WordPress is by far the most used content management system in the world, with a market share of almost 65 percent. Even though WordPress does everything it can to make the system, which is used to manage countless website contents worldwide, secure, WordPress is still an attractive target for hackers. While the standard version of WordPress usually has great security, external themes and plugins in particular repeatedly cause security vulnerabilities. If your WordPress site has been hacked or you are worried about the security of your WordPress site, this short article is just right for you! – So have fun with our little tips to increase the security of your WordPress site!

Cyber security is generally an important topic; which is why the topic of security for WordPress sites also plays a central role in order not to be surprised by a hacker attack.

What you can do if your WordPress site has been hacked

If your WordPress site has been hacked, you can either hire a service provider (such as Wordfence or SiteLock) to clean up your WordPress site, or you can do it yourself. There are numerous tutorials on YouTube and on the internet, most of which recommend similar steps. We have compiled the most important seven steps for cleaning up your WordPress site after a hack:

1. Step: Change your access data in the customer portal and the database!
2. Step: Download the WordPress directory via FTP and delete it afterwards!
3. Step: Download the latest WordPress version in the web space!
4. Step: Reinstall your themes and plugins in WordPress!
5. Step: After a check, upload the upload directory again!
6. Step: After a check, link your old database to the new WordPress installation!
7. Step: Finally, log in to the WordPress dashboard with the old access data and change your password immediately!

If your WordPress site has been hacked, you can have a professional clean it up for you or do it yourself.

How to increase the security of your WordPress site

As already described at the beginning, external themes and plugins represent the greatest security risks for your WordPress site. Therefore, you should not only always update your WordPress version directly, but also keep your themes and plugins up to date. For plugins, it is advisable to activate the “automatic updates” option.

However, the selection of WordPress plugins and themes is even more important. Here you should make sure that they are frequently installed and well rated as well as recently or regularly updated plugins. Therefore, check each plugin and theme briefly before installation and, in the advanced view, also take a look at the number of reported and solved problems as well as the ratings of other users. Only install plugins that you really need and make sure that you not only deactivate but also completely uninstall plugins that you no longer use.

Update your themes and plugins as well as your WordPress version and take a close look at plugins before you install them for your WordPress site.