WordPress has come a long way from just being an open-source software for building blogs. It has grown into the leading content management system (CMS) powering over 30% of all websites online, including Village Spring. Its ease of use has skyrocketed its popularity around the world. Because users can add, delete, or modify the content on their website without having to do any hardcoding, many bloggers and small business owners prefer to use WordPress.
There is also another group that has taken advantage of WordPress’s popularity: Hackers. According to a security report by Sucuri, WordPress was the most hacked CMS in 2017, accounting for over 80% of CMS hackings. Many of these security breaches were a result of website owners not taking the proper steps to make sure that their websites are secure. Some of the steps needed to protect WordPress websites include:
- Updating Core WordPress files
- Updating all plugin files
- Updating all theme files
In fact, in 2017, WordPress released 8 core updates. Each time a core update is released, many plugin and theme developers usually follow and release their respective updates as well to ensure that their products are compatible with the latest version of WordPress. However, sometimes developers miss a step or are slow to provide updates to their products. As a result, this creates a real risk for exploitation by bad parties. According to Threat Press, there are currently over 3,000 known security vulnerabilities for WordPress.
Your website is the official representative of your business on the web. It is where customers can go to conveniently learn more about your company and purchase your products or services. Online security is an important aspect of protecting your investment and indeed your business’ reputation. A hacked website can cost you customers, money and get you banned on Google and other search engines.
The good news is that there are some concrete steps that can be taken to make sure that the risks of a security breach are greatly decreased. Common sense steps like creating a unique and strong password for your account along with using an encrypted connection to perform sensitive functions are helpful, but a more thorough approach is needed in order to make sure that the latest best practices in security are properly enacted.
A proper WordPress Care Plan must include (but not limited to) the following elements:
- Core WordPress Updates
- Theme & Plugin Updates
- 2-Factor Authentication (using 2 devices to login for 1 session)
- Brute Force Lockout (numerous attempts to guess your password)
- IP Lockout
- 404 Page (missing page) Lockout
- Blacklist Monitoring
- Uptime Monitoring
- File Change Detection
- Server Security Tweaks
- Firewall
- Off-server Backups
- Hack Restoration
- & Automatic Scans
There are several plugins and other 3rd party security services available to keep your WordPress website safe. However, due to constant changes in technology, a hack is not always 100% preventable. Nevertheless, taking the above steps will make sure that your website receives the highest level of protection available.
Security is Caring. Village Spring’s WordPress Care Plans use a mix of proactive measures, tools and security professionals to make sure that our clients’ websites remain secure. Contact us today to see how we can provide proper care for your business.