WordPress DIY: How to Make Sure You Are Creating a Secure Website

In the digital age, a secure website is part and parcel to any successful business strategy. While developing a website using WordPress offers great ease of use with plenty of customization options, it’s important to remember that with those advantages comes risk if you don’t take precautions to keep your site secure. In this post, we’ll discuss 5 key tips for creating a safe and sound experience for visitors on your WordPress based website from setting up the right permissions through deploying security plugins. Learn all you need to know about web safety in our comprehensive guide!

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1. Establish Secure File Permissions

An important part of keeping your WordPress DIY website secure is to establish the correct file permissions. Permissions control who can modify, view, or access files and folders that are on the web server. Having too few allows malicious users to open up holes in security, while having too many means there’s a lot of clutter that presents unnecessary risks. According to a top digital marketing agency – the good news is that most hosting services already have default settings configured for secure file permission levels, but it’s worth taking a moment to check them out if necessary — just be sure not to set anything too loose!

2. Utilize Security Plugins

When it comes to WordPress Web Design, plugins are powerful tools for extending functionality in WordPress, and luckily security plugins exist to help you better protect your website. Security plugins can scan for malicious activity, block certain IP addresses, and even alert administrators when suspicious behavior is detected on the site. WordPress Website Designers shares that these plugins can be further customized with the addition of more advanced options such as two-factor authentication or disabling file edits. The WordPress plugin repository has a variety of security plugins to choose from; however, we recommend researching each plugin before installation in order to ensure their compatibility with your current version of WordPress.

3. Create Unique Usernames & Passwords

Weak usernames and passwords are an easy way for cyber criminals to gain access to a website using brute force tactics; it’s estimated that nearly 60% of all hacked websites use weak usernames and passwords. It’s important to create unique usernames and passwords for each WordPress account, as well as for any other accounts connected to your website such as FTP, cPanel, database, email, or domain registrar. Additionally, make sure that the passwords are complex and contain a combination of upper-case and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters.

4. Enable SSL Certificates

SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificates encrypt data transmitted from users on your website so that hackers cannot intercept it; without an SSL certificate installed on your server visitors will be alerted when they attempt to access pages with forms requesting sensitive information such as credit card numbers or personal addresses. In addition to improving website security, it’s important to note that Google now requires websites to have an SSL certificate installed in order to rank well in their search results.

5. Update Regularly

The WordPress platform releases updates on a regular basis and these should be applied whenever available as they patchup any vulnerabilities found in older versions of the software. Furthermore, be sure to keep all plugins, themes, and extensions up-to-date — out of date plugins are often targets for malicious attacks due to known security holes within them. It’s best practice to backup your files before updating anything so that you can restore quickly if something goes wrong during the procedure (but make sure those backups are stored securely offsite too).

Summary

These five tips may not encompass all aspects of WordPress DIY website security but they are an important starting point. Keep in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to web safety; every website is unique and requires a tailored plan for optimal protection. By following these guidelines you can rest assured knowing your WordPress based website has been well configured for the highest level of security possible.