WordPress is free to use and an open-source platform that allows website owners to create a professional and visually appealing website in minutes. Due to its free and easy-to-use properties WordPress accounts for powering 43% of websites across the globe.
The huge user base of WordPress attracts hackers who disrupt the security of less secure websites and hack them. Although WordPress is a secure platform and offers various security features to website owners to secure their WordPress websites.
Not implementing those security features can make your website vulnerable to hacking and other security threats. Hence, as a website owner, you need to take the necessary security precautions to prevent your website from being attacked by hackers.
To help you secure your website, we will discuss the top reasons and solutions for WordPress site hacking. So, sit back, relax, and read this blog’s top 6 reasons and solutions for WordPress site hacking till the end.
Table of Contents
Top Reasons and Solutions for WordPress Site Hacking
● Avoid Insecure Hosting
● Nulled Templates
● Weak Password Credentials
● Absence of SSL Certificate
● Outdated & Spammy Plugins
● No Two-Factor Authentication
There are various reasons and solutions for WordPress site hacking. Various elements on your website can turn out to be a way for a hacker to enter your site’s system. Some of the reasons are mentioned above. And we are going to show you the top reasons and solutions for WordPress site hacking.
Avoid Insecure Hosting
Hosting is the basic foundation of your website; it is the place where all your website’s data is stored. It also plays important in the security of your website as your hosting provider works in the background to detect activities that can adhere to your website’s security. You can get these security benefits only if your hosting provider is secure and trustworthy.
In a shared hosting plan, your WordPress website shares the server with various other websites. Due to this, hackers can get into your system through the other websites on your shared server.
Choosing an insecure and cheap hosting plan increases the chances of your website getting exposed to hacker attacks and malware.
Solution
To avoid the consequences of using a shared hosting plan, make sure that you stick to a secure and premium hosting plan. A dedicated hosting plan is one of the best options when choosing a secure hosting plan.
In a dedicated hosting plan, your WordPress website doesn’t share its server with other websites and operates on an independent server. It provides the optimal security features to your website and protects it from any kind of security issues.
Bluehost, HostGator, Hostinger, and Godaddy are some of the premium and secure hosting providers available in the market. They all bless your WordPress website with necessary security features, you can stick to one of them that suits your needs and pockets.
Nulled Templates
Templates are a great way to design the appearance of a website and make it look eye-appealing. But using a nulled template can turn out to be a way for hackers to enter your system and hack your WordPress website.
Nulled templates are the free and cracked versions of the premium templates provided by third-party websites. Such nulled templates tend to contain malicious code in their HTML that can interfere with your site’s security. It can also induce malware into your system, which is quite hard to detect.
Solution
To avoid putting your WordPress website in trouble by installing a nulled template, make sure you always purchase a premium template from a trusted source. Never try to save a penny by downloading these nulled templates, as they come at the cost of the security of your WordPress website.
Always check whether the website from which you are purchasing the theme has the license or ownership of it. In this way, you will always get a theme that does not come with any security issues.
We understand that not everyone has a budget to buy a template, in that case, you can consider sticking to the free themes for WordPress websites available in the official WP directory.
Weak Passwords and Credentials
The admin dashboard login credentials are the basis of the security of your WordPress website. Using a weak password and username can make it easy for the hacker to crack it and take control of your site’s admin dashboard.
Login credentials can give full access to your WordPress website to every individual, and they can easily steal the data, manipulate users, or make changes to the crucial data of your website.
Solution
As we discussed, login credentials are the basis of security for your WordPress website, hence, you must create a strong username and password that is hard for anyone to crack. While creating a password, make sure that it is at least 8 characters long.
Don’t forget to include uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters in your password. All these elements combined in a password make it hard to guess or crack and prevent your WordPress website from getting hacked.
To help you with creating a secure and robust password, WordPress offers various plugins. The password generator is one of the best plugins because it allows you to create a strong and reliable password and also lets you track your old passwords.
Absence of SSL certificate
SSL certificate stands for secure socket layer. It is an important factor for the security of your WordPress website. It encrypts the data of your website while it is being shared with the server.
If your website lacks an SSL certificate, then the data of your WordPress website will get shared directly with the server without being encrypted. It increases the chances of your site’s important data getting exposed to hackers easily
Google also gives a security prompt to your website visitors that, connection with your site is not secure if it lacks an SSL certificate. It can make website visitors leave your website without surfing further.
Solution
Installing an SSL certificate should be your priority, as it is going to encrypt and protect your WordPress website’s crucial data from any security issues. It helps to create a safe and secure user experience for website visitors.
Search engines give priority to securing their users’ data, so having an SSL certificate installed on your WordPress website improves its chances of getting ranked on the top pages of SERPs. The secure connection created by an SSL certificate helps you win the trust and create a great user experience with your website traffic.
Outdated and Spammy Plugins
Plugins allow website owners to add various functionalities and elements to their WordPress websites. But do you know that plugins can be the reason for your website to get hacked?
Yes! You heard it right. Using an outdated and spammy plugin can provide an easy way for hackers and individuals to hack your website. An updated plugin may contain some security issues that can be easily bypassed to disrupt the security and steal essential information from your WordPress website. Nulled plugins may also contain malware or suspicious code in their HTML, which can pose various security threats.
Solutions
Plugins come with various updates to deal with security issues and glitches present in older versions. Hence, make sure to keep the plugins that are installed on your website updated. It will prevent the hackers from using any glitches or security issues to enter your website’s system and hack it.
Always consider the official WordPress directory while purchasing and installing a plugin. Being a trusted source, the WordPress directory ensures that you always get high-quality plugins and keeps your website away from spammy and nulled plugins.
No Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication prevents an unknown entity or device from logging into your WordPress admin dashboard even when they have your login credentials. Not activating two-factor authentication on your WordPress website will make it easy for anyone with your password to login into your system and make changes to your website.
Solution
To avoid an entity from logging into your admin dashboard and provide an extra layer of security to your WordPress website make sure you activate two-factor authentication on your website. The unknown user will always be asked for an OTP to log in that will be shared on your mobile number or email id to prevent suspicious logins.
You can easily activate the two-factor authenticator through the setting options of your WordPress admin dashboard or use a two-factor authenticator plugin listed in the official WordPress directory.
And This is the end of the top 6 reasons and solutions for WordPress site hacking.
Final Thoughts
There are various reasons and solutions for WordPress site hacking. Hence, it is important to fix all of those elements to make your website and its data secure.
So, what are you waiting for buddy? Go and implement the solutions we discussed in this blog to make your WordPress website safe, and secure for website traffic. Because you may know the reasons and solutions for WordPress site hacking.
We hope you have liked this post about the top reasons and solutions for WordPress site hacking. If you liked this blog post’s reasons and solutions for WordPress site hacking, then please subscribe to the WPinLearn YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. And join the WPinLearn community and follow us on Twitter.
What are some common reasons why WordPress sites get hacked?
1. Outdated software
2. Weak passwords
3. Unsecured hosting
4. Malware
5. Phishing attacksWhat should I do if I suspect that my WordPress site has been hacked?
1. Change all of your passwords immediately
2. Run a malware scan on your site using a security plugin or service
3. Manually check for any suspicious files or code
4. Consider restoring your site from a recent backup, if available
5. Contact your hosting provider for assistanceIs it possible to completely prevent my WordPress site from being hacked?
It is not possible to completely prevent your site from being hacked, but there are measures you can take to reduce the risk of an attack, such as keeping software up to date, using strong passwords, and using security measures like a firewall and malware scanners. Regularly monitoring your site for suspicious activity can also help you identify and respond to potential threats.
