If you are running a site using WordPress, you know that it is an easy system to use that can provide excellent features and a simple user interface. There are plenty of great themes to get the look and feel you want for the site and plugins that can provide it with the functionality you need.
However, is your site secure? Do you know how to secure your WordPress website? Many people don’t. They end up making some or all of the mistakes below.
Check out these common WordPress security mistakes, so you can get a better idea of what not to do.
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Mistake #1: Keeping the Username Password Easy to Remember
One of the biggest mistakes that millions of people remain guilty of is choosing easy to remember usernames and passwords for their log-in credentials on the site. Many even leave the name admin or administrator and never bother to change it, which means that you have done half of the work for the hacker. Now, all they need to do is figure out your password. If you happen to use simple passwords that are easy for you to remember, you are not doing yourself any favors.
You must make your password extremely difficult to discover. This means using a random collection of special characters, numbers, and letters. Instead of coming up with the password on your own, you will find that investing in a password manager is a better option. It will be able to take care of your WordPress password and all of your other account passwords on the web.
Remember that your passwords should not be chosen just once, too. You should be changing up your passwords and even your usernames about once a month.
Mistake #2: Not Remembering to Update
You also want to make sure that you are updating your WordPress site regularly. There are some out there who are running much earlier versions of WordPress and who are not updating them for one reason or another. The longer you wait to update the more trouble you will find. With every new upgrade that comes out, the developers provide more and more security patches to keep it safe. Older versions will not provide the same protections for you as the newer.
Mistake #3: Not Renaming the login URL
By default, a WP site will be accessed through the site’s main URL and wp-admin or wp-login.php. This means that it is easy for hackers to use brute force attacks to try to get into the site. Therefore, using a plug-in that will allow you to rename your log-in URL to something else will mask it from being seen by the hackers. They will generally not want to bother going through the trouble of figuring out the actual log-in URL.
Mistake #4:Keeping Plugins Not In Use
A similar mistake to not updating the core WordPress is not updating the theme or the plugins that you are using. The older versions of those items will end up having similar problems. In addition, if you happen to have some older plug-ins, themes, images, etc. on your site that you are not using, you will want to remove them.
This will help to declutter your files, and it will reduce the risk that you have an old item that could give the hackers a backdoor right into your system to cause harm.
Mistake #5: Providing Too Much Power to Contributors
If you have other people working on your site with you, there might be a temptation to provide them with a large number of permissions so that they can do a lot of work on the site for you. This might sound like a good idea, but it can cause some serious issues, as well.
For example, when someone has full permissions on your site, it means that they can make damaging changes. If they lose the password, anyone could get into the site. If they become upset at you or someone else working on the site, they could damage the site out of spite.
Mistake #6: Not Using Secure Hosting
Using the first or cheapest hosting company you find can be tempting for some people because they do not want to spend the time and effort to find the best web host.
This is a mistake. If you choose a low-quality web host, it may mean that they do not have all of the features that you need, including WordPress security features.
Instead, you should put just as much effort into choosing the right host as you would put into every other aspect of your business.
You will feel much more at ease when you do, and it is always nice to have that added layer of protection.
Mistake #7: Not Using a Security System
One of the best options for hardening WordPress is to find and install a WordPress security plug-in that will be able to provide you with the extra safety features that you need. For example, some will be able to provide protection from malware, a WordPress firewall, fixes to the files when something goes wrong, and more.
By having a plugin that can take care of these issues, and by keeping that plugin updated, it can provide you with even more security for your WordPress site.
Take Your WordPress Security Seriously
The above are some of the most common types of mistakes that people make when it comes to their WordPress site. Many still do not realize just how dangerous the web can be, and they will not recognize the danger until they have had to deal with a hack on their site.
Do not make any of these mistakes yourself. Keep on the lookout for other potential errors that you might be making with your site security, as well, and always try to implement the best possible WordPress security. A little bit of diligence can go a long way.
