{"id":12558,"date":"2021-07-12T06:59:39","date_gmt":"2021-07-12T06:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.webhosting.uk.com\/blog\/?p=12558"},"modified":"2025-10-24T10:29:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T10:29:45","slug":"10-proven-ways-to-strengthen-wordpress-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.webhosting.uk.com\/blog\/10-proven-ways-to-strengthen-wordpress-security\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Proven Ways to Strengthen WordPress Security"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

When it comes to building great websites, there\u2019s no better platform than WordPress and the 55,000+ plugins you can use to enhance its functionality. But with 41% of all sites using it, it is a magnet for cybercriminals. With customers and search engines demanding better security and ever stricter regulations to comply with, it has never been more important to protect your site from attack. Here, we\u2019ll look at ten proven ways to keep your WordPress website secure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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  1. Change your login page
    <\/strong>If a hacker is going to try to log in to your website, they\u2019ll first need to access the login page. You can make this far more challenging by changing its URL. By default, the admin login page is yourwebsite.com\/wp-admin<\/em> and this makes it easy for cybercriminals to find it. However, you can change the page\u2019s URL to something different using the WPS Hide Login<\/a> plugin, so that the \u2018\/wp-admin\u2019 just displays a 404 error \u2018Page Not Found\u2019 message.<\/li>\r\n
  2. Use strong usernames
    <\/strong>While we are constantly reminded to use strong passwords, it\u2019s important to remember that hackers also need your username to log in to your WordPress admin panel. These can be surprisingly easy for hackers to guess. They\u2019ll try using \u2018admin\u2019 which is the default username and they\u2019ll also search your website looking for possible names to use. These can be displayed in \u2018Meet the Team\u2019 pages or email addresses and some WordPress themes are configured to display usernames as post authors by default.
    You can change the username to something far less easy to guess by using either phpMyAdmin in cPanel or by installing the     Username Changer<\/a> plugin.<\/li>\r\n
  3. Use two-factor authentication
    <\/strong>While strong passwords are a must, the sophisticated brute force software used by hackers today means you cannot rely on these alone. What\u2019s more, if your password is stolen, it doesn\u2019t matter how complicated it is.
    Two-factor authentication adds a robust layer of protection because, in addition to your username and password, you\u2019ll also need a code that is sent to your mobile phone. So, unless a hacker has your mobile phone with them, they won\u2019t be able to break in. And as the code only works for a short amount of time, their software won\u2019t be quick enough to crack it. Yes, two-factor authentication can be a bit of a pain, but nowhere near as painful as having your site hacked
    If you need help with setting this up, read our knowledgebase article     How to enable two-factor authentication (2FA)<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n
  4. Update themes and plugins on release
    <\/strong>If there are vulnerabilities in your WordPress website, they are most likely to be found in themes and plugins. When these are identified, the developers will respond quickly with an update that removes the vulnerability. If you don\u2019t update plugins and themes as soon as a new version is available, you leave your site open to attack. It\u2019s crucial, therefore, that you set up notifications for updates and install these as soon as you can after release. Even better, set up auto-updates.<\/li>\r\n
  5. Delete unused themes and plugins
    <\/strong>If you have deactivated plugins and themes, it\u2019s less likely that you\u2019ll see a need to keep them updated. However, they too can have vulnerabilities. The simple way to permanently eradicate any risk is to delete them. You can always reinstall if you change your mind.<\/li>\r\n
  6. Keep PHP versions up to date
    <\/strong>PHP is the scripting language used to write WordPress. Unbelievably, 80% of WordPress websites still use outdated versions of PHP which leave them vulnerable to attacks, such as object injection, SQL injection and application denial of service.\u00a0 You can guard against this by updating to the latest version of PHP in cPanel.<\/li>\r\n
  7. Only install themes and plugins from trusted sites
    <\/strong>It\u2019s not unheard of for cybercriminals to develop plugins infected with malware and distribute them on the internet. Some may even resell genuine plugins from other developers but tamper with them first. If you install themes and plugins from the WordPress repository, these will have been thoroughly checked before being made available. If you download them from other websites, you need to be completely sure that the vendor is trustable. Always scan the file on your computer using your antivirus program before uploading it to your website.<\/li>\r\n
  8. Use a security plugin
    <\/strong>Free plugins like Wordfence or Securi offer a range of advanced security measures to keep your WordPress website protected. These include firewalls, malware scanning, file integrity checks and the monitoring of suspicious activity, for example, if a user or bot is making too many attempts to access your site. They also do a lot more.<\/li>\r\n
  9. Make use of Patchman
    <\/strong>Patchman is a security tool available from WHUK that is specifically designed to protect WordPress and other CMS platforms. Quite simply, it automatically scans your website for vulnerabilities and detects and removes any malware to prevent your site from being infected or taken over. At the same time, it scans your website for out-of-date software, notifies you if it finds any, and if you don\u2019t take action within a given timeframe, installs security patches automatically on your behalf.     Learn more about Patchman<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n
  10. Choose a secure web host
    <\/strong>Your choice of web host can have a big impact on the security of your WordPress website. A good host will provide you with a wide range of protection tools and security services. These should include strong firewalls, spam and malware email filtering, remote backups, SSL certificates and more. In addition, look for 24\/7 support, so that if you have a security issue, an expert is there to help you resolve it quickly.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    WordPress is an extraordinary platform for building websites. However, with cyberattacks on the rise and attack methods becoming more sophisticated, security must be a priority. Hopefully, the suggestions given here will help you strengthen your WordPress security.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

    Looking for secure hosting on servers optimised for WordPress? Take a look at our\u00a0WordPress Hosting<\/a>\u00a0plans.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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