Essential security for WordPress: Keep your site strong

I’m Lyubomir Rusanov, co-founder of WP Division, and I’ve spent over 19 years navigating the world of business, website management, and web hosting. As someone who’s worked closely with countless small business owners, I understand the critical role a website plays as your virtual front door. I want to share the top three challenges that small business owners face in keeping their WordPress websites strong and secure.

[The three Essentials: Security, Updates, Backups]

Ensuring these three elements are well-managed can prevent many common issues and keep your WordPress site running smoothly.

Security threats: a persistent concern for every WordPress website

One of the biggest concerns for small business websites is security. Over the years, I’ve heard from many clients: “My site is small, why would hackers target it?!”. Unfortunately, this is a common myth. In reality, every website, regardless of size, can be compromised if it is not secure.

Hackers look for weaknesses like weak passwords and vulnerabilities in plugins and themes to exploit, aiming to gain access to customer data or use the hosting server for malicious activities. Moreover, these attacks are often automated, targeting any vulnerable site. In 2023, it was found that 61% of all cyberattacks are aimed at small businesses. This is due to the perception that small businesses have less sophisticated security measures, making them easier targets for hackers (BlackFog).

The challenges of keeping up with WordPress updates

WordPress plugins and themes receive frequent updates. These updates include critical security patches and routine improvements or changes. Although updating your WordPress site might seem easy, it can bring significant challenges. Clients often express confusion about updates:

“I don’t know which updates are urgent and which can wait”, is a common concern. Another frequent issue is the potential for updates to cause conflicts within the site: “I updated a plugin, and my whole site went down”, is a frustratingly common scenario.

Small business owners often struggle to track new versions and determine which updates are security essential. Updating your WordPress site can be time-consuming and risky, with new updates potentially interacting with existing plugins and themes in unexpected ways, thereby leading to site crashes.

Backups: Data loss can be catastrophic

Data loss can happen due to server crashes, human error, or attacks. Losing content like blog posts, customer data, and product information can be catastrophic for small businesses, leading to lost sales and costly recovery efforts. Many hosting companies offer backup services, but these backups cannot be relied on. Often, they are stored on the same server, posing a risk if the server fails or does not complete on time due to server overload. Clients often lack clear information on whether a backup exists and might assume their data is safe, only to discover no backup is available when they need it most, leaving them disappointed and helpless.

\What our Cover plan for essential security includes/

At WP Division, we understand that managing security, updates, and backups can be overwhelming. That’s why we designed a comprehensive WordPress maintenance solution that covers all these aspects, ensuring your site remains strong and secure.

• Dedicated security team: Our experts audit your website and apply tailored security settings. If a problem arises, a team member will investigate, fix it, and take preventative measures.
• Critical security updates: Our specialists handle all updates for you, ensuring they are applied correctly and promptly. We stay up to date with the latest trends and updates.
• Reliable backups: We manage your backups, ensuring they run correctly and are stored securely. Our Cover plan includes regular backups, stored in a private Amazon backup space, and monthly reports confirming successful backups. If you need to restore your website, you can use the restored tool provided or request professional assistance.

WP Division’s approach addresses potential issues before they become significant problems, saving you hassle and expenses.

<Stay tuned>

The WordPress maintenance of a strong and error-free website involves continuous attention to various other factors such as troubleshooting common errors like white screens or internal server errors, ensuring proper setup and compatibility of plugins and themes, recovering from compromised websites, managing PHP errors and database connection settings, and effectively handling website edits and management.

Stay tuned for more must-read content that will guide you in keeping your website robust, efficient, and free from errors.

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