Have you even wondered how many WordPress websites are there?
Most people know that it is the most popular website building platform, but just how good they are shows the number of 74.6 million of WP sites on the web.
This is definitely an eyebrow-raising information, but it is true nonetheless and WordPress has millions of satisfied clients all over the world to confirm it.
However, if you yourself are a WP user, you know that cybercriminals have a tendency to target WordPress websites the most, which is a concerning fact.
The main reason why hackers love to poke around WP sites is because this platform is the most popular for building websites and by breaching its security, one gains access to millions of websites simultaneously.
You don't have to be an IT expert to figure out why WP keeps getting hacked, but there are some other reasons you should acknowledge as well.
Many people still don't take their website's security seriously under the excuse that "it won't happen to them". Don't make that Mistake.
Reasons Why WordPress Keeps Getting Hacked
The first think you should know is that WordPress cares about its security very much. They are constantly improving their security systems, their updates are regular and very meticulous when it comes to patches, in general, this is a very safe software that is constantly improved.
Unfortunately, hackers aren't sitting idly and they find new ingenious ways to get into your website and shatter your security in order to gain access to your sensitive data like bank account details, mailing list so that they can spam your clients etc.
What's more, WordPress is a so-called modular platform, meaning that it has open-source code, which is at the same time its weakness and its strength.
Open-source code allows anyone to add to it as they like and that's a dream come true for black-hat hackers. One the other hand, having a modular platform allows the good guys to find potential liabilities in the security and patch them up as quickly as humanly possible.
Thankfully, there are some simple precaution measures you can take to prevent your website from being hacked, thus helping the whole WP community.
You really don't have to be well-versed in programming to make your security work, most of the time all you need is a bit of information and common sense.
How To Prevent Your WP Website From Being Hacked
1. Keep Your Device in Check
Before you get all tied up with worry how WordPress is unsafe, stop and think about your own computer.
Do you have a trustworthy antivirus? Is it up to date? Is your operating system regularly updated?
All of these questions should always have an affirmative answer, otherwise you're putting yours and your website's privacy into much risk.
You wouldn't believe how easy it is for spyware to sneak into your computer and simply hand over all the passwords and usernames to cybercriminals. After that, all they need to do is use acquired data to wreck havoc on both you and your clients/readers.
2. Don't Use 'admin' as Your Username
We just can't stress this enough - do not, by any circumstances use ‘admin' for your username, because doing that practically means handing over the keys to your website to hackers.
Yes, it's easy to remember, but you're making the same mistake as millions of hacked WP users before you and you should do your best not repeat their mistakes.
If you want to protect your login details, have a username that is complex, which means using bother upper and lower case letters, as well as numbers and special characters.
The same goes for your password, don't just use the name of a loved one or their birthday - make sure your passwords has 12+ characters and make it strong by using all the variety that your keyboard can provide.
Tool: Random Password Generator, Strong Password Generator
3. Pay Attention to WordPress Updates
Like with any other system, WordPress is continuously updated, so that it can constantly improve its security and user experience.
This is why it's crucial to update your website as soon as the update appears, because with updates comes Security and Maintenance Release that points out all the flaws and security problems the last WP version had.
These notes are basically a treasure map for the cyber-villains, who can't wait to exploit all the weaknesses named in the release, because there are still many users who haven't updated their site.
The safest thing you can to keep your site secure is to promptly update it and avoid being easy pray.
4. Be Wary of Plugins and Themes
Plugins are a security liability pretty much since they were invented, but using them has become indispensable, especially with WordPress. There are so many practical plugins out there that can significantly improve your website and your productivity.
However, you need to choose your plugins wisely and not simply guess if they will be safe or not.
First of all, you should do your research before downloading any plugin. This means checking on user reviews, as well as compatibility ratings to make sure that users are satisfied with the product.
Second, always download your plugins from a trusted source, as you don't want to put your site in danger unnecessarily.
Finally, you should find out how many of the active installs your desired plugin has to see if it's actually as useful as its description portrays it is.
Make no mistake, plugins are often overlooked as a potential security issue, but they can prove to be a secret door for hackers who know how to use them.
5. Back Up Your Website
It's enough to think just for a moment how catastrophic it would be for you to lose your website, and the thought will make you start backing it up immediately.
This step is a fail-safe, just so that you're sure that even if WordPress defenses didn't hold, your common sense did.
There are some trustworthy plugins that you can use to backup your data and you should take full advantage of them.
Be frequent in this process and make sure that all parts of your website are equally backed up, it's better to be safe than sorry.
See Also: 20 Excellent Free Online Data Backup Tools
As you can see, raising your WP website's security really isn't that hard, and you don't have to be super tech-savvy to do it.
Unfortunately, too many people still don't take their website's security seriously under the excuse that "it won't happen to them."
Reality check - it might very easily happen to you and you could get in serious trouble, so why not be smart about it and protect your website, your business and your privacy.
See Also: 11 Ways to Take MySQL Database Backup