<img src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/WordPress-Security.jpg" alt="WordPress Security" width="270" height="180" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-8857" />WordPress security is extremely important and it can often get overlooked. Sometimes it’s referred to as “hardening” and it’s because WordPress users really need to harden their security measures of the important work that goes behind maintaining the site. While most would agree that they are concerned about security measures going in to protect their site, many don’t realize what details actually need to take place in order to do so. 

Without doing anything to your site before, you’ve probably at least heard of popular plugins that you can install to take care of any security scares. However, there is more that you could be doing to gain even better peace of mind and it’s not hard to achieve. Here is a look at 7 of the most overlooked ways you could be creating better security for your WordPress website. 

<h2>Did you know?</h2>

Over 70% of the sites using WordPress were vulnerable just a couple of years ago? In addition, five of these were commercial plugins that you could purchase, one even being a security plugin. The more plugins and themes you are adding to it, the more likely you will be hacked. It’s important that you are keeping WordPress up to date to keep your security up to speed. 

You can always backup your site if you are worried about something happening during installation. Do this regularly, along with your plugins and themes. Delete ones you are not using and only choose new ones from sources that are well-known. Finally, be sure to change file permissions, make sure password really hard to duplicate and don’t’ use “admin” as your username. 

<h2>Overlooked Ways to Create Better security</h2>

Along with deleting plugins and themes you aren’t using, in general, you should try to limit how many you install in the first place. This will not only help security, but your speed and performance as well. If you find a premium plugin available for free from somewhere other than where they sell them, don’t download it. Don’t put a tight budget over safety because this is considered a pirated plugin that is not only illegal, but a hackers easy access to your site. 

<img src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/WordPressCoreUpdates.png" alt="WordPress Core Updates" width="444" height="270" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8858" />

Another overlooked way that you could increase security is to program your WordPress to do automatic core updates. As mentioned, keeping your WordPress up to date is extremely important. If you are using an older version of WordPress, the security flaws of the version you’re using is known by the public making it easier for hackers to try and get in your site. Not only should you update, but you should regularly maintain your site either manually or by going the automated route. You can have your plugins and themes scheduled to update automatically as well. 

<h2>What else do people often overlook?</h2>

The plugin and theme editor should be eliminated altogether. When you make regular changes to your plugins and themes, this may not be the route to go, but otherwise, if you’re not using the editor regularly you should disable it. Authorized users of WordPress are given access to this editor and the editor can take down an entire site if their accounts are hacked. 

<img src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/PHP-Error-Report.jpg" alt="PHP Error Report" width="320" height="180" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8856" />

Don’t use PHP error reporting either. When an error message comes up for a plugin or theme that’s not working, the error message often includes your server path which a hacker could put together by viewing your error reports. Disable it to avoid handing potential hackers everything they would need to know about your site. 

Protect yourself by hiding author’s usernames since it’s simple to find out every author’s username for your site. Don’t make the hacker’s job easier. You should also be monitoring your dashboard activity so that if something happens, you can retrace your user’s steps up to when it happened. 

These seven more overlooked ways to increase security on WordPress are really important to understand. Use these tips to stay safe and avoid potential hacking. 



