How to Keep Your WordPress Site Secure in 2025

WordPress powers a significant share of all websites on the internet. That popularity is one of its greatest strengths – and also the reason it is such a consistent target for automated attacks. Hackers do not manually pick targets; they run bots that scan millions of sites looking for known vulnerabilities. If your site is running outdated software, weak passwords, or no active security measures, it is only a matter of time before something finds it.

The good news is that most WordPress security incidents are preventable with a handful of consistent practices.

Keep Everything Updated

Outdated software is the single most common cause of WordPress site compromises. This means:

• WordPress core – Always run the latest stable release. Minor security updates are released frequently and should be applied as soon as they are available.
• Themes – Even themes you are not actively using can contain exploitable code. Remove inactive themes and keep your active theme updated.
• Plugins – Plugins are the most common attack vector for WordPress sites. Update them promptly, remove anything you are not using, and avoid plugins that have not been updated in over a year or show compatibility warnings with the current WordPress version.

Use Strong, Unique Credentials

• Your WordPress admin password should be long, random, and unique – not reused from any other account. A password manager makes this practical.
• Change the default admin username. Using “admin” as a username is a gift to attackers running brute-force tools.
• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on your WordPress admin account. Several free plugins add this capability.
• Limit the number of users with Administrator-level access to only those who genuinely need it.

Install an SSL Certificate

If your site is still running on HTTP rather than HTTPS, any data transmitted between your visitors and your server is unencrypted. This is a problem for any site that handles logins, forms, or payments. SSL certificates are included with all Wirespan hosting plans at no additional cost. If yours is not active, open a support ticket and we can get it set up.

Limit Login Attempts

Brute-force attacks try thousands of username and password combinations against your login page. A plugin that limits failed login attempts and temporarily blocks IP addresses after repeated failures stops most of these attacks cold. Plugins like Limit Login Attempts Reloaded handle this simply and with no configuration headaches.

Use a Security Plugin

A dedicated WordPress security plugin adds an active layer of monitoring and protection. Options like Wordfence, Solid Security (formerly iThemes Security), or Sucuri Security all offer meaningful protection in their free tiers. Features to look for include malware scanning, firewall rules, file integrity monitoring, and login security.

Be Careful with User-Submitted Content

If your site accepts comments, contact form submissions, or user-uploaded files, those are potential attack surfaces. Make sure contact forms have spam protection (reCAPTCHA or similar), disable comments on posts that do not need them, and restrict file upload types to only what is necessary.

The Hosting Layer Matters Too

Security at the application level (your WordPress installation) is important, but so is security at the server level. Wirespan’s managed hosting plans include server-level firewalls, malware scanning, DDoS protection, and proactive security monitoring. These are things that happen before a request even reaches your WordPress installation. Contact us if you want to understand more about what is covered at the server level on your plan.