Having tight security in place is not only essential for your home but also for your website. As WordPress is an open-source platform, it is vulnerable to security threats. An insecure website can affect your brand’s credibility and lower your site’s rankings. This, in turn, can hurt your website traffic. A good WordPress security plugin acts as a shield and protects your site from malware, adware, spam, and brute-force attacks. Thus, let’s check out the top Best WordPress Security Plugins that you can use to secure your website.
Further reading: Essential Settings You Shouldn’t Miss After Installation WordPress
Which is the best WordPress security plugin?
Among the many WordPress security plugins, the top 3 most popular are iThemes Security, WordFence, and Sucuri. These are excellent tools that protect your website and prevent security threats. iThemes, WordFence and Sucuri are available for free on WordPress.org. However, to use their premium features, you need to subscribe to the PRO plans. Your website security should be robust if your want to enjoy good traffic and search rankings. Also, make sure that you update your site’s plugins to avoid any vulnerabilities.
Contents
- Which is the best WordPress security plugin?
- A. Why Your WordPress Site Needs a Security Plugin?
- B. Top WordPress Security Plugins
- 1. Jetpack – WP Security, Backup, Speed, & Growth
- 2. Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner & Security Hardening
- 3. iThemes
- 4. WPScan - WordPress Security Scanner
- 5. BulletProof
- 6. WordFence - Firewall and Malware Scan
- 7. Google Authenticator
- Final thoughts,
A. Why Your WordPress Site Needs a Security Plugin?
Security has become the most significant aspect of online business. It does not matter whether your website is small or big; hackers target every website on the internet.
According to a recent study, more than 18 million websites are affected by malware each week.
While the core security of WordPress is good, the themes and plugins you install could pose a threat to your security. If there is an attack on your website, it can affect your business revenue, damage your reputation, and impact your search engine ranking and traffic.
When you install a good security plugin for WordPress, it will take care of the entire website security.
- It will keep all your data secured and protected so no hacker can target them.
- It can help block spam from different contact form plugins.
- It can notify you when there is a threat to your website’s security.
- It will protect your website against brute-force attacks – this is when the hacker guesses your login credentials.
- It can also offer features like 24/7 site monitoring and firewall protection.
Besides the plugins, you can use SiteLock to protect your website from hackers, spam and malware. To buy this add-on, use HostGator Coupon Code.
B. Top WordPress Security Plugins
1. Jetpack – WP Security, Backup, Speed, & Growth
Jetpack is a secured solution for WooCommerce and WordPress sites. It is one of the best security WordPress plugins that let you scan your website for security vulnerabilities. Besides, the plugin comes with different modules that integrate with social media, improve site performance, and provide spam protection.
Features of Jetpack Security Plugin
- With the real-time backup feature, you can save every change on your site
- Decentralized malware scanning keeps your site safe from malware
- It offers spam protection for contact forms and comments on the site
- The email alert feature lets you know when the site is down
- Single-click restoration will get your website up and running in no time
- It protects the website against brute-force login attacks
- Includes automatic marketing tool with different website design features
- Keeps all your site plugins updated and notifies you about the latest WordPress version
The free plan provides security for a small website, but you can upgrade to a premium plan for added features. With the premium plan, you can turn your plugin into a suite with added benefits like spam protection, scanning for malware, and backups. With Jetpack, you won’t require another plugin for WordPress site backup.
Price: The premium plan for Jetpack starts from ₹187/month, paid yearly
2. Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner & Security Hardening
Sucuri is the most used security plugin for WordPress with over 800,000+ active installations. It is one of the best plugins offering a range of competitive features. Though the free version has ample features, the paid version includes extra features for complete website security.
Moreover, it comes with a security-auditing tool that helps monitor your site’s security. In addition, it provides blacklist monitoring and security hardening.
Features of Sucuri Security Plugin
- Easy set-up and lets you conduct complete malware scanning
- Keeps a track record for failed login attempts, login details, and file changes
- Access to web application firewall to keep your website safe
- Serves static content from CDN servers and provides advanced DDOS protection
- Protects your WordPress website against XSS, SQL injections, and all-known attacks
- Provides default HTTP/2 support for the website
- Provides security alert feature with file monitoring
- Reduces the server load time and improves website performance by blocking malicious traffic.
The free plan offers basic security features, but the premium plan provides added benefits. You can also get access to an SSL certificate with the premium plan.
Price: Sucuri PRO plans start from $199/per year.
3. iThemes
iThemes is another famous WordPress security plugin. It has an attractive dashboard that displays all the available tools. Besides, it has an intuitive interface that makes security monitoring easier. iThemes security plugin comes with strong password enforcement and complete site backup.
Features of iThemes Security Plugin
- Provides two-factor authentication for an added layer of security
- Locks out suspicious activities that pose a threat to website security
- With a vulnerability scan, no one can gain access to your website
- Can limit login attempts made to the site
- The plugin scan feature checks for malware and detect 404 errors
- Access to email alerts that provides notification of file updates or changes made to the site
- With automatic database backups, you don’t have to take a backup of your site
- Protects against brute-force attack
- Set-up of scheduled WordPress backups
The basic free version provides backups and scanning. With the premium version, you can get added features like Google Recaptcha and increased malware scan feature.
Price: iThemes security plugin premium/pro plan starts from $80/per year.
4. WPScan - WordPress Security Scanner
WPScan is a user-friendly WordPress plugin, preferred by smaller WordPress websites. It helps keep your website safe and provides complete monitoring at the backend. Moreover, the plugin catalogues different known threats, so you stay alert of security vulnerabilities and unwanted threats. You can avoid unknown security issues with this powerful security plugin.
Features of WPScan Security Plugin
- Provides automated scan options for malware detection
- The plugin scans for debug file logs and weak passwords on your website
- Checks for more than 22,000 site vulnerabilities and offers a comprehensive security cap
- Community members and WordPress security specialists update all database vulnerabilities
- Email alerts for all the security scans on your WordPress website
- Provides an open-source tool with added functionality that scans remote WordPress installations
- The random scan option pinpoints all the security issues on the website
- Auditing of the database
The paid version of WPScan is good for bigger websites that need extra security cover.
Price: The paid plan of the WPScan security plugin starts from $5/per month.
5. BulletProof
BulletProof security offers excellent features with anti-spam protection alongside a money-back guarantee. In addition, the auto-restore feature provides complete site restoration.
Features of BulletProof Security Plugin
- Complete malware scan feature with firewall support for your WordPress website
- Database backup with login protection
- HTTP error logging with complete security
- Easy to use wizard saves time on the initial set-up
- Email alerts for security logs when a user gets locked up on failed login attempts
- Provides a Mscan (malware scanner) that keeps your website free from malware
- Anti-spam and anti-hacking tools for site protection
- Access to hidden plugin folders and security log
- Easy maintenance mode for the site
- Complete login security and monitoring feature
The free version of the security plugin is packed with features that will work for the average website. Moreover, you will get a database backup feature in the free version of the plugin. However, the advanced version offers ARQ intrusion prevention & detection system, which provides complete encryption solutions.
Price: The premium version costs $69 for a lifetime with unlimited downloads.
6. WordFence - Firewall and Malware Scan
WordFence offers powerful protection that keeps hackers away. The free version comes with basic protection features for small WordPress websites. But the only issue is you won’t receive security patches or updates with basic protection.
Features of WordFence Security Plugin
- Tracks and alerts via notifications on breach passwords used on your website
- Protects the website from brute-force attacks while limiting the login attempts
- Offers customised email alert
- Monitors the visits and hack attacks in real-time
- Comes with real-time firewall protection and a WordPress malware scanner
- Provides file integrity monitoring for malicious codes
- Provides login protection feature with strong password enforcement
- The country-blocking feature ensures complete safety
- The scan portion of the plugin deals with malware added threats and spam comments. With a comment spam filter, you don’t have to install a separate plugin
- WordFence blocks malicious traffic before it attacks your website
The premium version is available with added security features – spam protection, frequent scans, and monitoring all the sites from a central dashboard.
Price: The paid version starts from $99/per year.
7. Google Authenticator
Setting up two-factor authentication for your website is a great idea, more so with so many websites being hacked each day in the internet space. That said, not all sites need a two-factor authenticator, but the sites that need extra security cover and deal with sensitive data would require the plugin. The plugin is designed to integrate with the form builder plugin that secures your registration and login process.
Features of Google Authenticator Security Plugin
- Adds an extra layer of security
- Lets you pick from the type of authentication you require for your website
- Comes with a simple and intuitive interface; good for beginner level
- With shortcodes, you will be able to deal with customised login pages
- Provides IP address blocking feature with user-level monitoring
Besides, choosing the authentication for the site, it lets you define the user role for authentication. The only drawback, it does not let you log on from a backend device like a mobile phone.
The free version of this plugin is available with basic features, and the premium version provides multiple login options and authentication choices.
Price: The premium plan starts from $5 per year.
Final thoughts,
- If you want the best value, choose the Sucuri plugin, Jetpack, and iThemes. These plugins offer comprehensive features for your WordPress site security.
- For the free version, you can choose the Wordfence security plugin.
- For beginner-level security, choose WPScan or BulletProof security.
- For advanced level security, Google Authenticator is an ideal choice as you have an extra layer of security.
Besides the installation of the security plugin, check for regular site updates and remove plugins, not in use.
Most security plugins come with a simple set-up and integration, so download and get started today.
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