7 Ways to Ninja the Hackers Away From Your WordPress Website
Are you worried about hackers getting into your WordPress business website? If so, you certainly aren’t alone. Cyber threats are a much bigger concern than they used to be, and with so many large organizations being affected by online attacks, smaller businesses are paying more attention to online security than ever before.
While it’s true that a lot of smaller companies and organizations are susceptible to cyber hacking, it’s generally because they don’t follow basic online security best practices. To help you avoid being an easy target for thieves on the internet, here are seven ways you can keep hackers at bay from your WordPress site…
#1 Use Strong Passwords
This is such simple advice, but it’s so important. When you have a very basic, low-strength password, hackers can break into your WordPress site within seconds. Add in some longer strings and special characters. When creating a password, make it 10 characters long and include an uppercase letter, lowercase letter, number and symbol. i.e. duH7fx48%ud!
#2 Update the WordPress Platform Regularly
Often, online hackers target small business with outdated CMS software; ones with known security issues. By simply updating WordPress platform when you’re prompted (or working with your web design team to do this for you), your site will be less vulnerable.
#3 Choose Plugins Carefully
Every app or plug-in running on your website has potential security vulnerability. Be careful which one(s) you install so you don’t have any unnecessary code within your website. Review the last time the plugin was updated and check to see if it offers ongoing technical support. Keep only the plugins you need and delete all others.
#4 Get Solid Web Hosting
With a good web hosting package, your website won’t be crammed onto a server with hundreds of other businesses, online casinos, or adult websites. That’s a simple way to keep your data away from theirs, and to avoid being picked on by hackers. Ask your hosting company if they offer Secure Certificates (SSLs) and/or dedicated IP addresses as add-ons.
#5 Protect your Passwords
A hacker doesn’t have to break into your website by using sophisticated tools if they can convince you to send them your login credentials directly. Be very cautious who you share this information with, particularly when it comes to email or text as these are not secure forms of data transfer.
#6 Backup Everything, and Do it Often
Not every hack can be prevented, but if you have regular backups of your website data it should be easy to undo the damage by rolling back to a previous version. Make sure you are keeping safe copies of your layout and content somewhere where they can be accessed and restored quickly.
#7 Appoint Someone as a Look Out
Once someone has gotten into your website without your knowledge, it’s important to detect the problem and make any repairs quickly. That’s much more likely to happen if you have an experienced IT firm or web team monitoring traffic and activity on your website.
Still worried? If you feel like your company isn’t as protected from cybercrime as it could be, or just want a 3rd party opinion, contact us!
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