Did you know that at least 9 WordPress sites get hacked every minute? This means that around 13,000 sites created with WordPress are at risk of being hacked every day. Several factors can put a WordPress site at a higher risk and knowing some of them can mean the difference in keeping your site safe or allowing it to remain vulnerable.
The number of cyber-attacks has been growing over the years with millions that are hacked and left vulnerable each year and new cyber threats get designed and deployed consistently. This means that you have to pay close attention to your security measures to help ensure that your WordPress site isn't one of the millions left at risk.
If you’re thinking about creating your site with WordPress or have already done so, you need to know the signs of a hacked site and what could make your site a possible target for hackers. Fortunately, keeping your site secure is much easier than recovering from a security breach so, keep reading.
The Top Signs That Could Mean Your WordPress Site is at Risk of Being Hacked
Monitoring how your WordPress site performs can mean the difference in realizing early on that your site has been hacked and more time going by putting your site at a higher risk and more damage being caused. A few signs to help keep you are could be:
- Receiving ransomware messages
- Antivirus messages popping up on your site
- Receiving emails alerting you to the fact that your used passwords have been compromised
- Random and frequent popups
- Your web hosting experience is of poor quality all of a sudden
- Your homepage seems different
- Unplanned or unexpected changes to your files
- Your pages are redirecting you to other sites
What Do You Do if Your WordPress Site Is Hacked?
There are multiple measures you can take to protect your WordPress site. Some of the easiest options to implement would be to:
- Install security plugins
- Use external protection software to protect all of your computer usages
- Frequent backups
- Install security updates presented by WordPress right away
- Implement SSL certificates
In addition to these steps, you can take your WordPress security further by updating the platform regularly and using very secure passwords. Recovery times aren’t always the same once an attack is experienced and this is why it’s vital to stay on top of “backup” plans. This will help you to keep from losing your data and if your site is attacked, you will still have the most recently saved version of your site that you can reactivate.
Let’s Say Your Site Is Already Compromised
If you’ve noticed that you’re experiencing some of the issues mentioned above, you’ll want to take recovery steps quickly. This will first need to involve getting in touch with experts that specialize in the WordPress platform. After reaching out for expert help with cleaning and recovering your site you will need to reset all of your passwords and update the themes and plugins you use.
More complicated things can be handled by professionals such as cleaning out your sitemap and completely clearing your database. Additionally, you can also do yourself a favor by coming up with a recovery procedure in case this happens again. Having professionals on speed dial will save you time, money, and an overall headache.
What Things Make Your WordPress Site More Vulnerable?
In the cyber world, there are a variety of factors that increase the vulnerability of your website and this is one of the main reasons you should have a WordPress security plan. Some of the top things to look out for would be:
- The use of weak or previously compromised passwords
- Spam
- Using outdated software and plugins
- Cross-site scripting
The main reason that using outdated plugins and templates can be dangerous for the security of your site is that outdated versions won't receive website security updates. For example, WordPress versions 3.7-4.0, won’t be eligible for the newest security updates and patches after December 1, 2022. Without updated security measures, your WordPress site is open to potential hackers.
This also means that the older version you use will no longer receive that type of support. Cross-site scripting can also be dangerous as it increases your chances of phishing. How this would look on WordPress would be the presentation of a malicious type of script or spam sent to your site.
Other Issues to Consider
Your users could experience performance issues like long loading times on your pages, which can lead to higher-bounce rates and fewer leads or sales for you. If your site is utilizing a cart on-site for sales, your users' information could be compromised.
The presentation of spam will usually come from using outdated plugins or versions of the web host. It's not difficult for hackers to deploy different forms of spam onto a WordPress site. They could stem from the actual WordPress software, another type of software, or malicious code being sent to the page itself.
Using weak or previously compromised passwords makes hacking your WordPress site even easier for cyber-criminals. If your passwords are easy to guess or they're plain obvious, your risk of a website security breach could significantly increase.
You should always use a long password that is both strong and hard to guess. Try to limit your use of personal factors in the password and always use special characters.
WordPress Safety Provided by WordPress Experts
In general, at least 30,000 websites get hacked per day. A WordPress site in particular can also be at extreme risk simply from the popularity of the CMS itself. Recovering from a cyber attack could mean the risk of losing your private information, your content, and your sensitive data.
Instead of navigating this alone, work with our Website HQ WordPress Experts, to get expert help and to have a better chance of keeping your site protected. If you have a concern about your site or think you're at risk of a cyber attack, contact our team today, and let's start protecting your assets.
