WordPress powers more than 25% of the web so it is no surprise that this powerful content management system is a constant target for hackers. Fortunately, there are some steps that you can take to make it difficult for hackers to do their dirty work on your WordPress site. One step that you should take immediately is to hide your WordPress login URL.

By default, the login URL for WordPress is found at http://yoursite.com/wp-login.php (/wp-admin redirects to this url). This URL is easy to remember but this opens up a security hole because anyone can figure out where to login on your website. Of course, a person also has to possess your username and password but if they were somehow able to obtain that information, also knowing your URL would make it all the more easier for them to break into your site.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways to hide your WordPress login URL so that it is known only to you. The easiest way to implement this measure is to install a plugin like WP Security or WPS Hide Login. WP Security offers a suite of security measures while WPS Hide is more lightweight and just helps you to hide the website login URL.

A word of caution: you need to be careful when installing one of these plugins because you can easily lock yourself out of your site if you do not know what you are doing. If you do get locked out, all you need to do is rename the plugin in Cpanel (or whichever file manager you are using) and the lock will be deactivated.

If you need assistance with implementing this important security feature, please click here to ask us for help.

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Before I start working on a client’s website, I almost always install a free plugin called Updraft Plus which allows me to backup files and databases very quickly. If anything goes wrong during my work on the site, I can simply restore the backup and the site will be restored. I know that implementing WordPress backups is my insurance policy in case anything goes wrong.

Where should I store the WordPress Backups?

Updraft Plus gives you the option of storing your backups on the server or in a remote location. While storing the backups on the server is useful in many situations, I always advise my clients to prepare for the worst. What if your installation is hacked or simply disappears? The best option is to store your WordPress Backups in Dropbox or Google Drive, which are both supported in Updraft Plus. If your installation is small enough, you can even have it sent to an email address.

How often should I backup WordPress?

Updraft Plus allows you to automatically backup your installation of WordPress on a regular basis. How often you should backup your site really depends on how often you are updating your site. If you are running an active WordPress blog with new posts and comments every day then it might be good to backup your site every few hours. If your site goes for days without changing then backing your website every two weeks would probably be fine.

I cannot tell you how many times a WordPress backup has saved my bacon. Knowing that I can quickly revert a website back to how I found it gives me the peace of mind that I need to do my job and do it well.

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