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WordPress Hardening: 7 Ways to Harden your Website Security

March 17, 2026

WordPress Hardening: 7 Ways to Harden your Website Security

Security is one of the most important investments to make immediately after creating a WordPress website. As unprotected WordPress sites are often believed to be vulnerable to attacks, hardening a WordPress website should be considered a necessary task soon after the website is created.

Unfortunately, many WordPress users are unaware of the importance of securing their website until they become a victim of a cyberattack. Some also wait until they become popular before hardening, a popularity that may not be achieved by hackers.

Table of Contents

What is WordPress Website Hardening?

WordPress hardening refers to the implementation of necessary security measures on a WordPress website to protect it from hackers.

Hardening a WordPress website requires some time and knowledge, not experience. You have the time, and the knowledge is what you will be learning in this article.

Types of WordPress Vulnerabilities and Threats

Most vulnerabilities explored to wreak havoc on WordPress websites are usually the user’s fault. Here are the most recent and threatening attacks on WordPress.

Brute Force Attack – A brute force attack involves using multiple trials and errors to guess a password correctly. The guesses are generated using powerful algorithms that follow specific rules to predict passwords. Though difficult to execute, a Brute Force Attack has a success rate and is one of the most practiced threats in WordPress.
DDoS Attacks – Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are enhanced forms of Denial of Service (DoS) attacks that work by sending voluminous requests to the website server simultaneously. Once the server receives more requests than it can handle, it becomes slow and finally crashes.
Outdated WordPress/PHP versions – WordPress patches security vulnerabilities in new updates, which means users on the old versions are vulnerable to unpatched fixes.
SQL Injection – SQL injection is one of the worst hacks to which to fall victim. It manipulates SQL queries through a web form, such as contact forms and login forms. Although SQL injection has a low success rate, some amateur hackers still practice it, and sometimes, someone falls prey.

Benefits of WordPress Security

What are the advantages of a hardened site? When you take the right security measures on a WordPress site, here are the benefits you should expect:

Optimize Performance: Hackers never break into a website for a good reason. DDoS attacks, for example, flood a website with traffic, preventing legitimate users from accessing it. With effective security measures, DDoS attacks can be prevented, resulting in optimal performance.
Avoid Google Penalty: Offensive content is often published, or malicious links are injected when a website is hacked. These may violate Google guidelines and subsequently result in a penalty.
Protect user information: Website users trust the website owner and provide their email addresses. Would it be beneficial if the web owner were to compensate by leaving the website unprotected, putting users at great risk? Surely not.

Ways to Hardening WordPress Website Security

Hardening a WordPress website is not a five-minute task, unlike WordPress installation. It is a process that continues indefinitely. The moment one refrains from securing the website, the website is dead.

Here are the steps to follow when hardening a WordPress website’s security.

Update WordPress Frequently

The core WordPress and most of its themes and plugins are extremely secure and are generally safe areas for hackers. However, hackers often choose to exploit other minor vulnerabilities to compromise a website’s security.

A certain study discovered that outdated plugins, including the core WordPress themes and important plugins, cause 54% of all security vulnerabilities in WordPress.

This requires frequent CMS updates; in addition to updating the WordPress CMS, plugins, themes, and all installed extensions. The PHP and server must be the latest versions and extremely secure.

Use and Enforce Strong Credentials

Everyone likes to create specific, easy-to-remember passwords. These passwords are effective and serve their purpose, except that they can be easily compromised by a hacker. Using Brute Force, these passwords can be cracked without much effort.

To avert the dangers of using a weak password, you must use a strong password, and other users on the site must also use strong passwords.

A plugin like “Force Strong Passwords” does this perfectly to enforce the use of strong passwords among other users on the site.

Use a Web Application Firewall

A web application firewall makes it easy to identify and block out hackers before they reach a website to cause harm. It tracks IP addresses and identifiers attached to every internet-enabled device. It checks if the IP address has been formerly used for malicious purposes; if it has, access to the website will be disallowed.

The Sucuri Firewall is a popular choice for a web application firewall. Apart from filtering IPs, Sucuri Firewall also provides comprehensive security tips that help you spend less on other security tools, which can already be costly.

Disallow Plugin Installations

Sometimes, users install plugins to complete an instant task without worrying or caring about the lasting effects it could have on website security.

It would be best to start by editing the config.php code or using a plugin to achieve this.

Related: Online Security Tips for Kids

Use a Secure Protocol

Using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) makes a WordPress website more secure because all information passed over SSL is encrypted.

This is particularly important when transmitting sensitive information, such as credit card details, usernames, and passwords, over the internet. Once the SSL implementation is available on a website, it loads with HTTPS instead of HTTP. Thus making the webpage more secure.

Use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) should be mandatory, as it is highly effective in locking hackers out. 2FA involves providing additional information that is exclusive to the user and is not available until the main login access is granted.

With 2FA enabled, even a hacker with a username and password cannot access the account. To use two-factor authentication (2FA) with WordPress, a 2FA plugin must be installed. Some popular WordPress plugins for 2FA include:

Clef
Authy
Google Authenticator
Rublon 2FA

Backup the Website Regularly

No matter how much effort is put into hardening WordPress security, you can not overestimate the importance of regular backups. A backup gives relief. You can rest assured that you can recover all your website data safely if the website is hacked.

It is very easy to back up WordPress, and instructions on how to back it up are available on the official WordPress website. If that looks burdensome, a plugin like BackupBuddy is highly recommended.

Some plugins automatically back up the website daily, while others require manual configuration.

Ways to Harden Your Website Security: Frequently Asked Questions

How can I harden my website security?

Here are some key website hardening strategies:

Keep Software Updated: Ensure your website’s content management system (CMS), plugins, themes, and server software are updated regularly. Updates often patch security vulnerabilities that hackers might exploit.
Use Strong Passwords and Two-Factor Authentication: Implement strong, unique passwords for all website accounts and enable two-factor authentication for an extra layer of protection.
Secure Your Server: Choose a reputable web hosting provider that prioritizes security. Regularly review and update your server configurations to address potential weaknesses.
Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF): A WAF acts as a shield, filtering out malicious traffic and preventing common attacks, such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS).
Regular Backups: Maintain regular backups of your website’s data to ensure its security and integrity. In the event of an attack, backups enable you to quickly restore your website and minimize downtime.
Secure User Accounts: Implement and enforce strong password policies for user accounts on your website. Consider limiting login attempts to prevent brute-force attacks.
Stay Informed: Proactively stay updated on the latest website security threats and best practices.

How do I maintain website security?

Website security is an ongoing process. Here’s how to maintain a strong security posture:

Regular Security Scans: Schedule regular security scans to identify vulnerabilities in website code and configuration.
Patch Management: Promptly address any vulnerabilities identified through scans by installing necessary security patches.
User Education: Educate website administrators and editors about secure coding practices and how to identify phishing attempts.
Monitor Activity Logs: Review your website’s activity logs for any suspicious activity that may indicate a security breach.

What are the benefits of website hardening?

By hardening your website security, you can:

Reduce the Risk of Hacking: A robust security posture makes your website less vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Protect User Data: Implement strong security safeguards to protect user data, including contact information and login credentials.
Maintain Website Reputation: A secure website fosters trust with your visitors and protects your brand image.
Minimize Downtime and Costs: Security breaches can lead to website downtime and financial losses. Hardening your website helps prevent these disruptions.

By implementing these website hardening practices and maintaining good security hygiene, you can significantly reduce the risk of website attacks and ensure a secure online presence.

Final Words

The above steps are vital to ensure WordPress security is no match for the pain that can result from falling victim to an attack. Many website owners assume their website is too small to fall prey to or hope never to get hacked.

However, hackers would target the easiest and not the best. Instead of hoping one will never get hacked, why not take all the steps to harden a website’s security and see an obvious increase in security?

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