- Everyday, hackers,
which are typically bots, rather than humans,
are constantly scanning the web looking for easy targets.
When they find a WordPress site
with questionable hosting, a weak password,
an outdated version of WordPress,
or themes and plugins with security issues,
they know they found their next target.
Now are you doing everything you can
to protect your WordPress site?
We have five steps
to secure your WordPress website hosting in this video.
- First off, choose reputable hosting.
A secure website starts with a quality web host
and if you're a DIY type of person
or you're on a tight budget,
you might opt for shared hosting.
Now, while some popular hosts
provide a reliable shared platform,
you can't control any unexpected security issues
on the host end.
Managed WordPress hosting on the other hand,
takes care of the day to day site maintenance and upkeep.
Servers are protected,
backups are scheduled and plugins are pre-screened
and security updates are performed automatically.
- People are notorious for choosing weak passwords.
Change your password and make sure it's strong.
Also by default,
WordPress creates a login user called admin.
It's time to update that too.
It could be practically anything,
your name, a nickname, an email or just something unique.
However, make sure you still set your user role
to administrator though.
You can also use two factor authentication,
so when you log into your account,
you'll be asked to verify your identity
through your smart device
and without that authorization, you'll be locked out
- And carry out regular, scheduled backups.
Backups are essentially copies of your WordPress website
which are stored in a safe location
and they're vital for restoring your site
after a hacking attempt
or reversing changes if an update goes wrong.
Many backup solutions offer multiple storage locations,
such as Dropbox and other cloud providers.
And this means you can keep multiple copies of your backups
well away from your main server
so they can get you back online quickly, if necessary.
- So you'll wanna make sure
you keep on top of WordPress theme and plugin updates.
Even if you're currently using a plugin or theme,
if it shows up in the WordPress update screen,
hackers could still take advantage of any security exploits.
The latest versions of WordPress
automatically perform minor security updates
while leaving you to install the major ones manually.
Plus, you'll need to keep your themes
and plugins up to date on your own.
Malware or malicious software is not new to WordPress,
but it makes its mark on user sites every day.
While some plugins include a malware scanner,
there are also dedicated services you can turn to.
- Be sure to use SSL.
In short, SSL encrypts your users data
as it moves between their browsers and your servers,
meaning that hackers can't intercept and steal it.
It's becoming a crucial
and honestly, in some cases, legal requirement
if you handle a lot of sensitive customer data
such as bank and credit card details.
And now there are two parts to getting up SSL.
Obtaining a certificate and implementing it on your site
and getting a certificate is the easy part,
and once you have it, you'll need to link it to your site.
So depending on where you purchase a certificate,
it might be installed automatically
or you might be given instructions on how to do it.
Then you'll need to set your site up to use the SSL.
You can also use an easy to use plugin
such as Really Simple SSL to do this last part.
- Let me walk you through how to install
and set up Really Simple SSL.
Visit your WordPress dashboard
and then mouse over plugins and go to add new.
In the search field,
go ahead and type really simple SSL.
When the results show, find Really Simple SSL
and click install now.
When it installs, go ahead and click activate.
Once that's done, it should take you back
to your plug-in screen,
but you'll have a message at the top
saying it's almost ready to migrate to SSL
with a couple of buttons.
Go ahead and click activate SSL.
And that's pretty much it.
There's a couple other things you can modify here
like enable the 301 HD access redirect
to make sure that all traffic goes to your SSL version site
and you go ahead and click save here.
And once that's done, that's it.
No messing with your HD access and coding it manually
or going through your links.
It should take care of it all for you.
- When it comes to security,
you can literally do everything right,
and well, bad things can still happen.
If you have confidence in your hosting provider
and your login information is secured,
you're off to a good start
when it comes to how to secure your WordPress website.
All right, that's a wrap
but your journey doesn't have to end here.
We have over 300 videos for you to watch.
- So be sure to like, comment, subscribe.
As always, thanks for watching.
This is The Journey.