First of all, it is not just about WordPress. All websites out there are vulnerable to damaging hacking attempts.
The main reason why WordPress websites become common targets is that WordPress is the world’s favorite website builder. It is used to power more than 31% of all websites which translates to hundreds of millions of sites around the world.
This enormous popularity provides hackers an easy way to seek out websites that do not have a very secure website design, so they can exploit the vulnerabilities.
All hackers have different kinds of motives for hacking a website. Some are just beginners who are beginning to learn how to exploit sites that are not fully secured.
Some hackers come with malicious intents like dispensing malware, using one website to attack other sites or spamming the internet.
With that as a backdrop, here are sharing 11 ways in which a WordPress designer in India can help you to protect your website from getting hacked.
#1 Changing Database Tables Prefix
The “wp_” table prefix would sound familiar to you if you have even installed a basic setup of WordPress.
In case you don’t know, let us mention here that “wp_” is the default table prefix used by the WordPress database.
By changing the default prefix to anything usual or a custom name, your Indian web designer can protect your website from hacking to some extent.
Continuing to use the default prefix makes your website prone not SQL injection attacks.
#2 Prohibition Of File Editing
Any user who has admin access to the WordPress dashboard has the ability to make changes to any of the WordPress installation files.
This extends to all themes and plugins. When your WordPress designer prohibits file editing, the hackers cannot change any of the files, even if they obtain admin-level privileges to the WordPress dashboard.
To make this happen, your WordPress developer would add the following line at the very end of your wp-config.php file:
define(‘DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT’, true);
#3 Disabling List Of Directories
If your web developer does not create an index.html file in a directory during the web development process, the hackers can get a full listing of that directory by simply typing http:///.
They do not even need a password for that.
Your WordPress designer can prevent this by adding the following to your .htaccess file:
Options All -Indexes
#4 Protecting Configuration File
The WordPress configuration file “wp-config.php” is very crucial for your installation. It is the most important file in your website’s root directory.
Securing your configuration file will make things difficult for the hackers as the file becomes inaccessible to them.
How your Indian WordPress designer can help you do that?
Well, your web designer can simply move this file one level higher than the root directory.
#5 Using Stronger Database Password
It is a must to use a strong password for the main database user as this is the one that is used by WordPress for accessing the database.
By using a mix of lowercase, uppercase, special characters, and numbers for the password, your web developer in India can easily make it hard & difficult for hackers to crack.
#6 Changing Default Username
Your WordPress designer can change the default username from “admin” to something else that’s hard to guess for the hackers. This can be done during WordPress installation or later as well.
Therefore, you must also ensure that your WordPress website doesn’t have the default username “admin”. Such easy-to-guess usernames are easy for hackers to guess.
Once the hackers figure out the password, the entire website is in the wrong hands.
#7 Using SSL For Data Encryption
Your Indian web developer can also implement an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate to secure the admin panel.
SSL encrypts the data transfers between the server and browsers, which makes it difficult for hackers to intrude on the connection or spoof your information.
#8 Protecting Admin Directory
“wp-admin” is the heart of your installation and needs to be protected from hackers.
Your Indian WordPress designer can password-protect your wp-admin directory. With this security measure, you will need to submit two passwords while accessing the dashboard.
The first one would protect the login page and the other one would secure the wp-admin area.
This may need some adjustments to your hosting via cPanel which your website developer can easily do for you.
#9 Logging Out Idle Users
Users who leave the wp-admin panel open on their computers pose a serious threat to your website.
Any passerby can take control of your website, change site settings, alter an account or break your website.
This can be avoided by ensuring that idle users are logged out of the system after some amount of time.
#10 Renaming The Login URL
Your WordPress developer can easily change the login URL of your WordPress website.
By default, the login page of a WordPress installation can be easily accessed by going to wp-login.php or wp-admin on the website.
When hackers know the direct URL to your login page, it is easy for them to use brute force to log in to your website.
This tiny trick can restrict unauthorized entities from getting to the login page.
#11 Setting Up Lockdown Feature
This is another to secure a WordPress website. There are a few great plugins that can be used to set up the lockdown feature on any WordPress website. One such great plugin is “All in One WP Security”.
Your Indian WordPress designer can help you to install & configure the lockdown feature on your website using the “All in One WP Security” plugin.
Conclusion:
WordPress is definitely not an insecure CMS. It’s how your website developer configures it.
If installed & configured properly, your WordPress website will have almost no chance of getting hacked.
As one of the leading web design companies in India, we always make sure that all of the websites that we develop for our clients are secured & protected from hackers.
Are you looking for an affordable WordPress development company in India? Contact us now!
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