By hearing the horrible and surprising news about website hacking almost every month, maybe it’s time for small business owners to reach out to hosting providers or SEO companies, and ask for advice and solution when it comes to protecting their website. If you do, there are going to be some options that will be placed on the table for you to choose from. But for now, let’s start with what we can do as a client.
Don’t Depend on Defaults
WordPress made it easy for us to start a website any time we want. As we are building it, we are given defaults for themes, fonts, and even a username. Those are just a few that you should change. Dig deeper and set-up your security keys strictly. You can gain access to the Authentication of Unique Keys and Salts at wp-config.php where a professional programmer can integrate powerful codes and texts.
Keep Your Team Up to Date
Or maybe just yourself. But just in case, it’s better to have a support team that can back you up instantly. You and your team must be keeping the WP core, plugins and themes updated because once a hacker scans an outdated tool, it gives them an idea of where to start and further infiltrate your site. The source of your plugins plays a big role too.
Know the Best and Important Plugins a Site Should Have
WordPress will save you a lot of time in this area as they continue to produce thousands of plugins from marketing to SEO (especially security), to satisfy its loyal users. Almost every function will have an easy-to-install plugin. You can also use JetPack, Yoast, Google XML Sitemaps, or other plugin sources that are 100% reliable. If a plugin or theme is unused, deactivate them.
Use a Tough Password
A decade ago, a person would need to walk into a bank to transfer money. Now, it’s a click away in our smartphones. Which is why hackers are always phishing for credit card details and online passwords. These banks need to deliver the best security measures to their clients and avoid theft. Some banks have a two-step verification while the others encourage their customers to change their online passwords occasionally. I have found this style difficult as a user, but in the end, it seems to be working. For WordPress users, maybe this kind of approach may help you continuously secure your site. If not, then a one-time password must be complicated enough for a hacker to guess, or you can start learning how to integrate the dual-factor authentication for WP.
Work with a Reliable Support Team
Hopefully, your site is not yet under a hacker’s radar as this gives you more chances of tightening and monitoring security. If you notice malicious activities or receive notification of such hacking, then it’s time to double your company’s efforts to recover your site immediately. Your support team must be a call away to regain what was lost.