How to Test WordPress Security? (Easy 2 Minutes Read)
Is your website secure enough? Want to test WordPress security? Here is how you can do that.
Cyber attacks are a regular phenomenon and the internet is flooded with stories of popular platforms getting hacked. Overall WordPress is a secure platform, but because it is open-source, it suffers from various vulnerabilities. Many WordPress users either don’t understand proper WordPress security or just don’t take it seriously, which in turn makes their website easily hackable.
Here, in this blog, we have covered how you can text WordPress vulnerabilities and some steps you can take to secure your website. But before that let’s have a look at why WordPress security is important.
Why Secure WordPress Website?
1. Protect Your Customer
If you have an online website and if you collect your customer’s data like phone numbers and email addresses, then your customer’s information becomes your responsibility, and you must protect it. Since most people depend on websites for various products and services, they might even give you their credit card information which can be a goldmine for hackers. Being a site owner it is your responsibility not to give criminals this opportunity.
2. Protect Your Assets
If you have invested in some expensive pieces of equipment to run your business, you need to consider the protection of your physical equipment as well. Hackers can not only steal your customer’s information but can also install viruses on your website that can damage your physical equipment.
3. Secure Your Reputation
Nothing is worse than having false and negative publicity due to major security breaches. Hack cloud impact and reputation thus securing your website to ensure its longevity. There is no shortage of news coverage on many popular websites getting hacked and leaking data. You can avoid the situation by protecting your website and in turn public continues to view you as a trusted name in your industry.
4. Prevent the Loss of Sales
A hack can end up in a massive amount of downtime and loss of productivity which in turn translates into the sales that you and your business can be missing out on. As a business owner, you need to ensure that continuous sales and some security glitches can affect the viability of your business. In short, proper website security not only protects crucial and confidential information but also ensures the regulation of proper sales.
5. Helps in SEO
Google likes a secure website. Plus, a safe website is more searchable than the other ones. Security is one of the major aspects if you wish to boost your website and want to see it on the first page.
Scanning Your WordPress Website for Vulnerabilities
There are various services available with which you can test your WordPress security. They will scan your website and will alert you of any potential WordPress security issues.
1. Sucuri Malware and Security Scanner
Sucuri is a WordPress vulnerability scanner that can detect malicious code or infected file location by scanning your external website source code. It offers you a free scanner using which you can detect if there is any malware installed on your website and if your site appears on any blacklist. If an outdated version of WordPress or a lack of a website firewall is affecting your website security, it can be detected by Sucuri. It also presents you with the list of links and scripts found on your website which affects your security.
Sucuri also has a premium version where your website will be monitored every time. Here, you don’t have to scan manually as the scanner will automatically scan the website and if it finds the problem, you will be notified directly via mail and Twitter.
2. Web Inspector
Web Inspector is a cloud-based service that detects any vulnerabilities and protects your website against any viruses by giving you alerts. There is no need for download or any complicated setup for this service as it is a cloud-based service that can be operated by your web browser. If someone is using SQL injection techniques to access confidential customer information, Web Inspector tests every possible entry point like input boxes, and makes sure that they are secure enough to fight back attacks.
3. Hide My Wp
Hide My Wp is a leading WordPress security plugin. It simply hides your website from attackers, spammers, and theme detectors. This plugin offers you the best security solutions with powerful and easy-to-use features. It autoblocks SQL injection and XSS providing you a worry-free WordPress usage. It proactively protects WordPress from unknown attackers.
How to Secure a WordPress Site?
1. Secure Your Login Procedures
As mentioned above also, you will have to secure entry points of your websites by using strong passwords and two-step verification. Limiting login attempts and adding a captcha are the features you need in login procedures to prevent any virus or security attack.
2. Use Secure WordPress Hosting
While choosing a hosting service for your website, apart from all the features, security should always be your priority. You can consider services that have taken steps to protect your information and can recover if an attack occurs.
3. Regular WordPress Updates
Outdated versions are very easy to target and hack. To avoid vulnerabilities, you will have to check and install WordPress updates regularly. Don’t forget to take the backup for your site and check if the new version is compatible with the plugins you have already installed.
4. Install One or More Security Plugin
We suggest you install good WordPress security plugins that will automatically detect any viruses or malware installation and will notify you. Whichever plugin you decide to use for your website, security-related or not, verify that they are well-established and legitimate.
5. Use a Secure WordPress Theme
Just the way you shouldn’t install any plugin without verifying it, you should never install any sketchy plugin as well. Just don’t install it because it looks good. Check if your current theme meets WordPress requirements. You can do that by copy-pasting the URL into W3C’s validator. If your WordPress theme is not compatible with the current WordPress version, you should search for some other good options.
6. Backup your website
Being hacked is bad but losing all the data you have on your website is even worse. Make sure to take regular backups of your database, so even in the worst case, you will have your database and that will save you a lot of time and effort.
Related: How to Backup WordPress Website? (4 Easy and Simple Steps)
Wrapping Up
And that’s it for this blog. We hope this blog has helped you understand how important WordPress security is. Never take security for granted.
WordPress is the world’s leading Content Management System(CMS) which makes it popular for attackers. Regular WordPress security checks and having a WordPress security checklist can help you protect your site from hackers.
If you like this blog, also read our expert’s pick on How to Create a Members-Only Store In WooCommerce? (5 Different Ways) and How to Delete a WordPress Site (5 Easy Steps)
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