How to Make a WordPress Site Safe?
WordPress is among the most popular content management systems (CMS) used worldwide. Due to its popularity, numerous people have taken the liberty of hacking it and using it for malicious ends. The problem with using hacked versions of WP is that they may be vulnerable to known security issues and might have new ones that have yet to be discovered. This article will show you a few methods by which you can make a WordPress site more secure so that even if someone manages to get access to your site’s database, they will not have free reign to wreak havoc on it.
Use A Vulnerable Theme
WordPress is incredibly flexible when it comes to the themes that it supports. This means that even if you don’t have the time to sit down and properly code a new theme from scratch, you can still achieve the functional appearance you’re after by simply selecting one of the many available that are already engineered to look great and work with WordPress. However, even popular themes can be hacked due to the wide array of plugins and other 3rd party code that they may contain. When choosing this path, you need to make sure that the theme you’re using is actually vulnerable.
Use A Content-Stripping Plugin
Many WordPress themes contain code that automatically strips all the content from a website’s HTML. This includes, but is not limited to, paragraphs, quotes, and other elements that require code to format appropriately. While this may be convenient for the user, it actually exposes the content to potential hackers, as the stripped content can be seen directly as HTML code in the source of a website. To combat this, use a content-stripping plugin for WordPress. These plugins automatically scrub your content and replace it with either placeholder tokens or completely remove the content altogether. This prevents hackers from being able to inject content into your site’s source code in a sneaky way, hiding malicious code inside otherwise clean content.
Consider Using A Security Plugin
WordPress also supports security plugins, which can help to protect your site from potential hackers or intruders. These plugins, commonly referred to as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates, encrypt your site’s communication with the server in an attempt to keep your personal information safe and secure. Using SSL certificates is an easy way to ensure the privacy and security of your site’s visitors as well as yourself. Just remember that security plugins can’t stop your site from being hacked, but at least it can make things a bit more difficult for those who want to do you harm.
Regular Backups, Daily
Although it’s good practice to always keep your content up-to-date, it’s even better practice to make regular backups of your site’s important files. This ensures that you can always go back in time should anything happen to your site (i.e. it gets hacked). To make this process easier, you should consider using a cloud backup service, which will automatically and regularly back up your site to a remote server, protecting it from hardware failures, natural disasters, and accidental deletion. Regular backups will also allow you to restore your site quickly and easily in the event of an attack or other mishap.
Keeping your WordPress site secure is much easier than you think. While it might require some time to properly implement the suggestions laid out in this article, it will all be worthwhile once you do. Not only will you feel safer knowing that your site is now more protected than ever before, but you’ll also sleep better at night knowing your site is taking care of itself, protecting your content and your business from harm.