When you use a platform as popular as WordPress, you shouldn’t be surprised to hear that cyber-attacks are a real possibility.

It is estimated that nearly half of all websites are run on WordPress, and that has attracted the attention of many hackers.

Here are a few tips you need to follow to ensure that your WordPress website is safe from cyber-attacks.

Always have the latest update

If you’re not up-to-date with the version of WordPress that you use, you’re at a much greater risk of having your account hacked. This applies to all the themes and plugins that you use.

One of the main reasons behind updates is to patch vulnerabilities and keep hackers at bay.

The best part is that it doesn’t cost you anything except for a few minutes of your time. There will always be a small risk that an update could interfere with your custom work, but that’s an unlikely outcome.

All in all, the safety of your WordPress website is more important than any drawbacks that might occur as a result of you doing an update. Losing all your work and maybe even sensitive information is worse than having to comply with new features. After all, they were added for your benefit.

Take password protection seriously

I know that this might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how lax some people are when it comes to the whole password issue. WordPress has a feature that can generate complex and hard-to-crack passwords, so it might be a good idea to use one of those.

Since it’s pretty common for more people to work on the same WordPress website, it’s also pretty common for the password to remain the same for long periods of time. This is no good. Passwords should be changed frequently in order to minimize the chance of a breach.

One of the more subtle ways people are gambling with the security of their website is by creating accounts named “admin” or “administrator.” These usernames are so common that if a bot tries to use brute force to crack your website, these names will be the first to fall for sure.

Avoid commonly used names, change passwords often, and use ones as complicated as possible. The chances of your WordPress website falling victim to a cyber-attack will surely be much lower.

Add a security plug-in to your WordPress website or seek third-party help

The default security of WordPress isn’t bad, but a tech-savvy hacker can get past it with a bit of determination.

Luckily, that doesn’t have to be your only line of defense. There are a wide array of plugins and companies that specialize in WordPress security.

If you’re willing to pay for a third-party service, it can provide your website with constant security checks, malware removal programs, firewall protection, and can even make backups of the site in case it still gets hacked or suffers a DDoS attack.

A less costly alternative is to get a security plug-in. They also provide the same type of protection and backup, but you can’t expect the same quality. Plugins have smaller costs but lack the experienced personnel and personal approach that you’ll get when working with a company.

Now that you know how to keep your website safe from hackers and viruses, it’s time to take the next step. We’ll help you stand out from the crowd.