Now powering over 22% of the web, Wordpress, unquestionably, has emerged as one of the highly sought after CMS used by many bloggers and entrepreneurs alike. This developer friendly platform has secured its place well on the top of the mind of its users by providing everything they'd expect from a dynamic CMS. But despite of all these attractive facts about Wordpress, there's a question that somehow, somewhere hits on our mind- how secure it is? The incredible advantages that Wordpress tosses on its users, there is also a downside of this CMS, which shouldn't be ignored.
Unfortunately, Wordpress also has its own weak points like, if you don't change the default configuration, hackers can easily attack on your website. In Wordpress, it's just a matter of typing domain.com or wp-admin, and online intruders will easily land in your login area, where making alterations will be a matter of child's play for them. Brute force is also a method used by hackers quite frequently to test millions of login combinations in no time.
So, if you run or own a Wordpress site and feeling worried about its performance or hacking related issues then take a pause. We have outlined some best ways through which you can improve the performance of your website.
1. Always Keep Your Wordpress Up to Date
The beauty of Wordpress lies in its ability to keep its users aware of all the latest updates as and when they arrive- so don't ignore them. It's a workable solution to keep your website protected. It is crucial to stay updated whenever new theme, plugin, or version arrive, this way you'll be better prepared against dangers waiting around the corner. So, it's recommended to keep updating your files and keep them safe from external threats.
2. Get Rid of Old Themes and Plugins
Absolute themes and plugins can drastically impact the performance of your website and will make it more vulnerable to malware or hacking attacks. The best way is to remove all of them and get new or updated versions of the plugins and themes and choose only the ones which are in-tune with your business objectives.
3. Don't Use Default “admin” as Your Username
Hackers often use brute force technique to get the grasp of your admin username. So, it's highly recommended to change your by default “admin” name into something else, which is more appropriate and hard to decipher.
4. Disable the Theme/Plugin Editor
Attackers who get success in guessing the password of your admin area first start attacking on your theme and plugin files and place their own harmful code, which can be very dangerous for your website. They can also replace your template files into something else and change file permissions without giving you even a slightest of hint.
But when you disable the built-in plugin and theme text editor, even if these attackers get the ways to pierce your password, they will not be able to make any changes in the files located on the Wordpress admin panel.
5. Protect Your .htaccess File
The .htaccess file safegaurds your website from being attacked by the outside forces. The file enables you with the power to control or manage the file permissions, thus allowing you to have full control over who can access your specific file or file types. The .htaccess is a kind of hidden file located in the root directory of your website.
6. Restrict Log in Attempts
There is a plugin called Limit Login Attempt that you can use to limit the number of unsuccessful attempts and ban of IP for a specific number of hours. This is a great way of keeping the hackers at bay by restricting their login attempts to get penetrated to your website. The plugin has powerful customization facilities and also allows you to set the limits of attempts, and the ways of locking them out.
7. Add a Firewell
Adding a firewell will allow only known IPs to access your FTP server. This is a bit tricky method, and if you want to use, it's recommended to contact your hosting service provider.
Conclusion
so, all said and done, the above mentioned tips are definitely a solid start for taking preventive actions against those prying eyes, waiting to destroy the very potential of your website.
Content shared by Mike Swan on the behalf of Markupcloud Ltd. a PSD to Wordpress Theme Conversion company. Get in touch with him to get best tips and tricks regarding wordpress customization. First Appeared on techpro .