WordPress is the most used content management system (CMS) with over 74.6 million websites in the world based off of some type of WordPress theme or platform. This is a stunning number of websites, but the fact that people with virtually no technical skills can easily create and set up a website that looks good and functions great makes it popular, as does the fact that there are YouTube videos that teach virtually every single thing you can do with a website. However, this also means that it makes it easy for hackers and predators to go after WordPress (WP) websites. We will go over some tips to keep hackers out and to keep your website safe.

Never Use Default Settings

This should be obvious. Never keep your username and password on the default settings and this includes the name “admin.” You need to create new usernames and new passwords. This not only goes for the WordPress workstation but also your hosting account.

Always Update Your Current Themes And Plug-ins

Be sure to keep the theme and plug-ins that you use up to date. Many upgrades and updates are security based so not updating is just asking for trouble.

Have A Very Secure Password

You need secure passwords and the longer the better. In fact a very long password from a favorite song lyric crammed together as one word like “ShegrewupinanIndianatown” is a great password because it is so long that hacking software struggles to have any chance of cracking it. You want to add capital letters, a few symbols and a number or two, but very long passwords are best.

• Extremely long passwords are much better than short
• Passwords need to include letters, capital letters, numbers, and symbols
• Use different passwords for your hosting account log-in and your WordPress log-in

Set Up Different Levels Of Access For Contributors

If you have contributors, be sure to give them unique usernames and different passwords. You can allow them to log in as editors or authors. In fact, it can even be a good idea to post under a different level of access for all your posts and only log in with Administrator privileges for updating the site.

Look At Security Options From Your Hosting Company

Hosting companies offer a variety of additional security options to help fight off any hacking attempts. You should take a look at what the options are and what type of security is offered.

Use Security Plug-ins

There are both free and premium plug-ins to add a layer of security to your WordPress site. Login Lockdown is a great plug-in because after so many times of trying to log-in, the user will be locked out of any more attempts for a certain amount of time.

Backup Your Site

You should have periodic backups of your site just in case you do get hacked. You can backup to when before you got hacked so that you don’t lose anything of value. Updraft Plus is a good free plug-in and if you upgrade to the premium version, you get a few added benefits but it’s not necessary.

There are more ways to add extra security to your site by going into your .htaccess file and adding certain bits of code. If you are experienced with editing your files, a quick search in Google can get you this information. Unless you know what you are doing, you should never attempt to edit the files in your public html folder.

These steps can help anyone make sure their WordPress websites are virtually hacker resistant. The more of these steps you follow, the safer your site will be!

Dori O’Neill is in the business of helping individuals and business owners achieve success through proper business practices and reputation management. He maintains offices throughout the world and has lived in Canada, United States, Japan and Hong Kong. If you need more leads for your business, visit LeadLures.com today.