WordPress Website Security Checklists: A Critical Look at Vulnerabilities and Best Practices

The security of a WordPress website depends on several factors, including the security of the hosting server, the use of strong passwords, the installation of security plugins, and regular updates to both the WordPress core and its plugins and themes.

Most importantly, security is often breached when we use free plugins which are not properly coded and do not have much of downloads and feedback in the community. We need to be more careful while using free plugins, need to check how often those plugins are updated, how much the plugin provider is active in solving issues, etc.

Although WordPress is a secure platform, it’s important to take a few basic steps to secure your website even more, as no website is completely immune to security threats. Some common security measures you can take include:

Keeping WordPress Core Files, plugins and themes up to date.

Regular updates can help fix known security vulnerabilities and prevent attacks. Updates will come up with security patches that will protect your site from the latest threats.

Using strong passwords

Use a strong and unique password for your WordPress login and administrator account, and avoid using the same password for multiple accounts. Also, you can change your password once in a month to make it more secure.

Installing Security plugins

There are many security plugins available for WordPress that can help protect your website from various security threats, such as malware and brute force attacks. A few good examples are WordFence, Sucuri, iThemes Security Pro and the list goes on. The paid version is even better.

Using a reputable and secure hosting provider

Your hosting provider is responsible for the security of the server where your website is hosted, so it’s important to choose a reputable and secure hosting provider. Few web hosting security features that you need to look after before choosing your hosting providers are

• Backup and Restore Points
• Network Monitoring
• SSL, firewalls, and DDoS Prevention
• Antivirus and Malware Scanning and/or Removal
• Encryptions
• Disaster Recovery
  

Regular Backups

Regular backups of your website can help you recover your website in case of a security breach or other issues. Most of the hosting providers have a feature of auto backup of your files for each day or each week to each month based on the packages you choose. It is better if we can auto-backup files and databases each day.  

Using reliable and secure plugins

It is recommended to use very few plugins in your website which ensures your website is lightweight and fast to load, also this will prevent your site from a security threat. Yet, there will be cases where we will have to use plugins anyway like security plugins, caching plugins, Optimization plugins etc. In such a scenario, we should be very careful while installing those plugins. We will have to check the reviews of plugins, the number of downloads of plugins, the authenticity of the author of those plugins, and how active the community is of those plugins.

By taking the above-mentioned security measures, you can help ensure that your WordPress website is secure. However, it’s important to remember that no website is 100% secure for eternity, and it’s essential to stay vigilant and continue to take security measures to protect your website.