Websites have been the “online office” of most businesses around the world. You can observe how transactions that once need a personal appearance in a company’s office have become easier because of making it available online. Even the company’s promos and latest news can be found on their site. All the important information about the company, the history of the business, their contact details, the products and/or services that they offer and a lot more can all be found not in one roof but in one site. This has brought convenience to all of the company’s valued customers and to the owners as well.

However, if a physical office has a risk of being robbed or be easily turned into ashes by a huge fire, an “online office” too has the same level of risk but of different kind.

Websites of different companies have become the most popular victims of hackers around the globe. These people are those who have high level of intellect when it comes to codes, programs and other computer-related stuff but use it on things that somehow harm others.

Websites can be easily turned down by these hackers which then create an impact to the company’s performance. Some are lucky enough to be able to fix the issue without having to face evident damages, but most aren’t that lucky, or aren’t that prepared rather.

An alarming trend has been observed the past weeks that brought anxieties to many website-owners. An apparent increase on the number of websites hosted in WordPress that have been hacked was noticed. This crisis will not only trigger the decline on the number of sales of the company but might also ignite doubts in the minds of the company’s customers making the companies lose not only a sale but an asset.

What makes these WordPress-based sites the “favorite targets” of hackers?

Well, mainly because WordPress is the most popular. It has a huge number of users that make the probability of these hackers to be able to turn down a site bigger. They will simply go through thousands of sites and see which of those isn’t that secured. It’s like going down the street and trying to open all doors on the way – looking for which door is not locked. Another common reason behind this vulnerability is the outdated versions of WordPress and other installed plug-ins. Hence, an “online office” need optimum security as much as a physical office.

What website owners should bear in mind is the fact that no matter how small the security hole your website has, once these hackers found it, they can easily make it bigger – so big that they might be able to paralyze your transactions online. So don’t just be aware, be prepared.

Here are most important steps to keep your WordPress website secure

• Update WordPress, Theme and Plugins weekly.
• Have up to date offsite backup and be ready to restore site if it’s hacked – here is our WordPress disaster recovery planning worksheet.
• Setup security plugins and run weekly scans – Sucuri, WordFence are a good example. Those plugins also offer hardening tools to protect your WordPress website.
• Make sure all users have strong passwords.

Last, but not least, if all that sounds too complicated, just hire a web developer to do this for you. This will protect your investment in a website and help you to grow your business without being interrupted and distracted by security issues.