In a previous post, Is Your WordPress Website Secure from Hackers, I outline why you should change your WordPress Administrator Password every month.
Today though, I would like to share a few other important steps you should take to ensure that YOU remain in FULL CONTROL of your WordPress website – rather than leaving yourself vulnerable to hackers.
In my Authentic Leader video series, I devote nearly half-an-hour sharing 12 Ways to Secure Your WordPress Website from Hackers. First and foremost among these is the importance of creating new, complex passwords on a monthly basis, to protect your valuable website from being taken over by some unscrupulous hacker.
Here is a list of important security steps you can take within your WordPress website:
- Remove all User Accounts that are no longer in use.
To avoid allowing your WordPress site from getting bogged down with out-of-date information, make sure you check your list of users frequently. You can do this once a month when you change your password, so it doesn’t add too much time out of your schedule. - Assign individual User Accounts to each team member.
This will allow you to track who is doing what at any time, and makes it easy to remove a particular User when they leave your team. - Limit the number of Administrators on your WordPress website.
You should never have more than TWO Administrator User Accounts assigned to your WordPress website at any one time. ONLY you and your principle programmer should have administrator rights. Then, if the relationship should “turn sour” (a very nice way of saying you no longer trust your programmer), you can go in and eliminate that person’s access. DO NOT allow your programmer to assign you a lower level of access to your own website. - Update your Website and Plugins regularly.
As the most popular CMS (Content Management System) in the world – by a very large margin – WordPress is under constant attack by hackers trying to take over websites (remember the 30,000 hacked websites a day from the previous post?) The good news is, WordPress and its developers are constantly updating the system and the plugins we all use to prevent hacking. Do NOT allow yourself to forget to check your website updates at least once a month (again, when you change your password). - Limit the number of Plugins you install on your website.
While WordPress plugins are wonderful tools we can use to make our websites more appealing or easier to use, it must be said that not all plugins are created equal. Some become outdated, some are poorly written to begin with, and some are simply unnecessary. It’s important to be mindful of the number and type of plugins you’re using. If you no longer use a particular plug-in, delete it.
Once again, it’s important to remember that your website belongs to you. It’s your property as well as your responsibility. Now, I would love to have you get in touch with me to help you maintain your website and help keep it secure but, ultimately, you are the final arbiter of what your website looks like, how well it performs, and how secure it is.
If this has made you nervous about whether or not your website is secure, feel free to take a look at this blog post, 12 Question Quiz: Is Your WordPress Website Secure? It will either put your mind at ease, or you’ll know whether you should get in touch with me to help you make your site secure.
Need help making sure your website is safe and secure? Get in touch with me today for a Full Website Audit, by me and my team of professionals. Then, we’ll get to work on your behalf, supporting you and your efforts in every way we can!
