WordPress is an excellent platform and has tons of features. It powers up to 30.5% of websites and 60.1% of content management systems worldwide. However, it does have more than its fair share of problems, including malicious attacks. Industry reports indicate that 73.2% of its installations have serious vulnerability issues. Most of the frequent attacks come from backdoors,
Pharma attacks, drive-by downloads, and malicious redirects. It is, therefore, essential that you take the necessary measures to protect your website. You can improve security when you install SSL certificate on your server. If you are having multiple subdomains on your server then you should buy cheap wildcard SSL certificate. Also, get a strong password and be careful about the plugins you download. Let us check out the causes regarding WordPress hacking.
Reasons Why WordPress Websites Get Hacked
WordPress is a popular platform, and it currently powers over 75 million active websites. Unfortunately, with the good comes the bad, and many hackers try to hack WordPress sites. You can, however, take some steps to make it difficult for the bad guys. Let us go into some of the primary reasons why hackers will attack your WordPress account, and what you can do.
1. You Do Not Update Your Website
Running updates is essential when you are operating on any platform in the digital space. WordPress has an automatic configuration for running updates, but it is not uncommon to find that some people disable the functionality. While you may think that updating your website may make it slow or the process is inconveniencing, you are creating spots of vulnerabilities that hackers will take advantage of. Let the website update as it should. Running the automatic updates is convenient because you do not need to keep reminding yourself to do it. Think about it; why would the developers take the time to come up with updates if they are not critical aspects of operating on their platform.
2. Not Installing An SSL Certificate
SSL certificates are essential for ensuring security on your WordPress website. There is a lot of data that you will exchange with your visitors, and hackers intercept such to gain access to your platform. An SSL certificate will create safe encryption between the browser and the server. As discussed earlier, wildcard works perfectly for subdomains while you have the option of purchasing a different SSL certificate for each subdomain, but it can become hard to administer and expensive for you. A wildcard SSL certificate is easy to manage. Best of all, you do not have a limit on the number of subdomains that you get protection from, on that one certificate.
3. You Have the Wrong Web Host Provider
When you sign up onto WordPress, you will need the services of web hosting companies. When looking for one, one of the significant considerations you should have is what kind of security options they have. Some companies will not give you sufficient security, thus exposing you to vulnerabilities. You will find some low cost hosting provider like DigitalOcean, but remember you get what you pay for. Consider it a worthwhile investment to sign up for the paid packages. They have better features and pay attention to the security they offer to their customers.
4. Your Password Is Weak
Interestingly, many people find it very challenging to come up with the right password. Many people will use personal information such as birthdays, anniversaries, family names, among others, as passwords. You make it so easy for hackers to access information. Remember, these people have perfected the art of accessing people’s websites. They also have the relevant tools to help them crack passwords. Do not make it easy for them to gain access to yours. Come up with a unique password using a combination of upper and lowercase letters as well as numbers.
5. Not Changing the Username From Admin
It could just be the convenience of having an easy to remember username that most people will continue to use the admin WordPress username. When you sign up, WordPress will assign you the username Admin. You must change this name as soon as possible because it is the leading cause of vulnerabilities on the WordPress Site. Think about it much as you would when you have a weak password.
6. Not Thinking About the Themes and Plugins Your Download
The internet tends to have many free offers that can be a significant attraction to some people. You will even find those who are offering you free premium WordPress plugins. Without thinking, you click on the link and download the third-party extension. You did not take the time to get to know about the product or even read customer reviews. Since you do not know the source of the plugin, you could be exposing your website to hackers. Some will have malicious code or malware that will compromise your website security. WordPress has a collection of plugins and themes that you can safely download.
Continue to update the plugins and themes so that you reduce any vulnerability. They account for the highest number of bugs and security flaws on WordPress, and you must, therefore, take the necessary steps to fix them.
7. Giving Unlimited Access To Your WordPress Admin Directory
Pay attention to the people who have access to your WordPress admin. You should also consider adding layers of authentication steps to your directory. Have a password to the WordPress admin so that you make it difficult for anyone who is trying to access it without your knowledge. Two-factor authentication makes it even harder in case someone is trying to hack your platform.
Final Thoughts
Setting up your website on the WordPress platform will give you access to a ton of features for the running of your platform. Take advantage of the WordPress updates and buy a wildcard SSL certificate if you run multiple subdomains. Ensure you have a strong password and, if possible, two-factor authentication to make it difficult for anyone to get access. Avoid downloading plugins from third-party sources that you know nothing about.
