One of the many reasons we here at Clockpunk Studios love WordPress so darn much is security.
WordPress has made security a priority, so that you don’t have to worry—as much—about your website being hacked by creepy pharmacies trying to sell…. well, you know what they’re trying to sell, or by companies so desperate to work the mechanics of the internet to their advantage that they’ll hack your code to put up ads, or whatever black hat tactics are popular at that moment in time. Now, this isn’t to say that once you’ve installed WordPress you’re off the hook! As with any software, hackers are busily at work right now to learn the code that supports your site—and figure out ways to break it, of course. But if you take some basic security precautions you can protect yourself from the more common sorts of vulnerabilities, and keep your site as secure as possible.
One of the most basic things you can do to secure your website is to purchase reputable hosting for your website. We’ve already talked about how much we believe in WPEngine.com; there are other secure, trusted web hosts out there, but they’re our favorite. How can you know if your web host of choice is secure? We suggest researching your web host of choice’s record when it comes to respecting their users’ privacy and the quickness with which they respond to security breaches.
Beyond secure hosting, there’s plenty you can do to protect yourself… like having your site designed by a quality web designer who spends countless hours researching the latest and security and designs sites that protect their users. (Ahem.) A quality web designer will consider the following (at the very least):
- Limit access to your site by reducing possible entry points.
- Configure your code to minimize any potential damage if your site is compromised
- Keep regular backups of your site so your loss is minimal
- Have a detailed plan of what to do to recover your site in the event of a catastrophe, foregrounding how to get you back online as quickly as possible
- Purchase plugins from trusted sources
Once your site is up and running you, the user, should make sure you update your site regularly. WordPress is very good at sending messages to its users about when to update, and why, and how. The latest version of WordPress will always be on the main site. Some updates are automatically installed; others are not. It’s important to keep abreast of these updates, as when vulnerabilities are discovered within WordPress, a new version will be released, addressing the issue. This means your older, un-updated version of WordPress will be a sitting duck for hackers until you update it.
If this sounds intimidating, the best thing may be for you to take the load off your mind and just… have someone else do it for you.
Clockpunk Studios has a Care Package that addresses all of your security concerns. Check out the linked article to see all the benefits of becoming one of the little ducklings we let nestle under our protective, secure wing. Er, so to speak. Anyways, just remember—you can buy into our care package even if we didn’t design your site. That’s how much we care about keeping WordPress sites secure.