It is scary – over 7.5 million attacks on WordPress sites happen every hour. Therefore, the chances are high that your website could also be hacked.
Well, you don’t need to worry. The solution is pretty simple.
Simply scanning your site for vulnerabilities can increase your website security by letting you know about the security holes on your website.
Therefore, you can take the necessary actions to harden the security of your website.
Now, the question is…
How would you scan your website for vulnerabilities?
Manually scanning?
Forget it. It’s almost impossible.
Luckily, there are several tools and plugins that will do this job for you, which we’ll check out in this post. Moreover, I’ll let you know how you can run over 50+ tests using Security Ninja.
Why The Heck Should I Care About Hacking?
Most people think the same way that why someone would hack their small website, while the web is full of giant sites that are making millions of dollars.
But…trust me this is one of the biggest mistakes we make. Don’t think hackers won’t hack your website – just because it is small or it doesn’t have enough data?
Hackers could use your personal data if mentioned on your website and use that data to steal valuable information from other networks – if you use the same credentials everywhere.
Many people use the same information everywhere including social media, bank, and websites – and this is where hackers hit the jackpot.
However, the WordPress itself secure enough to keep hackers away but only if you have the latest version installed that blocks most security holes.
There are others important security factors you need to take care of even if you keep your WordPress sites updated.
How to Run a WordPress Security Scan
So by now, you know the importance of website security and why it is important for your website.
Now, I’ll show you what steps you need to take in order to protect your website from hackers.
Install a security plugin
It is always better to harden your security than waiting for hackers to hack your website.
Plugins like Security Ninja comes in handy in that situation. It scans over 50+ security tests fast and discovers issues that you didn’t even know existed.
The best part it doesn’t make any changes to your website and silently protect your website from behind the curtain.
Security Ninja complete scans your website and check your site’s security vulnerabilities, issues, and holes. Furthermore, it optimizes and speed-up your database.
This is the best free website security plugin you can try to protect your website. If budget is not an issue then you should definitely go for the premium version which include other security components like checking for malware, firewall and much more.
Remove Unused Plugins and Themes
The beauty of using WordPress is – it provides lots of cool plugins and themes to its users for free to use.
But the problem is each plugin and theme you install on your website also creates a possibility of hacking your website if you’re not updating them.
Most of the time people deactivate the plugin that they aren’t using. But, it doesn’t mean that your site is safe – in fact, it doesn’t help but slow your website speed, as well as vulnerable codes, stay on your server.
If you are not using a plugin delete that completely from your server. Make sure you keep only plugins that you need to run your website safe and loads faster. Also, note that old plugins are dangerous.
Install an SSL certificate – SSL enabled website encourages users to buy products or services from your website – it builds trust on users. Moreover, Google considers HTTPS as a ranking signal.
Putting SSL certificates on your website doesn’t only increase your conversion but also secure your website from hackers.
Enforce Strong Passwords
One of the biggest mistake webmasters make they keep simple passwords that are easy to guess.
A study found, 35% of users have weak passwords while other 65% of users’ password can be easily cracked.
Most people are too lazy to change their passwords for a long time or keep it a very easy password that they can easily remember – but that’s where they open the gate for hackers.
The solution is pretty simple…
All you need to keep a strong password that contains a mixture of at least eight digits, punctuation, and uppercase, lowercase, and special characters.
Your website security plugin might show you the message that never uses the same password again – you should take it seriously. Make sure you build a strong password that is hard to guess and contains more than 6 letters.
54% of people use 5 or fewer words password in their whole life.
Limit Login Attempts
Bruteforcing is the secret weapon of hackers that they love to use when they try to hack a website.
Bruteforcing is trying multiple combinations of passwords to access your admin panel. The plugin Limit Login Attempts allows you to limit the login attempts for a particular user.
If a user will try to log in multiple times in your website using the wrong password, then he will be blocked for a limited time. If you want you can whitelist a user who tends to forget their password.
Final Thoughts!
Your website is your asset and it’s your job to protect it from hackers who want to steal it from you. It is not hard to protect your website from hackers if you take the above-mentioned steps before it’s too late.
Hackers are getting smart, so do you have to be. Make an unbroken shield around your website that wouldn’t be easy to crack for hackers.
Let me know what steps you take to secure your website from hackers.
