Wordpress Security and Alternatives
-
No matter how secure we try to make our wordpress blogs they still got hacked. We recently got hacked(server level hacking, javascript insertion that took our server down, through the askimet plugin), anyway there was nothing really showing in the front end, no inserted links and nothing suspicious looking code.
Oh well we are changing the passwords now and going through and deleting the javascript.
The problem im facing is that i am handling over 100 blogs, so its very time consuming to do this. I know that once or twice a year everyone goes through a wordpress crisis but we really cant afford nor have the resources to fix it all the time.
Are there any alternatives to wordpress blogs(as good as wordpress). Wordpress has been showing good results so far so it works as far as SEO goes, but we are trying to figure out what to do in order to not get hacked. Besides alternatives id like to know if there are any work arrounds to not get hacked with little maintenance needed. Any tips?
-
What kind of hosting plan are you on (shared, dedicated, etc)? There are a lot of annoying hacks going around affecting WP based sites on shared servers.
-
Website security is a very deep topic. I will jump to the end and share if someone wants to break into your website they can do so and there is nothing you can do about it. There is a balance between accessibility (all your site's users need to access the site) and security (keeping the bad guys out).
The largest companies in the world such as Sony have experienced break-ins. The official websites of various countries experience security issues. If a hacker wakes up one day and decides to focus your site and is willing to focus on doing such as a full-time job, he will likely succeed.
With the above understood, there are many steps you can take to maximize your security:
-
ensure you always use the latest version of your CMS software
-
when a new software update is released ensure your site is promptly updated. Waiting 60+ days to update your software is too long.
-
the same applies to any extensions used on your site. Any extension is a possible security issue.
-
have your htaccess file professionally reviewed by a security expert. There are numerous modifications which can be made to the file which prevents various types of security holes.
-
have your server setup reviewed by a security expert. There are literally hundreds of possible security holes which can be left open due to various settings.
WordPress is the #1 blog software in the world. It is a big step down to #2 in terms of popularity. If you change software you will be making sacrifices.
There are tools like McAfee which scan your site daily for a very wide range of issues, and alerts you to vulnerabilities. Otherwise you can Google "Website security testing" and begin learning more about your site's vulnerabilities.
-
-
we have actualy changed the admin profile...all our blogs had very secure paswords and did not use the admin profile thats why i am kind of bummed too
-
From our experience we noticed that Drupal does not work as well for SEO as wordpress does so since we tested it Drupal wont be an option for us...Joomla either...but thank you for the tip ill try the website defender url for now...im looking for something that i wont have to manage every couple of months for technical purposes...so if there are any methods i hope we will both find out
-
My hosting administrator Chad has some good Ideas. chad@cisaz.net - He has been having me remove the administrator profile, and installed an Administrative plug in as well. I am forwarding your questions, and concerns and see if he can give me more information on Server side securities he added on his end.
Have you tried deactivating the administrator profile, and adding more securities for the new content management contributes?
-
I'm interested in this topic also. I wonder if Drupal is a better option in terms of security.
I have installed the Website Defender plugin in one of my Wordpress websites and it notifies me of security related issues. Since you are managing 100 sites, this might be a service that could streamline that process, I don't know. Anyway, perhaps worth a look:
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
If my blog is on Wordpress, and I've installed the AMP plug-in, what do I need to do to get Google to start indexing all my posts as AMP pages?
If I add /amp to the end of any of my posts, I can see that the plug-in is working. It's been months since I installed it, though, and Google hasn't indexed any of the AMP pages. Am I missing a step?
Content Development | | DeanRamadan0 -
How do I fix a broken link to a product category page in wordpress?
We are building a new site currently at http://67.222.109.48/~cheapnan/ I started doing some SEO after the developer I hired failed to do it even though it was in the agreement. I did our old site so I should be able to do this but I am new to wordpress. Now when i go to the products tab at the top of the page the first 2 have broken links, I checked the rest and there are 3 total that I need to fix. I am unsure how to access the navigation so I can fix the links. Please tell me where to look.
Content Development | | cheaptubes0 -
How do I properly sitemap a site with static pages + Wordpress in it's own directory?
I apologize for the awkward wording in the headline. No to the issue, I have a site with static pages that are created as follows: url.com, url.com/page1, url.com/page2, etc. I then have WordPress install at url.com/blog. What is the proper method for creating a comprehensive sitemap for my entire domain. I like the sitemap feature provided by Yoast SEO plugin but I assume it will only index the wordpress directory (url.com/blog). Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Content Development | | Qcmny0 -
Embed WordPress blog into site or /blog?
Hi, Just a quick question - I assumed it would be a better to have a WordPress blog in a sub folder rather than a sub domain however I just wondered would it offer any more / less value if I just embedded the WordPress blog into my existing code? Thanks, Dan
Content Development | | Sparkstone0 -
How does WordPress 3.5.1 impact site rankings?
We have a user interested in having a WordPress 3.5.1 blog on their own existing, robust site. There is a blog module available in the CMS but the user feels more familiar with WordPress. It will be set up at the root as a subdirectory. Based on the URL structure, Google should see the WordPress blog and the user's website as the same website. (www.website.com/wordpress). There will not be a 301 needed. Does using the Wordpress module impact rankings? We've understood that Google doesn't care for Wordpress because 99% of spammers use it... is that only if it is hosted on WordPress.com? Also, are there any other reasons that our user should use/avoid WordPress?
Content Development | | dianemahan0 -
Wordpress post templates
Hi everyone! What I need is a way in Wordpress for the author to select a category for their post, and then have a template come up with some fields in addition to just the large field where you write your post, where the author can add some additional information. Then on the final post, have that information added to the top in some format that I (as the admin) can control. What I'm doing is setting up an internal company blog so our employees can have more visibility across teams. Some categories of posts will always include the same information, like release numbers, conference attendance, yes/no conclusions, among other information. If there's a plug-in for this, free or not, that would be great! If you can't tell I'm a Wordpress noob... so please bear with me. 🙂
Content Development | | john4math0 -
WHAT IS THE BEST WORDPRESS THEME FOR SEO
Hi, Seomozers I would like to know if theres any particular Wordpress Thema that works better for SEO purposes rathen than other. Thanks in advance Maria Jesus
Content Development | | goperformancelabs0 -
H1 tag in Blank in Wordpress website
Good evening, I have noticed using some h1 checkers, that my primary h1 tag is blank. I manually introduced an h1 with my main keywords, but system recognises as 2 different h1 tags, and therefore it could be harmful for my SEO purposes. I created my wordpress website using Artisteer. Is there any specific way (or plugin) to change this primary h1 tag so it wont appear as blank? My site is www.outletspain.net Thanks in advance Maria Jesus
Content Development | | goperformancelabs0