Tips to secure your WordPress site:
We all know about hackers and identity theft, but have you ever thought about what you would do if your blog was compromised? Imagine how you would feel if all of your hard work and research was either tampered with or even worse…completely gone! Or suppose that your page views were suddenly turned back to zero!
How about not wanting your numbers to be skewed? You think you’ve had thousands of readers on your blog, but in reality half of them or more are harmful bots. To protect yourself, you must secure your WordPress site.
Keeping your site secure is something that should be made a priority.
[bctt tweet=”You have to take these steps to secure your site” username=”pineappleandm”]
1. You need a WordPress security plugin.
A WordPress plugin will block certain addresses from trying to get into your account and will also alert you to multiple login attempts and bot activity. These plugins are made specifically to scan your site for any compromising activity.
There are several good plugins available such as Securi Scanner and Wordfence Security for WordPress. Both of these are free and simple to install on your blog.
Another plugin that can help with keeping your site secure is Login Lockdown which keeps track of how many times someone tries to log in to your site and blocks their attempts after a certain number of tries.
2. You need an updated firewall on your blog.
If you use the Securi Scanner plugin, there is a reliable firewall included in the package. Be sure to install it and to keep it updated.
3. You should have an original, secure username, not “Admin.”
Choosing “Admin” as your blog username seems like a great idea. But guess what…it’s not. Why? Because it is an easy one for hackers to guess.
To create a new user name, go to your dashboard and click on “Users.” Click “Add New” and give yourself a new user name. Finally, choose “Administrator” from the drop down menu and save the name that you have just created.
The next time you log in, do it with the new user name, transfer all your blog posts to the new user name, then delete the default user name. This will help to keep your account securely protected from hackers as well as eliminate the chance of blog theft.
4. Use a strong, unique password.
The same advice goes for your password. Your password needs to be something that would be very difficult to guess, with letters, numbers and special characters. Hackers will have a much harder time getting into your site if you have a more complicated username and password. You should also change your password periodically to keep things locked down.
5. Keep your computer system updated.
[bctt tweet=”You know those reminders to update and you click, “remind me tomorrow”? Stop doing that.” username=”pineappleandm”]
It is so important that you update your system immediately. If your computer is compromised, if malware or adware is installed, there is a good chance that your blog could be hacked as well.
You’ve heard that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, haven’t you? Well, this is that.
6. Keep your WordPress site and all plugins updated to the latest versions.
The same goes for plugins and for your theme. All of your plugins and your theme should also be updated regularly. The reason that updates are important is because with every new release bugs are fixed and features are improved, and as a result, everything runs more smoothly. Keeping everything updated also eliminates many chances of detrimental activity.
7. Backup, backup, backup to secure your WordPress site
It is SO IMPORTANT that you back up your site. You can never predict when an update or malware could corrupt your entire site. If you have a full backup of your site, you will be able to restore anything that is lost.
There are several different ways to back up your site:
One is by doing a complete backup. There are plugins that will back up your entire website including the database and all of your WordPress files.
Another way is by backing up only the database.
The third way is by having a scheduled backup at that runs automatically at certain times.
There are several plugins that are specifically made to back up a blog. One is UpdraftPlus. This plugin will do all three types of backing up as listed above.
Another reliable plugin is BackupBuddy. Not only will this plug in take care of backing up your blog, but it will also restore your site or help you to move your site if needed.
Two other good ones are VaultPress by JetPack and BackWPUp.
Try these tips to secure your WordPress site. These suggestions will help to protect your blog from hackers. After putting in countless hours, you surely don’t want to have your information compromised!
This is a fantastic post! My husband is an IT professional and the one who locks my site down. He is always helping out my blogging friends after they have been hacked. It is so important to have your site protected before, so they can’t get in!
Thanks, Jen! You’re lucky to have your very own IT guy! Keeping everything secure is so important. Thanks for the comment!
Excellent suggestions. Just the thought of all my hard work going down the drain because of something I didn’t do, is enough to make me shudder. Backing up, never putting off an update and changing my password regularly are all things I wouldn’t dream of not doing.
#happynowlinkup
I agree with you, Debbie! Sounds like a nightmare to me! Thanks for the comment!
What a wonderful post for wordpress bloggers! Thank for sharing with us at Together on Tuesdays.
Thank you. And thanks for hosting Together on Tuesdays! We’re so glad we could share something you found to be valuable.
I need to do a lot of these things. Thanks for sharing these tips on protecting our sites. I’ll get to work on this tomorrow 🙂 We appreciate you sharing your helpful post at Together on Tuesdays 🙂
Thanks so much, Lisa! Yes, get to work on protecting all your hard work! Thanks for the visit and for the comment.
Some very sensible suggestions there. I guess that you don’t really think anything would happen… until it actually does. Thank you for linking up to the #DreamTeam 🙂
Glad to be of help, Annette! Thanks for the visit!
Awesome tips! Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday.
Thanks for the comment, Dee, and thanks for the visit!
Great tips! I just updated my password & accesses for others. It’s super important. Thanks for sharing at the #InspirationSpotlight Pinned & sharing
I’m so glad you found these tips helpful, Theresa. Updating passwords is a must! Thanks for stopping by!
Pinning this now! Such great tips – thanks for sharing!
Colleen, I’m glad to share these ideas with you..I hope you found something new and helpful. Thank you for the comment!
Great tips to keep our sites secure! I’ve done most of these…I should get busy doing the rest!
I’m so glad you found the post helpful, Renee! Yes, it would be a shame to lose so many hours of hard work..I hear about this happening all too often. Good luck with your blog and thanks for the visit!
This is a great post! My techie husband, he’s known as Jen’s Guy in my neck of the woods, seconds all of these!
Number 6 is so important, especially when you have plans for updating. I have had too many bloggers lose it all and that just shouldn’t happen.
Thanks for sharing this at the Happy Now Link Up!
Hi, Jen! I’m glad to hear that Jen’s Guy approves! Yes, I’ve heard of so many people losing their valuable information and that is a shame, since protecting it is simple, if you think to do it. Sort of like having insurance for your blog! Thanks for the visit and for the comment!
I am new to blogging and new to wordpress. Thanks for the food for thought!
Thank you, Christine. Good luck with your new blog!
Congratulations, this post is among the most clicked on the Blogger’s Pit Stop. Be looking for a feature on Friday. Well done.
Kathleen
The Bloggers Pit Stop
Oh my goodness, Kathleen, how exciting! Thank you, and thanks so much for hosting Bloggers Pit Stop. I enjoy participating over there!
Amen to all of this, it’s super important to protect our sites regularly! Otherwise, why would we put all that time into creating them?
Thanks for sharing at Tuesday Talk with us!
You are exactly right, Ruthie! We have to protect what we have worked hard to create! Thanks for stopping by!
Great ideas to protect your Word Press site.
Thanks for sharing at Over The Moon Party,
Bev
Thank you, Beverly! I enjoyed participating in Over The Moon! Hope to do it again soon!
oops, I need to stop doing number 4. So annoying when my computer wants to update and I am in the middle of something! #overthemoon
Yes, I’m guilty of ignoring that one, too! I have to MAKE myself stop what I am doing and attend to it right away! And it does seem to happen at the most inconvenient times!
Thank you for sharing about all of these very important issues. I wasn’t aware of some of these and I will now be completing them. Thanks again!
I’m so glad you found the post helpful, Teresa. I do think it is so important to protect all of your hard work! Thanks for your comment!
Tweeted this, such great tips! Thank you for this post! #overthemoon
Thanks so much for the tweet, Mackenzie! I’m glad you found the post helpful!
So important. I have some of the tools you listed.
Thanks, Cathy. Yes, these tools are all so helpful! Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for all of these wise tips to keep our sites safe. Some years back I had my sites broken into and the front page was replaced with a message from a satisfied hacker. It is not nice.
Kathleen
Bloggers Pit Stop
Oh, no, Kathleen, that is shocking! I hate to hear about things like that! So glad you found the post helpful. Thanks for the comment and thanks for hosting Bloggers Pit Stop!
I’ve been on Blogger for over 10 years but plan to make the switch to WordPress in the next few months . Thanks for these tips!
Hi, Brandi! I, too, used Blogger years ago, but once I discovered WordPress I could never be convinced to go back! I think you will really like it. Good luck with your blog and thanks for the comment!
Stumbled, pinned and tweeted! We all need these tips. Recently my host contacted me because I had overused my package and my part of a shared hosting. But my pageviews were down and that should not have been a possibility. I checked and was getting all kinds of hits from people trying to break in my site. My host recommended Wordfence and since then, no issues. But the buggars are still trying to get in! I would hate to lose my site, we’ve all worked too hard to have someone steal it! It would be crushing! Thanks for these tips!
Oh, no, Nikki! It is so disturbing to think that someone would break into someone else’s blog! I think that Wordfence should surely protect your site and keep the thieves at bay. I know how stressful it can be to think that after all the hours you have poured into your blog, the whole thing could be hijacked in an instant! Good luck with this…Keep us posted! Thanks for the comment.
This is so important. I have done everything but the back up. Need to get on it now! Thanks for the great reminder. I’d like to invite you to link up on the #overthemoon link party that goes live at 5 pm CST on Sunday. This post is so important for all bloggers! I am one of the co-hostesses!
Thank you, Cathy! I’m so glad you found it helpful. I would love to link up to the party on Sunday. Thank you so much for the invitation and thanks for the visit!
Oh thank you so much for these tips – I have been hearing a lot recently from people who have been hacked – ugh – I am going to check these all out on my site – found you today at #WayWow
I have been hearing a lot about that, too, Debbie. One of my blogging friends had a terrible experience not long ago and that is really what drew my attention to the problem. I like to be of help anytime I can. Glad to connect through #WayWow! Thanks so much for stopping by!
#5 in particular (but all great points). One of my sites was busted into last weekend. So much rebuilding. Oy!
Oh no, Patti!! I’m so sorry to hear that! I know it’s hard to deal with; having to do all the extra work has got to be exhausting. I wish you the best of luck! Thanks for the visit.
As a new Word Press Blogger, this is excellent advice. I’ve got some work to do! Thanks for the tips!!
I’m so glad to be of help, Jennifer! Good luck with everything! Thanks so much for the visit.