When you run an online business, security is a top priority. Hackers are always looking for vulnerabilities to exploit. No website is immune from hackers, even if you think it might be a good target for hackers, regardless of whether it is a startup or an established business.
WordPress sites should have security plugins. These plugins can help protect your site against spam and attacks and keep you track of who’s accessing your site and what they’re doing. There are many security plugins out there, but not all of them are the same.
It is important to select the right security plugin for your site and ensure it works. It is best to choose a plugin that WordPress.com rates as “highly recommended”.
This article will discuss whether plugins are necessary to secure your WordPress website. We’ll also explain how plugins work and the steps you can take to protect your website from threats. Technology removes potential attack paths by reducing system vulnerabilities, disabling functions you don’t use, and thereby hardening. It is easier to secure a more straightforward system.
Table Of Contents:
- What is the simplest way to secure your WordPress website?
- What are hackers looking for on your site?
- What security plugins are available for WordPress?
- Which are the Top 5 WordPress Security Plugins?
- What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of using WordPress security plugins?
- What are some benefits and drawbacks of securing WordPress with no security plugins?
You need to take these steps to secure your WordPress website.
You can do five things before you install WordPress plugins to increase your website’s security.
- You should ensure that you work with a reliable web host service. Managed WordPress hosting can provide you with greater security and support. Hosting fees are worth the investment for additional perks such as daily backups, a free SSL certificate, and other amenities.
- Make sure to update your WordPress themes, plugins, and installation. You risk your website being vulnerable to hackers and bugs if you don’t have the most recent version of WordPress. Your website could be vulnerable to attacks if you use free themes or plugins that were not updated recently.
- Make sure to change your passwords often and create strong passwords. Your website’s security is compromised if hackers can guess your password and username.
- Install an SSL certificate. An SSL certificate encrypts your user’s connection and protects data being transmitted between your website’s server and the user’s browser.
- Limit the number of users that can log in to your dashboard. Remove static passwords and usernames. Limit access to current users to what they are required for their tasks.
We have a team of highly-skilled WordPress maintenance security specialists who can help you manage your WordPress website’s security so you can concentrate on your business and your customers.
What are hackers looking for on your site?
Hackers may seem like a nuisance on the internet, but they can cause serious harm. They can break your website, steal sensitive data, and compromise security.
Hackers search the web for security flaws and vulnerabilities in free plugins and themes. These hackers use these vulnerabilities to gain access and sell the information they need to make quick cash.
These are just a few examples of the things hackers want to do:
- Data from credit cards
- They can use your usernames and passwords to gain access to your website
- Contact information, such as the names and email addresses of your site visitors
- SEO spam
- Malicious software for advertising (malvertising).
- Anything they might be able to scrape from your website
You can significantly reduce hackers’ chances of gaining access to sensitive data by taking the proactive steps mentioned in this article to secure WordPress.
What are the security features of WordPress plugins?
WordPress security plugins aim to protect your website from malicious attacks. The WordPress security plugin provides an extra layer of support beyond what is available in the box.
Here are some examples of features that a WordPress security plugin should include:
- A malware scanner scans your site to remove malware and other threats to its integrity.
- Malware Remover: This malware scanner locates the problem, and then the remover removes it.
- Firewall This firewall monitors traffic to your site and captures malicious bots that attempt to gain access to your server.
- Protection against brute force attacks via the WordPress login page.
- Block SQL Injections of Foreign Data and Spammy Links to Questionable and Dangerous Sites
Each WordPress security plugin has a different focus, but all have the same primary goal: scanning for vulnerabilities and threats that could damage your website. Let’s look at five popular WordPress security plugins and find out what they can do to protect your website from attacks and threats.
Which are the five best WordPress security plugins?
WordPress software powers nearly half a million websites on the Internet. This popular CMS (content management system), is built to be secure and rock-solid. Hackers can exploit vulnerabilities when you add plugins and themes to your site. This incredible ability to customize your website with plugins or themes can lead to potential problems if those components aren’t updated to fix and eliminate entry points for hackers.
If you’re looking for WordPress security plugins to add an extra layer of protection, ensure that you only choose the most reliable and trustworthy. WPScan is a valuable tool for checking out potential vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins. WPScan reports plugins and themes installed on your WordPress site that could make it vulnerable to exploitation.
These are the five most popular WordPress security plugins.
1. Sucuri Security
Sucuri WordPress security plugin includes hardening malware scanning, core integrity checks, email alerts, and post-hack features. Annual pricing plans.
2. Hide my WP
Hide My WP protects your WordPress site against hackers, attackers, and theme detectors, as the name suggests. It hides your WordPress login URL, renames the admin URL, modifies WP permalinks, and blocks SQL injection security hacks. It also includes anti-spam capabilities. Pricing: Both regular and extended licenses.
3. Jetpack — WP Security, backup, speed & Growth
Jetpack security provides comprehensive WordPress site security, including backups, malware scanning, and spam protection. Jetpack security provides real-time backups and lets you see who broke the site by keeping an activity log. Jetpack will also send you email alerts when there is a problem. Prices: Monthly and annual subscriptions.
4. Wordfence Security
Wordfence comes with an endpoint firewall and malware scanner. It can block logins from administrators with compromised passwords, monitor site visitors and hack attempts, and block traffic from countries engaged in malicious activity. Two-factor authentication can stop brute force attacks.
Pricing: Based on site licenses, the annual fee
5. All-in-One WP Security & Firewall
All-in-One WP Security helps reduce the risk to your website’s security by scanning for vulnerabilities and enforcing WordPress security best practices. It also includes a security points scoring system that measures your site’s security according to the security features already in place.
Pricing: Free.
It is impossible to guarantee that WordPress plugins will be completely safe. Updating it regularly and removing any plugins you no longer use is essential.
What are the pros and disadvantages of WordPress security plugins?
Benefits: plugins are simple to install. They can also be used as a second line of defense for security features built into WordPress. Installing a single plugin that addresses your issues is more accessible than searching for individual solutions.
Con: After you have reviewed the WordPress security plugins that you’ve selected, there are some things you need to keep in mind regarding your website’s performance. There are scanning components in security plugins that can slow down the performance of your website. Many plugins have many features you might not use or may duplicate WordPress’s functionality.
What are the pros and disadvantages of using security plugins to secure WordPress?
WordPress’s built-in security is one of the main reasons it is so popular. WordPress websites are also vulnerable to hackers because they are the most popular platform for website hosting.
WordPress comes with a robust security system. Website owners can add plugins or themes to WordPress at no cost, leaving gaps for malicious cyber attackers to gain access to your website.
Benefits: You can protect your WordPress website even without installing security plugins. It is essential to be proactive in managing possible threats and hardening WordPress installation. You can keep your security in check by performing regular, tedious maintenance. A professional WordPress maintenance group can help you focus on your customers and take care of your site.
Cons: If you spend your time and energy managing security settings and managing threats, then your focus isn’t on your business or your customers. You are adding more tasks to your lengthy to-do list if you don’t use security plugins as an alternative to WordPress.
Conclusion
WordPress security plugins are not necessary to protect your website. However, they can quickly solve the complex problem of keeping out threats.
Hackers are targeting WordPress websites to steal data and hack your site. You can either take steps to secure your website and monitor for possible threats yourself or install a WordPress security plugin that will provide an additional line of defense.
FreshySites offers premium WordPress hosting that includes 24/7 security and vulnerability protection to ensure your website and data are safe and secure. Get a quote now.
