How to Protect WordPress Website from Hackers [08 Effective Ways]

WordPress gets more than 90,000 cyberattacks every minute, and the number is escalating. Not just the number of attacks but the total cost of a data breach is also rapidly rising with every passing year. 

A single data breach cost businesses around USD $4.45 million in 2023, which is 2.3% more than in 2022.

Considering the facts above, it is crystal clear that the attacks and their consequences are becoming increasingly severe. Thus, it is essential to protect your WordPress website from hackers. 

That’s exactly what you are going to learn in this blog post. You will learn how to protect your WordPress website from hackers and the cyberattacks that can affect your site.

8 Effective Strategies to Protect WordPress Websites from Hackers

This section will list eight super effective safety solutions that you should take immediately to protect WordPress website from hackers and what cyberattacks they prevent.

01. Keep WordPress, Themes, and Plugins Updated

Outdated themes and plugins are prone to vulnerabilities and security problems. In fact, 98% of WordPress vulnerabilities arise from themes or plugins. 

Also, it is essential to be aware of common WordPress security news and articles. Regularly read trusted sources such as WPBeginner and SEJ to stay one step ahead of hackers and perpetrators.

Regularly updating your WordPress website can help secure your WordPress site from XSS attacks.

It is a cyberattack that occurs when a bad actor finds a vulnerability in a website and uses that vulnerability to inject harmful JavaScript into your WordPress. Once injected, these malicious scripts can steal user information, reroute users to dangerous websites, or completely change the way your WordPress looks or works.

In a nutshell, an XSS attack allows hackers to control user’s browsers the way they want.

To lessen workload, take advantage of WordPress’s auto-update feature that automatically updates your themes and plugins instantly once the update is available.

To enable the feature, use the button after the plugin’s description in the installed plugins section.

You can update your WordPress from the dashboard. It prompts the webmaster as soon as there is an update. You can check your WordPress version at the bottom right side of your WordPress.

02. Strengthen Passwords and User Permissions

To protect WordPress websites from hackers, it’s essential to limit permissions to critical files and directories. But before that, let’s understand the user roles and permissions.

• Administrator — somebody who has complete access to all administration features.
• Editor — A user that can publish and manage posts, including posts of other users as well.
• Author — Same as editor, but an author can only manage and see their own post.
• Contributor — Someone who can ‘contribute’ or manage their posts but can not publish them.
• Subscriber — A subscriber can only manage their profile.

Limit users’ permissions to just enough to complete their dedicated tasks. This prevents unauthorized access and helps protect WordPress from attacks such as remote code execution (RCE).

Remote code execution is a cyberattack that occurs when a bad actor gains unauthorized access to a website’s server remotely. Once a hacker gains access, they can completely control your website in their favor. Allowing them to perform cyber crimes such as, data theft or complete server compromise.

Moreover, strengthen your password and encourage other users as well. 

There have been several breaches due to weak passwords, such as the widely known Solarwinds incident, when the company was hacked because of an intern who used a weak password, solarwinds123.

Strong passwords that are impossible to guess help tremendously in website hardening. Make sure you follow the best practices when creating a new password. Alternatively, create strong passwords using a web tool like 1Password’s password generator. 

Check out this article for seven common password mistakes that you should avoid to protect WordPress websites from hackers.

03. Secure Your Login Page

WordPress default login page is an easy target for perpetrators because it can be easily accessed by adding /wp-login.php in front of your domain name. 

A website’s login page allows hackers to perform brute force attacks. 

Brute force is one of the most common WordPress attacks. It uses trial and error to ‘guess’ sensitive information such as credit card information or login credentials. Hackers try hundreds of thousands of password variations to crack a password. Additionally, brute force attacks can also use credentials extracted from previous data breaches.

Of all data breaches, 80% involve brute force or lost/stolen credentials, StrongDM reported.  

Although the attack does not have a remarkably high success rate, it can still be deadly if you have an unsecured login page. Combined with a weak password, your site can be hacked in less than a second. 

Thus, it’s necessary to protect your login page. To start, you must install a security plugin like Password Protected and All In One Login. These plugins allow multiple security features, such as adding reCAPTCHA, 2FA, limit login attempts, etc., to prevent bot logins.

Moreover, incorporate brute-force protection. In other words, limit the total number of attempts a user makes to log in. As we discussed, brute force attacks require thousands of attempts before success, and limiting the total number of attempts can prevent it.

You can do that using Password Protected. 

Navigate to the Security tab >> Attempt Limitation subtab. 

Lastly, enhance protection with the Password Protected WP Admin Protection feature, which adds another layer of password protection to your login page, reducing the chances of successful brute force attacks.

04. Use Security Plugins

WordPress plugins also help protect WordPress websites from hackers if you choose the right one. You can enhance security further by using a combination of them. 

We recommend these three:

• Jetpack
• AIO Login
• Password Protected

For instance, you can use Jetpack for firewall and overall security, AIO Login for WP-Admin security, and you can do the final touches by password protecting your entire website using Password Protected. 

That way, you can explore specific features that a single plugin can not offer, which can further enhance your WordPress protection. 

A combination of security plugins can protect your website from several cyberattacks. For example, AIO Login has multiple security features, like 2FA, and you can also change your default WordPress login URL, which can protect you from brute force attacks.

Similarly, Jetpack scans your website and informs you of your vulnerabilities, which can protect you from cross-site scripting and spam link injection attacks.

05. Regular Backups

Regular backups play a vital role in website security. Regular backups help recover from cyberattacks and data loss.

Backups also help in case hackers install ransomware on your website.

Ransomware is a cyberattack when hackers hold your website hostage before restricting your access. The only way to regain your website is to comply with their demands. Hackers usually demand heaps of cash depending on your website’s worth.

If such a case occurs, you can easily restore your previous backup without complying with hackers’ demands. 

As we discussed earlier, plugins, themes, or performing changes with your core files can break your website. Backups help in such circumstances as well. You can easily load your previous backup without having to figure out the issue, saving you the costs of hiring WordPress experts. 

There are several reliable backup plugins you can use to ensure your WordPress regularly generates backups. To reduce the workload, try using a plugin that can automatically perform the task without your interaction.

You can try plugins like Duplicator, UpdraftPlus, or Jetpack, which we already installed in the previous section. Jetpack’s VaultPress backs up your WordPress at least once a day, although this feature requires you to purchase a plan.

Alternatively, many hosting providers offer built-in tools to back up WordPress sites without relying on a plugin. These backup options can vary depending on the hosting plan and provider. Some of these tools may require manual backups, but a number of them allow automatic backup features, allowing users to restore their sites to a previous state without manual intervention.

06. Monitor Your Site for Suspicious Activity

Regularly monitoring your website helps detect threats early. By observing user activity, login attempts, file changes, and other indicators, you can quickly detect unauthorized access or malware before it causes significant harm.

It prevents data breaches and brute-force attacks. As discussed earlier, brute force attacks require tons of incorrect attempts before success, and signs like frequent incorrect login attempts can be a solid sign of a brute force attack.

With regular monitoring, it can be easily detected before the hacker finds success and can prevent a full-blown data breach.

Regular monitoring also helps find vulnerabilities, such as outdated plugins, themes, or insecure configurations, giving you the opportunity to patch or remove them, which maintains your reputation and prevents your site from being blacklisted due to malware or other cybersecurity problems.

Password Protected Activity Logs can be handy here to monitor your traffic. It also lists misbehaving IP addresses so you can effortlessly block them.

In short, regular monitoring acts as a proactive defense layer, allowing you to respond quickly and prevent minor issues from becoming a major security incident.

07. Use SSL Certificate — HTTPS

SSL certificate, abbreviated from Secure Sockets Layer, encrypts the data between your website and the user’s browser. This ensures that sensitive information, like login credentials or payment details, is securely transmitted and can’t be easily intercepted.

It prevents Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks.

MITM is a cyberattack where hackers become man-in-the-middle and position themselves in between the user’s browser and website, eavesdropping on the incoming information, which allows them to either lure the information to a phishing site or alter/transpose the information before it reaches the receiver.

SSL prevents it from happening by making the information unreadable. So, even if the data is intercepted, hackers can not read it.

Moreover, an SSL certificate is a visual sign of security that builds customer trust. Google Chrome and other search engines flag websites that do not use HTTPS and discourage users from purchasing a product from that website.

Causing loss of business and reputation.

It also prevents Session Hijacking, a cyberattack in which hackers hijack user sessions to steal sensitive information such as login credentials and credit card information. 

Lastly, an SSL certificate also helps with search engine optimization or SEO, as safe and secure websites provide a better user experience, and that’s exactly what search engines are looking for in a website.

08. Educate Yourself and Your Team

The last tip we have to protect WordPress websites from hackers is to educate yourself and your team about potential phishing attacks and best cybersecurity practices.

You might not use a weak password, but one of your teammates might. As we saw in the Solarwind incident earlier, cyberattackers can squeeze themselves through any tiny opening in your website to gain unauthorized access or inject malicious code.

Therefore, it’s essential to educate your team about social security rules and regulation. 

Moreover, phishing attacks are one of the most common cyberattacks. In fact, around 1.2% of all emails sent are malicious, which translates to 3.4 billion phishing emails every day.

Phishing attacks are highly successful, with a 53.2% click rate for campaigns that were more targeted and followed up with a phone call.

To perform a phishing attack, many cyber attackers pose as your friend, boss, or a company offering enticing offers and discounts to make you click on a link. Once you click on the link, malicious software on your computer will be installed without your consent.

That software or malicious file allows perpetrators to access your computer and perform other cybercrimes, such as stealing data or installing malware.

Thus, educate your team about setting up strong passwords and verifying email authenticity before clicking on it or performing an action that could lead to data theft or other security issues. 

Summary

Monitoring your website regularly allows early detection of vulnerabilities, such as outdated themes and plugins that can become gateways for hackers and perpetrators. Therefore, you should update them in a timely manner.

Also, regularly backup your website so that you can restore your previous backup in case a plugin or a theme breaks causing your website to shut down or malfunction. Use appropriate and reliable plugins for backup and security.

Install SSL certificate to enhance user experience and protect customer data.

Lastly, educate your team about cybersecurity best practices, such as verifying an email’s authenticity before replying and using robust passwords for their accounts.

Our plugin is designed to help you protect WordPress websites from hackers effectively. Install Password Protected now!

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