The Top Security Issues of a WordPress Site

Do you want to keep your WordPress site secure and not have to worry about hackers and malicious attacks? Then it would help to understand some of the top security issues related to WordPress sites. The more people that use one specific type of software, the more likely it is for hackers to spend time trying to discover vulnerabilities. It is a numbers game for hackers and it only makes sense to target programs that have more users. With the popularity of WordPress, it is important to learn about the top security issues and understand what you can do to keep your WordPress site secure.
By following these steps, you will drastically increase the security of WordPress site. There are millions of WordPress sites and most hackers will not spend the time attacking your site when there are plenty of others that do not follow these suggestions. Here are the three most common areas where you could leave your site open for attack:
Using a weak password
Using a default administrator account
Vulnerabilities in plugins and themes

Create a Strong Password
You may have seen movies where hackers learn about the interests of the person whose account they are hacking to attempt and guess their password. This is unrealistic and most hackers rely on automated software that repeatedly attempts to login using different passwords. It is recommended that you use a combination of letters and numbers to create your password. Actually, the best passwords are randomly generated. There is plenty of software out there that will randomly generate a password using a specific set of criteria, including length of password and which special characters can be used.

In addition to creating a strong password, consider using a WordPress plugin to limit the number of login attempts before an IP address is blocked from logging into your WordPress account. For example, you can set a limit of 5 attempts. This will stop the majority of hackers using automated software to gain access to your site.

Create a New Administrator Account
Most WordPress users will keep the default administrator account named “admin” as their main login. This eliminates the guesswork for hackers as they already know the username for most WordPress sites. All that is left is the password. That is why it is useful to create a new administrator account with a different username and then delete the default administrator account. This goes hand in hand with creating a strong password. By creating a new administrator account and using a strong password, your WordPress site will already be more secure than the majority of WordPress sites.

Keep Everything Updated
With the username and password out of the way, the next area where hackers look for ways to access a site is through vulnerabilities in the software. As these vulnerabilities are discovered, the software should be updated. The majority of WordPress updates are related to these discoveries. Whenever you login into your WordPress site and visit your dashboard, check to see if there are any updates. This includes updates to WordPress, to the theme you use, and to the plugins that you have installed.

Follow these tips to keep your site secure. Remove the default administrator account, create a strong password, and keep everything updated. With millions of WordPress sites, it is important to take preventative measures to stop hackers from accessing your WordPress site.