WordPress 14 Aug 2026 84 Recently updated 5 min read

Securing your Wordpress Website - Nabtech

Securing your WordPress Website

WordPress is one of the most popular Content Management System (CMS) applications, which unfortunately also makes it one of the most targeted website forms on the internet. Therefore, ensuring that your WordPress site is secure from every angle is essential. This article lists some common security features you can utilize and the steps you can take to further enhance the security of your WordPress installation.

1. Keep WordPress Updated

Always remember to keep your WordPress installation up-to-date with the latest version. This practice helps prevent any loopholes that could allow malicious access to your site or files. WordPress provides an easy way to update your installation via the WordPress dashboard for major releases, while minor updates are automatically applied. Since WordPress relies on many plugins and themes developed by third-party developers, it is also important to keep those plugins and themes updated regularly when new updates are released by their developers.

2. Use a Strong Password

Always use a strong password for your domain, consisting of at least 8 alphanumeric characters, including uppercase and lowercase letters, digits, and special characters. This makes it difficult for brute-force attempts to compromise your username/password combination. Remember to apply this rule to your WordPress admin email accounts, FTP, database, and any other login details associated with your domain to ensure complete safety.

3. Limit User Access

Another way to enhance your WordPress website's security is by limiting access to your dashboard. WordPress has a unique User Roles feature that controls the access granted to specific users. When sharing your WordPress details with a writer, employee, or similar, ensure that you provide them with a user account that only allows access to the necessary features. For instance, if you have a writer for your WordPress website, create an account that only permits them to write and edit posts, as well as access media and other basic user functions.

4. Limit WordPress Login Attempts

Your website hosting provider typically blocks a certain number of login attempts to your wp-login.php page. However, you can take additional steps to further limit login attempts to your dashboard. Our servers automatically block IP addresses that attempt more than 10 password attempts within a 10-minute period. To limit login attempts to your wp-login page, download a login-limiter plugin. We recommend Loginizer as it is free and effectively limits brute-force attempts to your wp-login.php page.

5. Disable File Modifications via the WordPress Dashboard

WordPress has a built-in feature that allows editing of files related to plugins and themes. While this can be useful for experienced coders, it can pose a security risk for regular users, as a malicious actor could use the same editor to inject harmful code. To prevent this, add the following code to your wp-config.php file, which can be found in the default WordPress installation folder:

define(‘DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT’, true);

You can also hide the wp-config.php file under your domain to further improve security. To do this, add the following code to your .htaccess file:

<Files wp-config.php>
order allow,deny
deny from all
</Files>

6. Change the Default WP Login URL

By default, your WordPress admin panel login URL is “domain.com/wp-login.php.” While this is easy to remember, it can pose security issues, as many malicious bots scan WordPress sites for this login page to attempt brute-force attacks. Changing the login URL to something like "domain-login.php" can help prevent bots from finding the login page.

Additional Security Measures

Prevent access to the XML-RPC file.
Enable two-factor authentication or a CAPTCHA plugin for the login page.
Monitor traffic to your site if you suspect malicious activity. You can also contact us directly for an in-depth review of your WordPress site if you suspect it may have been breached.
Use Cloudflare to prevent/block bots from reaching your website.

In most cases, keeping your WordPress installation up-to-date will help circumvent most malicious attacks. We recommend that our clients set their WordPress installations to automatically update, so you do not have to worry about forgetting to keep your installation current.

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