Web Design / Security Trends for 2018
WordPress Security
Every year we find new reports of hackers hacking important websites to target a given business or even governments. Not only does this have disastrous consequences to your reputation, the damage to your business maybe irreparable after this breach of trust.
Are you aware of the dangers that poor security can land your website in? Is your website susceptible to hackers?
What are the risks of poor security for your website?
- Damages your business reputation– As mentioned earlier, if your website is hacked even once, it can ruin the reputation of your business and your customers would prefer to stay away from your website.
- Puts your data at risk– A breach can put the sensitive and important data like your customers’ personal information and passwords at risk.
- Malware distribution– Some hackers are notorious for installing malicious software on a target website, and you may distribute malware to the users unknowingly.
- Loss of revenue– Hacking of your website costs you a lot as you lose the trust of your customers, and as a result, your revenue reduces gradually.
No website is 100% secure, but when you use WordPress, you can certainly reduce the possibility of hacking.
Why is it important to secure your WordPress website?
1. To prevent your online business from losing reputation and revenue.
2. To protect your customer’s sensitive and personal information.
3. To reduce the risk of spreading malware on other websites.
4. To build a strong business image and staying on the top by offering a secure web experience.
How vulnerable is your WordPress account?
WordPress accounts are typically subject to below vulnerabilities:
Do not worry though, follow a simple WordPress security checklist to be followed to prevent WordPress hacking:
1. Take Regular Back-Ups for Content
i.e. New Content Development & Website Developed.
A. Even if any website is secured, one should always take a backup for any critical and sensitive business information.
B. Set the backup at regular intervals of each day or maybe one day of the week, this depends on how frequently you there is website content development.
C. One can use tools like BackupBuddy, BlogVault, etc. to set automatic backups. Ideally one should take database backup from hosting servers.
2. Regularly Update Your Website:
A. The websites developed should be updated regularly.
B. WordPress also notifies users in case of pending updates.
C. If you are concerned about the compatibility issues arising out of automatic updates, you can always update your website manually.
3. Use Appropriate File Permissions:
A. File permissions are very important to keep files safe. You can restrict the user access through permissions because wrong permissions are dangerous. For example, you if directories have 777 permissions, these permissions give a reading, writing, and execution access to everybody and are especially dangerous.
B. You can use a User Activity Log Pro WordPress plugin to check your file permissions.
4. Turn Off Directory Listings for the Website Developed.
A. If a folder on a Web server does not contain an index.html or index.php file, visitors to that part of your website can sometimes view the folder contents.
B. This means that the server allows directory browsing, which may be helpful in some situations but, especially for public-facing websites, is something that allows hackers to search around for files with known vulnerabilities.
C. The easiest way to prevent this is to make sure you have an index.html or index.php file in your root folder.
5. Change your Login URL of WordPress Website
A. wp-login.php, the usual WordPress login page, is continuously bombarded with hits,mostly from automated bots hoping to find a WordPress installation with a weak password, allowing them to hack and take control of it.
B. So, please make sure that you rename your WP Login URL. You can use Re-name WP Login plugin for this purpose.
6. Limit Login Attempts
A. An actual user can enter the right credentials in maximum three or four attempts.
B. You should limit the login attempts based on this fact to eliminate the possibility of your password being guessed by a hacker.
C. When you limit the failed attempts, you add another level of safety to your WordPress-based business website.
7. Use 2-Factor Authentication for Website Security
A. Your password always had a risk of being known to the smart hackers.
B. Therefore, you should use a 2-factor authentication for login. Also, never use “Admin” as the username because it is the default name!
C. That’s not all. Just a strong password or a unique username may not be enough to secure your website.
D. You should use iThemes security WordPress plugin to enhance the login security.
8. Get Plugins From Known Resources Only
A. One of the biggest benefits of the WordPress platform is its huge treasure of plugins.
B. The official repository of WordPress has over 55,000+ plugins.
C. But, it is always essential to check comments or reviews and support info before downloading any plugin because a plugin may come as a malware for your website.
D. Therefore, always remember to trust only known and dependable resources to get plugins.
9. Go For HTTPS
A. When you change the WordPress website to HTTPS, you ensure its fortification from hackers and any untrustworthy hidden scripts.
B. Also, you can get a higher ranking on Google SERPs because WordPress has made it compulsory to have HTTPS for considering the website on search results.
C. Your tech-savvy customers will see HTTPS and put trust in your website.
10. Use Security Plugins
A. You use plugins to boost the performance of your website. You must also use them to improve the security of your site.
B. A few of the plugins mentioned already mentioned are iThemes Security, WordFence, User Activity Log Pro etc. They are a few of the most popular security plugins for WordPress website.
C. Such plugins monitor every suspicious activity and shield your website through locking any susceptible areas.
Ad2Brand Media Private Limited is a company for website Development in Pune that specializes in building the websites with great security.
At Ad2Brand Media Private Limited, we believe in providing our customers the best value. This means using the latest technology to safeguard the client’s data. Please call us today to get a fair-price quote!
Conclusion:
- Website security is a multifaceted topic, made more difficult by the fact that the landscape is continuously changing.
- Partnering with an expert in website security like Ad2Brand will keep your website out of the radar of hackers and this, in turn, will help you rest easy.
