Many people consider WordPress to be the most developer-friendly content management system available. It is so popular that it powers millions of websites worldwide and has become the system of choice for novice designers and pros alike.
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The downside of using WordPress, however, is that it is prone to hacking. WordPress does not attract hackers because it is more vulnerable than other Content Management Systems. WordPress attracts hackers because it is such an amazing software that so many people use it. It’s wide use makes it a path of least resistance.
If you want to safeguard your WordPress site from hackers, consider taking the following steps:
- Avoid easy passwords – Some people are complacent with simple passwords, thinking that a hacker attack is a distant possibility. Everybody is a target for hacking, though. Safeguard yourself with more complex passwords.
- Don’t use “admin” as your username – Years ago, WordPress used to default the first administrator’s username to “admin.” If you have a site that’s been on WordPress for a while and you haven’t updated your username, most hackers will figure this one out. If you have “admin” as your username, create a new user with administrative privileges and delete the old “admin” user.
- Restrict login attempts – There is a useful plugin for WordPress, called Limit Login Attempts that works by capping the number of failed login tries, then banning the IP that made the attempts so that they cannot login for several hours. Using this plugin will help keep hackers from using brute force to access your account.
- Secure your WordPress site – If you want to go one step further than restricting logins, try Wordfence. This plugin lets you restrict logins, enforce secure passwords, enable firewalls, and so much more.
- Backup often – Backing up your website at least weekly, and every time there is an update, will make your website easy to restore should disaster strike.