Imagine waking up in the morning, checking your site, and it’s an absolute mess. Your browser flashes a malware warning, your homepage is advertising questionable hair-growth pills, and your website logo has been replaced by a dancing raccoon.
Meanwhile, your inbox is exploding with emails from customers asking if the “crypto investment opportunity” sent by your “company representative” is real or not.
This might sound exaggerated, but the threats behind it are very real. If you don’t take security seriously, any one of them could hit your website sooner rather than later. Here’s how to keep your website secure against common threats.
Website security refers to the steps you take to protect your website from cyber threats and unauthorized access. It involves every level of website architecture, from the server and website files to login credentials and user privacy.
Strong website security builds trust with visitors, keeps your site online, and protects you from potential legal action and other negative outcomes.
The first step in protecting your site is understanding what you are trying to prevent. Threats include:
The scope and variety of online threats make security an issue even for basic websites.
The possible outcomes of having your website compromised include:
Lack of website security can greatly damage your business and income — sometimes to the point of no return. And don’t think your site being small means you’re safe. Most hacks are automated, aimed at gaining access over stealing data, and a matter of opportunity, not targeted action.
Once you understand the risks, the next step is to protect your site. Website security is all about layering protections, not single fixes. Secure your site with these simple steps:
Many attacks against WordPress target its default configuration. Therefore, an easy step to make your website safer is to change them. For example:
Your hosting provider is your website’s first line of defense. For that reason, you want to pick one that prioritizes security.
Choose the right type of web hosting for your purpose and skill level. For example, shared hosting runs a greater risk of cross-contamination from other sites on the same server that get hacked. With isolated site infrastructure such as that on WordPress.com Business and Commerce plans, this isn’t an issue.
In traditional hosting, most of managing website security is your responsibility; your hosting provider only takes care of the server. A managed WordPress hosting provider, on the other hand, is much more involved in securing your website. For example, when you host your site on WordPress.com, you benefit from:
Plus, if you host your website on WordPress.com and it gets hacked, we will clean it up for free.
HTTPS encrypts the data transferred between your website and visitors’ browsers. This is an effective way to protect sensitive information against cross-site scripting (XSS), man-in-the-middle, or similar attacks. It also displays as a secure padlock icon in the browser and is a sign of trust for your audience.
To enable HTTPS encryption, you need an SSL certificate, which is usually easiest to obtain from your hosting provider. For example, SSL is included by default on all WordPress.com sites, with no setup needed.
File permissions define who can modify which files on your server. They help prevent unauthorized users or scripts from modifying core files. You can modify file permissions with SFTP/SSH.
On WordPress.com, permissions are set to the above settings by default and should only be changed if it’s absolutely necessary and you know what you’re doing.
On WordPress, files should typically be set to permission level 644 and directories to 755. This balances functionality and security. Avoid setting anything to 777, which allows full read, write, and execute access.
Security headers add an extra layer of protection by controlling how browsers handle your site’s content. They can help prevent vulnerabilities like cross-site scripting and clickjacking, and are an important part of every website.
This topic is very technical, so it’s best to read up on security headers in depth. You can find out if your site is already using them with a security headers scanner. If they’re missing, options to enable them include:
A web application firewall (WAF) has the ability to filter and block malicious traffic before it reaches your website. This helps defend against common threats like SQL injections and brute force attacks.
You can get a firewall through your hosting provider, plugins, or external providers. On WordPress.com, Business and Commerce plans include a built-in, managed firewall.
A content delivery network (CDN) distributes your website’s content across multiple servers worldwide.
This reduces server load and is often a tool used to improve performance. It helps mitigate DDoS attacks by adding a layer between attackers and your origin server that can absorb some of the excess traffic. Cloudflare is a popular option.
WordPress.com includes CDN functionality powered by more than 28 data centers across six continents.
Weak login credentials are one of the most common ways hackers gain access to websites.
Here are some best practices to prevent that from happening:
To keep your login pages safe, WordPress.com offers out-of-the-box brute force protection and single sign-on (SSO).
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of protection to site logins. It requires a second verification step, such as inputting a code from an app or text message. This makes it much harder for attackers to log in, even with stolen credentials.
You can add this functionality to your WordPress site using MFA plugins. WordPress.com supports two-step authentication for all users by default.
WordPress offers several user roles with clearly defined permissions. These let you control who has access to your site and what they can do on it. Here is the full list:
It’s a good idea to use the principle of least privilege when assigning roles, which restricts user access to only the functions needed for each job. This reduces the risk of someone breaking something by accident and provides extra protection if an account gets hacked.
You can upgrade permissions temporarily if needed, but be sure to review and update user roles regularly, especially after team changes.
Security plugins provide extra safety with features like malware scanning, firewalls, and security headers.
For self-hosted WordPress sites, security plugins cover gaps not managed by your hosting provider. Popular choices are:
Plugin-enabled sites on WordPress.com don’t require a security plugin, because they come with Jetpack and many other protections built in. Installing a separate security plugin on these sites would likely lead to conflicts.
Plugins and themes allow you to use WordPress for any purpose and use case, from blogs to personal websites to one-page sites.
At the same time, they can also be a security risk. Poorly coded or abandoned extensions can introduce serious vulnerabilities. In addition, plugins from untrustworthy sources can contain malware, back doors and other unpleasant surprises.
To avoid this, only install plugins and themes from reputable sources, like official WordPress directories. Everything you find there goes through a thorough vetting process before it can be installed on websites. Read reviews, check the update history, and confirm compatibility with your WordPress version before installing.
Even inactive plugins and themes can create security risks if they’re outdated or vulnerable. You should deactivate and fully delete anything you’re not actively using.
You should also regularly audit your installed extensions for what you can get rid of. Fewer extensions mean fewer potential points of attack.
Updates to WordPress and its plugins and themes often include patches for known security vulnerabilities. For that reason, it’s a good idea to regularly apply them on your site.
As a managed hosting provider, WordPress.com automatically handles core updates and provides tools to update plugins and themes either automatically or manually. You can test updates on a staging site before publishing updates.
Backups are one of the most central tools for website security. If you have a recent working version of your site saved somewhere safe, you can restore it to mitigate problems.
For that reason, you should regularly back up both your site files and database, preferably with an automated solution. Be sure to store backups in a secure, off-site location like cloud storage or a separate server.
On WordPress.com, real-time backups and one-click restores are included in the Business and Commerce plans.
You can’t lose what you don’t have. If your website gets hacked, attackers can only gain access to data that’s stored there. For that reason, be sure to only collect and store the information you need from your users, and follow data protection laws like GDPR when handling personal information.
Comment spam is an inconvenience every website owner has to live with. But if you’re not adept at recognizing it, you might inadvertently post links to malicious websites or software on your site, creating legal and SEO risks.
Akismet is an anti-spam plugin that automatically filters out the majority of spam submissions using machine learning and AI. It is included on all WordPress.com plans with no extra setup.
Activity logs track user actions and changes made on your site. They make it easier to trace what happened in the event of a breach or other problems.
There are many plugin options to add them to your site and WordPress.com also offers built-in activity logs.
Security threats constantly evolve, so staying informed is essential in order to respond and strengthen your defenses quickly.
Two good resources for the latest vulnerabilities and best practices are:
In addition, sign up for security newsletters or alerts from your hosting provider or plugin vendors.
Your website security is only as strong as your least-informed user. For that reason, make sure all team members understand security best practices. Train them to recognize phishing attempts and suspicious activity, use strong passwords and MFA, and to not share accounts and reuse credentials.
Keep in mind that website safety includes device security, so be sure to implement malware scans and other security measures on your team’s computers.
Scanning your website helps catch vulnerabilities, malware, or suspicious changes early. It lets you know if there is a problem in real-time and prevents threats from going undetected on your site.
You can use automated tools or services to schedule scans daily or weekly. OWASP has a detailed list of options.
On WordPress.com, Jetpack Scan checks every site daily for dangerous plugins, themes, malware, and other vulnerabilities. On higher-tier plans, you also get access to a history of threats identified on your site.
No matter how diligent you are, the risk to your website is never zero. If the worst-case scenario happens, advanced preparation will help you stay calm and mitigate the potential damage.
Put together a recovery plan with information such as:
Practicing your recovery process ahead of time can save hours or even days during a real incident. And remember, with a WordPress.com plan, site recovery is free.
Investing in security measures for your website is essential for protecting your content, users, and reputation. Threats are real, common, and often automated, and everyone is a target. Fortunately, many of the most effective protections are simple to implement. If you use a high-quality managed hosting provider like WordPress.com, you’re already ahead of the game.
Just keep in mind that security is not a one-time task, but an ongoing process. Regularly review your systems and processes to continue staying safe. If a breach happens, don’t panic, just recover, analyze, and make sure it can’t happen again.
Original Post https://wordpress.com/blog/2025/08/05/website-security/