Your website is not a fortress. No matter how feature-rich or authoritative your site is, without WordPress security plugins, it is vulnerable to exploitation and breaches.
Given the popularity of WordPress and the multitude of websites built upon it, the CMS is under continuous exposure to break-in attempts and brute force attacks by malicious hackers.
The threat is real, and the only way to fight back is by fortifying your website with advanced security measures.
In this post, we will help you narrow down your options to security plugins that are reliable and effective. But first, let’s dig a little deeper on the importance of these plugins for your website.
Why You Need to Use WordPress Security Plugins?
Installing a security plugin is a rather preventive action. It monitors your site for threats and takes countermeasures accordingly.
As a matter of fact, the WordPress core does come with built-in security measures. However, these tactics often fall short compared to the advanced layer of protection offered by a plugin.
Being the website owner, you wouldn’t want to risk losing critical data or, even worse, your userbase.
WordPress has been observing a continuous growth in vulnerabilities every year. According to WebARX, 542 vulnerabilities were found in 2018, which was 30% more compared to 2017. The statistics are alarming and indicate loss of pertinent information if your site becomes a target of an unethical hacker. A hacker can lock you out of your website, compromise its functionality, or, in the worst cases, inject malicious code in it.
The Best WordPress Security Plugins (Free & Premium)
Using this tool will protect and back up the security of your WordPress website. The tool developers have done an outstanding job of providing a comprehensive backup solution that’s easy to set up and use.
- Brute Force Attack Protection
- Fast Backup and Restoration
- Removal and detection of malware
- Secure Offsite Storage
- Staging Site Deployment
We’ve talked about various options to prevent cyberattacks. However, many people aren’t inclined to consider what they might do following an unsuccessful attack.
MalCare free is an excellent plugin on its own that has tools for deep scans for malware on your website’s files as well as WordPress database Bot. And login protection as well as a web-based application firewall. But, you’ll have an upgrade to avail of unlimited and automatic post-hack cleaning.
- Malcare's off-site scan reduces the load on servers.
- This program has earned its name due to its high-quality scanning.
- Tests effectively hundreds of signals.
Sucuri is a favourite among web designers and online businesses due to its top security solutions and products. Sucuri’s no-cost WordPress Security plugin offers you extensive control over your website and a complete overview of the security aspects. It is one of these products.
Alongside resources such as emails alerts, WordPress accurate integrity tests and guides to the post-hacking situation, Sucuri’s plugin includes the ability to scan for malicious software, bugs, obsolete codes, and blacklisting status.
The only drawback of Sucuri’s scanner is that it’s a small tool, meaning it can only detect vulnerabilities on your WordPress websites’ pages. It isn’t able to scan the primary files that manage the backend of your website.
To unlock the benefits of virtual patching and strengthening, DDoS protection, CDN performance optimization, signature detection, and bot blocking. You must purchase Sucuri’s web app firewall.
- Sucuri provides a variety of SSL certificates.
- It immediately informs you of any mistakes on your site.
- The free version is an excellent malware detection and security hardening tool.
With more than 4 million downloads, Wordfence is the leading security software. Wordfence’s free scanner examines your primary files, plugin files, posts, theme files, and comments for code that is suspicious or URLs that are not correct, as well as spam.
Wordfence conducts these checks regularly and automatically and will notify you when it detects an issue, vulnerability, or a corrupted or vulnerable file. It will tell you what was changed in the file so you can fix it faster, even if it does not offer alternatives to restore the files in the former case.
Wordfence Security offers a premium version that comes with comment spam filters, countries blocking Remote scanning, Two-Factor Authentication, and premium customer service.
- The free version of the plugin comes with excellent features, including the ability to block traffic and live monitoring.
- You could get as high as 25% off when you add over 15 sites to the premium.
- Wordfence provides quick support to users who are having difficulty installing the plugin.
iThemes security is in use by more than one million worldwide users. The security offers both the free version as well as the paid version.
iThemes can also be modified to change the WordPress table’s prefix for database tables and the wp-content path. It also blocks harmful spiders and bots as well as prevents attacks by brute force, as well as also backs your database.
With iThemes, you can customize your site’s look and feel with your choice of two options. Its extensive documentation library and videos help reduce the learning curve.
- No prior cybersecurity experience is necessary to install or configure the plugin.
- You can perform Google scans to find malware on your website.
- You can add temporary admin accounts to your website with the pro version of the plugin.
Cerber Security is another five-star security plugin that is powerful against spammers, hacker attacks, trojans, malware, and other attacks. The version for free of Cerber Security offers sophisticated protection against spam and other harmful activities. However, it’s not as robust in features as different no-cost versions of the plugins listed on this list.
The upgrade to the upgraded version unlocks more features, including security for layered spam and automatized integrity checkers. Furthermore, you can use Cerber Security Pro to schedule automated web scans and file recovery regularly or every day. Cerber Security will remove the malware and repair damaged files if it detects malware or a modified or infected file.
- Its capability to stop PHP uploads of files is beneficial for websites that offer documents in PDF or similar formats.
- Cerber Security has a very comprehensive report dashboard.
- It seldom causes unintended problems in comparison to other plugins available.
A famous and widely popular security plugin is Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall. It runs a full scan, which will rid the user of security risks. In addition, the plugin will also eliminate the backdoor malware and stop malware such as SoakSoak.
In the final analysis, your website won’t be completely secure. Online threats are constantly evolving and are testing your defenses constantly. However, this doesn’t mean you’re powerless and aren’t able to do anything to keep your website safe.
With the aid of these security plugins, you can improve your security measures. They will assist you in avoiding possible security risks and prevent any lasting damage. The majority of these plugins are secure, free, and simple to use.
- Integrated Power Firewall
- Automatically Updates Definitions
- Patch Wp- Login to guard against dangers
- Automatically runs a full scan and then removes dangers
- Verify the authenticity in Your WordPress core files.
- Checks Regular Website Core Files.
- This BPS Pro ARQ Intrusion Detection and Prevention System is one of the most sophisticated available security tools.
- Bulletproof comes with maintenance modes that are absent from many others security software.
- The free trial version is packed with features that adequately protect even a small website.
If you’re a WordPress site administrator, there’s a good possibility that you’ve heard of Jetpack as it’s considered in that WordPress community as one of the top plugins available, and with the right reasons. It provides an easy complete solution to security and performance and managing of content.
However, we suggest upgrading to the Premium Plan, which includes daily malware scans and priority support when you experience issues with functionality. One of the features that sets Jetpack’s Premium Plan above other plugins is that it lets you back up your website in real-time and restore it at any point in one click. You don’t need to install a backup plugin separately.
- Jetpack allows you to restore and backup your website in one click.
- It's a flexible plugin that eliminates the need for additional plugins for optimization, social media, or email marketing.
- Jetpack is a great security option for websites with small amounts of traffic.
Automattic developed VaultPress is an excellent WordPress Security Plugin with over 80,000 installed installations. It’s among the best ways to back up your WordPress website. But, it will cost you money.
In addition to backups, VaultPress offers various features, including spam protection defense against hacker attacks. VaultPress is powered by Jetpack and additionally protects against host downtime and attacks using brute force.
- Automated offsite backups
- Site Migration
- File Repair in One Click
- Spam Protection
- Brute Force Attack Protection
- Easy Website Restoration
All In One WP Firewall & Security is a popular and free security plugin. This add-on offers many features at a low price. It includes malware and vulnerability scanning and login protection, comment spam protection, and user monitoring. Database backups are also available. A firewall is another way to protect your website.
It is all tied together by an intuitive interface. The plugin presents its findings in a grading system. It makes it easy for beginners to understand and improve their site’s safety.
- No upsells, free plugin
- Backup and restore corruption .htaccess files and .wp-config files.
- It also features a blacklist feature that allows users to be restricted.
SecuPress, one of the newest entrants, boasts a user-friendly interface.
You can choose from a premium or free version. It offers many features that will protect your website. SecuPress is easy to use and does not require any technical knowledge.
- A tool to create strong passwords
- Security Firewall
- File Change detection scanner
- Capability See a list of users who have logged in to your site
- File Change detection scanner
Defender is a relatively new but promising security tool for WordPress that has already been downloaded more than one million times. Once you’ve installed and configured the application with just a couple of clicks, it will immediately go to work to secure your website.
Defender comes with a broad array of security options for free. Similar to Wordfence Defender, it comes with an antivirus that comes with IP blocking that is no cost. In addition, the free version comes with malware scanners, brute force login protection, notification of threats, and two-factor authentication with Google.
- Defender Pro offers flexible pricing dependent on the number of websites you have.
- The plugin includes an Audit Log that tracks each user's activity.
- It is possible to reset your passwords if you suspect hacking or data leaks.
No-Nonsense, No-Hype. Just Good Security Protection. Shield is the only NO-nonsense security solution that defends and protects your WordPress sites against hackers and malicious bots, of all types. With our exclusive, no-need-for-captcha security technology you can limit login attempts, block brute force attacks and prevent 100% bot comment SPAM.
Performance is critical. Shield Security automatically blocks bad IP addresses while optimising performance so your WordPress site never slows down because of bloated security, with large IP lookup tables .
The WP Security Audit Log plug-in lets WordPress website and multisite network administrators keep a comprehensive report of modifications and user activities on their sites.
The process is simple Install this WP Security Log plug-in, and the plug-in will begin recording who has visited your site. While the plug-in may not be the most comprehensive, it’s effortless to use. It includes all the settings you may need to tweak the plug-in to your preferences. For instance, you could define the duration for which logs are maintained and turn off specific events’ logging. And even block a particular user’s IP address, username or job from the activity logs.
- Manage your users better and their efficiency.
- Troubleshoot and pinpoint the root of the issue in a matter of seconds.
- Be aware of precisely the activities your customers are doing and the time they do it.
- You can quickly identify suspicious behavior before it becomes a security issue.
- Manage and organize your WordPress websites and multisite networks.
Final Thoughts
Taking a laid-back approach towards securing your website is equivalent to leaving money on the table. To lock out intruders, you need to be proactive and add that extra layer of protection with a reliable WordPress security plugin.
We can help you choose the right option that fits perfectly with all your web security needs. All you need to do is sign up for our website care plan.
