This article was originally published by Torque Magazine, and is reproduced here with permission.
Three out of every four WordPress websites are vulnerable to attacks. If your site is hacked, it will not only cost you in terms of restoring the system back to a safe level, but it will also damage your reputation and affect your search engine ranking.
But if you follow some best practices you can tighten the security and protect the website from malicious attacks. Here are some tips to fix WordPress security issues.
Tip #1: Two-factor authentication
An effective method of protecting your WordPress website from brute force attacks is to secure your site’s login. By implementing two-factor authentication you can have an extra layer of security during login.
Apart from a username and password, you will need to enter a one-time passcode sent via an SMS to your phone to log in to the site. Several plugins like Duo Two-factor authentication, Google Authenticator are available to implement this feature effectively.
Tip #2: Strong password
An effective way of dealing with WordPress security issues is to have a strong password with a minimum of 10 characters. It should be a combination of lowercase letters, uppercase letters, and numbers along with special characters.
Passwords should be hard to guess and they should be changed often. Preferably keep different passwords for different websites. One can use tools like “Strong password generator” to generate passwords that are hard to crack.
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Tip #3: Limit login attempts
Hackers use tactics like trying to login to the website again and again until they crack the password. If you limit the number of times a person can attempt to log in within a specific period one can save the WordPress website from brute-force attacks.
There are plugins available that have a locking mechanism to restrict the number of login attempts. They block the IP addresses of users that cross the threshold limit of failed login attempts.
Tip #4: Choose a good hosting provider
You can make use of the latest security hacks but your efforts will be in vain if the security of your host itself is vulnerable to attacks. Choose a good hosting provider that specializes in WordPress and includes WP firewall, Malware scanning, up-to-date PHP, and MySQL to ensure a secured hosting.
Tip #5: Scheduled Backups
As a part of an effective security and crisis management strategy, one must have a scheduled backup plan. If something goes wrong, one can rely on the backup solution to restore to the version prior to the damage and get back on track in the least possible time. Plugins like Vaultpress, Backup Buddy help in taking regular backups and provide restore options.
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