Having a website is becoming easier every day, because the uses of sites are increasing every day. As almost everything is digitized and online, more and more businesses and individuals are encouraged to have a website. For this reason, if someone wants to have a website; It is not necessary to know programming completely and code the site completely.
Currently, there are other choices for building sites (both static and dynamic): content management systems (CMS) and frameworks. Each of these three options (coding the entire site from scratch, choosing one of the content management systems and developing web apps with frameworks) have their own advantages and disadvantages.
But it can be claimed that using content management systems is a little easier and less troublesome than the other two options. There are several reasons that make these systems popular. Among other things, it can be said that
- Installing and running these systems is free.
- They have many and varied plugins.
- They are open source and the site administrator can make the necessary changes.
- They have high security and…
Among the content management systems (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc.), WordPress is the most popular. Nearly 40% of the net sites were built and operate on WordPress. WordPress sites are diverse (including stores, news and content). When this volume of the site operates using this content management system, ensuring the security of this content management system (WordPress) and tips that help maintain its security become very important.
The subject of this content is to introduce tips to ensure the security of WordPress sites.
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Tips for ensuring the security of the WordPress content management system
All sites, even sites written from scratch, are at risk. The reality of the Internet world is that all sites, even if they have followed all security standards, can still be hacked or their information stolen. The important thing is that the security of the sites should be checked continuously.
Before addressing those 5 tips, it should be said that many of these tips are used to ensure the security of all websites and are not specific to WordPress sites. Observance of many of these security tips are actually the same special tricks to prevent website hacking. So WordPress site administrators should keep two categories of security tips in mind: common security tips and specific WordPress security tips.
Among security tips and standards, some are more important than others. It means that there is a prioritization in observing these points and some cases cannot be ignored. The reason is that:
To some extent, a website is like the human body. If a certain part is damaged, it affects the whole system.
5 practical tips for securing WordPress (WordPress CMS)
1. Safe and secure hosting
The first step in securing a WordPress site is to get hosting from a reputable and reliable company. Reliable hosting providers themselves have high security standards and various tools to protect their servers. For this reason, your data and your site will be secured to a great extent, especially against DDoS attacks. Another advantage is that these companies constantly monitor and update their system and network.
2. Making a backup copy of the site
All data and site code must be backed up at certain intervals. Please note that this copy must be kept in a safe place. If something happens or there is a hacker attack on the site, the site can be rebuilt with the help of this version. WordPress sites have various plugins that automatically pick up all new content and data from the site. For this reason, in addition to security plugins, backup plugins should also be installed on the WordPress site.
3. Regular update of WordPress system, plugins and templates
Another good thing about content management systems, especially WordPress, is that the system itself warns the site manager that the system, plugins or WordPress template needs to be updated. Note that it is better to hide the WordPress version of your site. This part is easy and won’t cause any problems. But there is another important point about plugins and templates. It is better not to install free plugins and templates. You should get plugins from the WordPress site or other trusted sites.
4. Restrict access and change passwords regularly
As long as it is possible, login to the WordPress dashboard and its management area should be limited. WordPress sites that allow multiple users to access and make changes and upload content and files must monitor their activity. Admin and user passwords should be strong and changed regularly. WordPress provides the possibility to change the site admin name. So don’t use admin name. Another thing that should be changed is the Login URL. The login address to the admin area of WordPress is one of these two: YOURSITE.com/wp-login.php or YOURSITE.com/wp-admin. Hackers know these two addresses very well and abuse them to enter your site. Some WordPress security plugins also allow you to change this address.
5. Protect wp-config.php and disable File Editing
One of the most important and at the same time the most sensitive and vulnerable files in the WordPress site is wp-config.php. This file is the core of your WordPress site and if something happens to it, your site’s activity will be disrupted. One of the easiest ways to protect this file is to hide it. That is, you can save this file in a folder other than public_html. In addition, WordPress by default allows you to edit plugin and theme codes in the admin area. This means that any user who can enter this area can make changes to the site.