14 BulletProof Tips to Protect Your WordPress Admin Area

June 19th, 2017 | by Ravi Chahar || 6 Comments |

It’s been a brainstorming session for many WordPress users due to the poor security of their websites. That’s why it’s always recommended to protect your WordPress admin area.

It’s because the wp-admin page is considered as one of the places where hackers can find vulnerabilities and can exploit your website.

I don’t need to mention that millions of websites get hacked every year. Many people lose their hard work of years.

That’s the reason it’s always recommended to backup your WordPress website and the database.

In this article, you will learn the different ways to protect your WordPress admin area using the plugins and manually. Some particular actions can only be taken using the plugins.

Start Securing the WP-ADMIN Page of Your WordPress Website

You may have read about the brute force attack. It’s basically done in the admin area by using some fake login credentials.

There are some essentials things you can do to protect your WordPress admin area.

#1. Start With the Strong Password

This is not a new thing to anyone. Whether it’s on the admin panel or any other login page, it’s always recommended to use the as strong password as you can.

Use the combination of alphabets, numbers and special characters. It would be great if you use the capital letters.

For example – Di*&37do%#50

You should use the password which can’t be guessed by anyone. Invest some time in securing your login page.

#2. Never Use the Default “Admin” Username

When you first install WordPress, the username is “Admin” which is known by everyone. It’s the default WordPress setting which comes along.

You have to change admin username from the phpMyAdmin. It can be done by accessing the cPanel of your web hosting account.

NOTE: Don’t create the same admin name as you show on your website.

Many people make this mistake and face the fatal. Show your nickname or whatever you feel like but use an unexpected username to login.

#3. Change the Login Page URL

By default, you will have the login page URL as www.yourdomain.com/wp-login.php.

But to improve the security, you can change it to something only you can know. It can be done using a security plugin like iTheme Security, All in one security etc.

This one step can help you stop much brute force attack because many bots try to inject the codes in the websites with such default URLs.

#4. Limit the Login Attempts

This can be really helpful because the hackers try to guess the password and the username which requires many attempts.

If you limit login attempts to three, five or as you feel, the possibility of the hack can be reduced.

Whenever someone would try to make multiple attempts, he/she will get blocked from accessing the login page of your WordPress website.

You can use WP Limit Login Attempts plugin.

#5. Enable Two-Factor Authentication

This is one of the best ways to protect your WordPress admin area. You can add another layer of the security which requires the login credentials before reaching to the WP-Admin page.

It’s like double login pages. Whenever anyone would try to access the admin area, he/she would have to pass through the two-factor authentication page.

You can easily add two-factor authentication in WordPress using different plugins.

#6. Password Protect the WordPress Admin Directory

It’s similar to the above step but there is no plugin required. You can password protect your WordPress admin directory from the cPanel of your web hosting.

The data is stored in the WP-ADMIN folder. If you protect this folder, your login page will get secured.

You have to create a new user whose credentials would be required to access the admin area.

#7. Remove the Password Lost Link

Though nowadays, most of the web hostings keep the mail() function disabled but not all. So it’s always recommended to remove the password lost link.

Your email account can be easily hacked which can be used to change the password using the password lost link present on the login page.

If you remove that link, no one would able to use it.

#8. Change the Login Error Message

You may have noticed that whenever you enter the wrong login credentials, you see an error message which consists the link to recover the password.

For better security, you should change login error message. You can remove the link and show only the text of your choice.

#9. Force Strong Password

For most of the multiuser websites, you may have noticed that whenever you try to create a new account, you would require a strong password.

It can reject the password you choose. That’s what we call forcing the strong passwords. The password wouldn’t be accepted until it’s strong enough.

You can use the Force Strong Passwords plugin for that.

#10. Use SSL

After the official announcement done by Google, SSL is considered as one of the most important things for a website.

It acts like an intermediate. Whenever any user sends any request, the SSL server gets it first before the original server of your website.

It can help you protect your WordPress admin area. It’s not only about the admin page, your whole website will have an intermediate.

You can either use the Let’s Encrypt provided by many web hosting or any other free SSL like CloudFlare.

#11. Keep Monitoring the WordPress Directories

Always keep installed a WordPress plugin to activate the firewall and many other security layers. Many users don’t take it seriously and face a hard time.

That’s why it’s recommended to monitor the WordPress directories so that no malicious code can be injected. If done, you can notice it and remove it as soon as possible.

You can use WordFence, Sucuri, All in One Security, BulletProof Security etc.

#12. Always Have a Reliable Web Hosting

You may have heard it many times that the web hosting of your website plays an important role in the security.

Never compromise the security of your website. Always buy a web hosting which provides the regular scanning feature and the firewall protection.

We recommend InmotionHosting which is reliable, fast, and affordable.

#13. Keep Your Website Updated

The one thing which is included in every security guide is to keep your website updated. Always use the latest WordPress version and never use the outdated plugins and themes.

Old plugins and themes may have the vulnerabilities which can lead to the hacking of your website.

Many people even enable automatic updates for plugins and themes. You can also enable automatic updates for WordPress.

#14. Do the Regular Backups

I don’t think I have to remind you about keeping the regular backup of your website. You never know, people can hack your website.

Sometimes, even the security layers get broken. So you should always have a backup plan so that in case your website gets hacked, you can restore the backup again.

You can either use a plugin or do it manually.

NOTE: Don’t rely on the regular backups done by your web hosting. Do it your own and keep more than one copy.

I Hope You Can Protect Your WordPres Admin Area With These Hacks

WordPress security has always been a challenge to many. People aren’t really aware of the technical stuff of their websites.

The admin panel is one of the sensitive parts of your website which should be secured. You should always install a security plugin which can help you do many security settings.

iTheme Security plugin has numerous of options. And if you use its premium version, it can be really helpful.

Can you now protect your WordPress admin area? If you have any question, feel free to drop a comment.

You can also connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.