Disable Directory Listing
  • 8. Change Default Admin Username
  • 9. Change WP-Admin or Login URL
  • 10. Conduct Regular Security Audits
• Conclusion
• Get Help with Website Security

This year alone, 60% of WordPress websites experienced some form of hacking attempt, and this figure only reflects the data currently available. 

It’s likely that even more websites faced similar security incidents that have gone unreported. This alarming statistic underscores the urgent need to prioritise and invest in website security.

In this article, we’ll explore top tips from WordPress experts on how to prevent and withstand hacking attempts. We’ll cover actionable insights, expert opinions, and practical steps to ensure that your WordPress website remains secure, accessible, and protected from unauthorised logins from any third-party locations.

Understanding WordPress Vulnerabilities

Common Security Risks

Before we explore the preventative measures, it’s crucial to understand the common security risks that plague WordPress sites. 

Vulnerabilities can arise from various sources, including:

• Outdated Plugins and Themes:  One of the primary reasons for WordPress hacks and successful breach attempts is the use of outdated plugins or themes. Hackers often exploit vulnerabilities in these outdated components, gaining access to WordPress sites through various malicious patches, security loopholes, and unpatched vulnerabilities.

• Weak Passwords:  Another common reason for hacking attempts, such as brute force attacks, is the use of weak passwords. Many WordPress users are casual users who may not prioritize creating complex passwords. As a result, brute force attacks can easily crack these simpler passwords, leaving WordPress websites vulnerable to unauthorized access.

• Unsecured Hosting:  One of the most obvious reasons for WordPress vulnerabilities is the hosting server you’re using. If your site is hosted on a shared server with hundreds of other websites, any malicious code or scripts on those sites can make the entire server—and your website—vulnerable.

WordPress Security Awareness is the Key

The first line of defence against WordPress hacking attempts is awareness. By understanding the types of vulnerabilities and scenarios that can lead to security issues, you’re already halfway to safeguarding your site. Awareness allows you to take proactive steps, such as using strong passwords, avoiding weak credentials, and staying vigilant about potential risks.

Remember, a hacking attempt can cause significant financial and psychological damage—not only for you but also for anyone associated with your website or business. There can also be serious legal implications affecting both you and your customers if security is compromised. Ensuring that all data on your site is secure is essential as your first line of defence.

Top 10 Expert Tips for Preventing WordPress Hacks

Here are expert-recommended strategies to prevent hacking attempts and ensure your site remains secure:

1. Keep WordPress Core, Themes, and Plugins Updated

The fundamental step for WordPress security is to make sure your WordPress core, themes, and plugins are updated. Each official update by WordPress typically includes essential security patches that protect against newly discovered vulnerabilities.

a. Importance of Timely Updates

You must be aware that security updates for WordPress and its plugins are typically released whenever a vulnerability is discovered. It is crucial to update your website regularly, especially when these updates are released. This helps ensure that your site remains secure and protected from hackers. According to recent data, nearly 60% of websites that were hacked last year had not applied important security updates, leaving them vulnerable to attacks.

b. How to Enable Automatic Updates on WordPress Core?

To enable automatic updates, navigate to Dashboard > Updates. Next, Check the box next to Automatic updates. 

You can also repeat the same steps by going to the wp-config.php file from the FTP server or by going to the file manager in your CPanel to set up automatic updates for core installations.

Experts recommend having a regular update schedule for websites, ideally weekly or monthly, to check for available updates. 

You can also install management tools like ManageWP or MainWP to streamline this process, allowing you to update multiple sites from a single dashboard.

[Caution: This can break your website. We always recommend backing up and following the process to update on staging before pushing live. If you need help, reach out to us. We can help.]

Read More: Should You Enable Automatic Updates for Your Website?

2. Use Strong Passwords and Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

The good news is that you can now easily implement two-factor authentication (2FA) on your WordPress website.

Many security plugins, such as Wordfence Security, WP Secure, and others, now offer 2FA by default. 

This feature connects with an authenticator app on your mobile device, allowing you to secure your website without any hassle. Additionally, you can enable 2FA for other users who have access to your WordPress site, adding an extra layer of protection for everyone involved.

a. Using a Strong Password

Strong passwords are your first line of defence against unauthorised access. Experts recommend using complex passwords that combine uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.

The second step to improving your WordPress website login security is using a strong password. Strong passwords are much harder to crack through brute-force attacks. Simple passwords, typically 8 to 10 characters long, can now be easily broken by powerful computers or hacker networks that use a combination of compromised machines to attempt a high volume of password guesses. To make your password more secure, aim for at least 12 characters and include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. This will significantly reduce the likelihood of your password being cracked.

A strong password will be:

• At least 12 characters long.
• Include a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
• Avoid using easily accessible personal information, such as birthdays or names.

b. How to Implement 2FA?

As we’ve already discussed, implementing 2FA is crucial for your WordPress website’s security. One easy way to add 2FA is by using the WP 2FA plugin. This plugin is user-friendly and will automatically enable 2FA on your website, ensuring that all users already registered on your WordPress site are protected. Additionally, there are many other reliable WordPress plugins available that can help you implement 2FA, each offering different features to suit your website’s needs.

3. Choose a Reliable Hosting Provider

Similarly, to keep your website secure, it’s essential to choose a reliable hosting provider. 

Look for a hosting service with positive reviews and strong security features, such as malware scans, virus protection, and dedicated servers for your website. This ensures that your website is not compromised due to vulnerabilities from other websites sharing the same server.

a. Key Features to Look For:

When selecting a hosting provider, consider the following features:

• SSL Certificates for domain-level access to ensure secure connections.
• Firewalls, such as WAF, protect your website from malicious attacks.
• Automated Regular Backups to ensure your website can be restored quickly in case of any issues.

4. Install Security Plugins

Using security plugins is essential to make your website more secure and to alert you in advance of any hacking attempts or suspicious activity. This proactive approach helps you respond quickly to threats. There are many effective security plugins you can choose from, such as Wordfence, Sucuri, and MalCare, among others.

a. What to Look for in Security Plugins?

When selecting a security plugin, look for the following features:

• Malware Scanning: The plugin should have malware-scanning functionality that automatically checks your website regularly for potential threats.
• Brute Force Protection: It should limit the number of login attempts to your website—typically to five or ten—depending on your preferences. This feature helps automatically reduce the risk of brute force attacks.
• Firewall Protection: The plugin should include firewall protection to block any malicious traffic coming to your website from servers outside your domain or geographic location.
• IP Whitelisting: The security plugin should allow you to whitelist IP addresses or locations you commonly use, ensuring only trusted sources can access your site.

5. Regular Backups

Backups are crucial for any website. You never know when a website might get hacked. Having regular backups ensures that everything is secure and can be restored exactly as it was in case an illegitimate attempt occurs.

a. WordPress Backup Best Practices:

• Frequency:  It is a standard practice to have the word press backup run on a daily frequency this ensures that the information coming to the website or being completed on the website is updated without any issues.
• Backup Locations:  Secondly, the backup locations should include a third-party server and multiple disaster recovery (DR) sites. This could be platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon Drive, or even your local server. Ideally, having more than one backup location ensures that if there’s an issue with recovery from one site, the data can still be secured from another.
• Backup Plugins:  Some good plugins for backing up data include UpdraftPlus and BackupBuddy. I’ve tested both of them, and they’re reliable and offer free options for basic backup needs.

Fun Fact:

Did you know that, according to CloudBerry, 70% of website owners don’t regularly update their backups? This could lead to catastrophic data loss, which would obviously impact business operations significantly.

6. Enforce User Role Management

Having proper user role management on your website can save you from a lot of hacking attempts. Why? Because if you only have one administrator role, it ensures that any other user on your website won’t be able to make functional or core changes. Even if hackers manage to get access to a user’s login details, this ensures that your data remains protected, even in the worst-case scenario.

By default, WordPress offers a few login roles, including admin, editor, author, contributor, and subscriber. Most of the roles on your website should be either editorial or author-specific, and only one or two people should be limited to administrative access.

a. Best Practices for User Role Management

• Limit Administrative Access: Ensure that administrative access is limited to just one or two people, as I mentioned earlier. Only give this level of access to those who absolutely need it.
• Use Role Management Plugins: Consider using user management plugins to control and restrict access. Make sure users only have access to the areas they need. For example, a content writer or editor should only have access to pages and posts and should not be able to access plugins, themes, or other critical files.
• Regularly Review User Access: Perform a monthly review to ensure that user access is being used properly. If anyone is not actively using their access, remove it promptly.

7. Disable Directory Listing

One area that hackers often exploit to gain access to your WordPress website is the directory listing. Some web servers display the directory listing of the website, which exposes sensitive files and directories to attackers. Disabling directory listing prevents hackers from seeing your directory structure, significantly reducing the risk of them exploiting vulnerabilities.

a. How to Disable Directory Listing?

To disable directory listing, add the following line to your .htaccess file:

Options -Indexes

By doing this you are telling the HTAccess file or your server that the index of your directory is not available for indexing so therefore it will automatically avoid that.

b. Why is the Directory Listing a Security Risk?

Directory listing shares the structure of your website with everyone, including search engines. When hackers are aware of the layout of your website and the pages available, they can easily exploit it. They can pinpoint which areas to target, where to inject scripts and identify sensitive files or areas that can easily be manipulated.

By disabling directory listing, you’re effectively keeping your website’s structure hidden, making it much harder for malicious actors to exploit vulnerabilities. 

8. Change Default Admin Username

Using the default “admin” username makes your site vulnerable to hacking attempts. Cybercriminals often target the default username in conjunction with weak passwords.

To change your default username from Admin to something else:

1. Create a new user with administrator privileges and assign it a unique username.
2. Transfer all content from the original “admin” user to the new account.
3. Delete the original “admin” user.

This simple change can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorised access to your site.

a. The Risks of the Default Username

A staggering 70% of WordPress hacks are attributed to the use of default usernames and weak passwords, according to Wordfence Report 2023. By changing the default username, you can make it more difficult for attackers to gain access, as they often target common usernames first.

9. Change WP-Admin or Login URL

Most hackers targeting websites use automated scripts that are programmed with default login URLs. To keep your website secure, it’s crucial to change your login URL. This simple step can effectively eliminate a significant portion of automated hacking attempts, making it much harder for them to gain access.

To implement this change, consider using a reliable plugin like Admin URL Change, which is readily available in the WordPress Plugins directory. This plugin helps you customise your login URL, adding an extra layer of security to your site by ensuring that hackers aren’t able to easily locate your login page.

a. How to Change the WP Admin Login URL?

1. Download the plugin and install
2. Open settings and add a new login URL. This will replace the current login URL which is WP-Admin something that you have added.

10. Conduct Regular Security Audits

Regular security audits allow you to identify vulnerabilities and areas for improvement within your site’s security framework. This proactive approach can help prevent future hacks and maintain a secure environment.

a. WordPress Security Audit Best Practices

You can perform a security audit by reviewing:

• Plugin and Theme Integrity: Ensure that you are using reputable plugins and themes, and remove any that are outdated or unnecessary.
• User Access Levels: Regularly review user permissions and access levels to ensure that only authorised personnel have administrative access.
• Security Plugin Reports: Utilise the reports generated by your security plugins to identify potential threats or weaknesses. Address any issues promptly to maintain a secure site.

Conducting a thorough security audit at least twice a year is recommended. This practice, alongside regular updates and monitoring, can create a robust security framework for your WordPress site.

b. Tools for Conducting Security Audits

Several tools can facilitate security audits, including:

• Sucuri SiteCheck: A free tool that scans your website for known malware and vulnerabilities.

• WP Security Audit Log: A comprehensive plugin that tracks changes made on your site, allowing you to identify unusual behaviour.

• Qualys SSL Labs: Tests your SSL configuration, providing insights into how well your SSL is implemented.

By utilising these tools, you can stay informed about your site’s security status and proactively address vulnerabilities.

Conclusion

We’ve put together a list of practical steps you can take to ensure your website is secure and protected from hacking attempts. Most of the methods we’ve shared here are easy to implement and can be done by anyone who has a basic understanding of WordPress, so you don’t need to involve an agency.

By following these tips, you’ll be able to enhance your WordPress security and keep your website safe from any illegitimate hacking attempts. We hope you find these insights helpful in safeguarding your online presence!

Get Help with Website Security

At WP Creative, we can help make your website more secure and better equipped to evade hacking attempts. With over 12 years of experience, we’ve assisted many Australian companies using WordPress to enhance their security and protect against cyber threats.

If you need expert help to secure your website, get in touch with us today! We’re here to ensure your site stays safe and protected.

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