Is WordPress still a safe place for your website? With all the threats on the internet these days, this is a legit question and we will try to answer all the questions about security and hosting.
What is WordPress
WordPress is two things: first, there’s the WordPress.com hosting service, run by Automattic, and then there is WordPress as a software, used by millions of customers all around the world. The main difference between these two is that WordPress.com is controlled and limited, while on WordPress you can do pretty much anything.
WordPress Is Enormously Popular
WordPress is used for more than 25% of the websites available and it helps users control more than 60% of all websites, especially for content management.
Being so massive, it is an appealing aim for hackers, as it has a huge database. So the main reason you hear so much about WordPress is that everybody uses or used it.
WordPress Is an Open Environment
Another point of being the target of hackers is because it is an open climate. That means WordPress is about its main code, that helps users install it, its skins, that helps users customize the appearance of the website and plugins which help users extend the features of the website.
The first part is carefully taken care of by a group of dedicated people. Its themes and plugins are developed by other people and you can think of them as the apps of WordPress. You can find there some great themes and plugins and some not so great ones. It all depends on how skilled the author is.
Just like an app store, WordPress controls what it provides for it users. Themes are tested before they are listed and plugins get to be voted before they are displayed for use.
Plugins and Themes from Other Sources
The threat comes when these new features are installed from other sources. Some sources are really hackers that are a big threat to your website. Thanks the aware developers, any threat is eliminated right away.
The issues come when users don’t keep their websites up to date and they don’t use the latest version. You can even set your websites to update automatically and you get notifications when it happens.
You can even take the extra mile and use a management service that will make another protecting layer for your websites. A management service will help you update your settings with only one click.
Also, don’t forget to backup all the information you have on the website and use a trusted hosting service. All these come at a small cost, but it surely is worthy on the long run.
Can You Trust WordPress?
So is WordPress still trustworthy? Truth is yes, WordPress is still the best option for hosting your content.
Here are the things you should pay attention to:
- If you want to avoid maintenance, use a WordPress.com host or pay somebody to do it for you;
- When you want a customized website, keep in mind to have everything updated; you can also ask the person in charge of maintenance to take care of that;
- Be aware of commercial plugins and other themes from other websites.
Lucky you, there is a strong community passionate about keeping things safe and clean. As long as you are diligent, WordPress is the safest place for you. With all that, the Internet is a threat if you don’t take care of your things. Truth is nothing is safe and invulnerable on the internet.
Managing Your Site
Now that you know how to reduce and eliminate the dangers, all it takes is to keep things updated.
Don’t just set up your theme and plugins and then ignore them completely. Make sure you keep things organized.
If you need to set up a WordPress website or you need help with upgrading your themes and plugins, just give us a sign. Our experts are here to help.