My conversations around WordPress security plugins and strategies are generally focused on the potential for vulnerabilities in WordPress core files, themes and plugins. I generally don't point to hosting being violated in a manner described by recent news on multi-year GoDaddy breach. Apparently for the last four years, GoDaddy's shared hosting accounts, serving approximately 1.2 million customers, were exposed to hackers. They stole client data, loaded malware into websites, and also redirected website traffic.

Unfortunately, GoDaddy didn't notice this issue until December 2022 and just recently advised clients of the breach. Coincidentally, GoDaddy did upload some security software in late 2022, that suggests they were taking some action a few months prior to announcing they had a massive problem.

WordPress security is a fundamental technical responsibility of a website owner. While website and content security has been high-profile news, hosting companies have generally left individual site security up to the website owner. Companies like GoDaddy, generally only alert subscribers to their hosting services, if a problem negatively impacts a server's performance or other accounts. That means in almost all cases where they may be a security issue, there is no alert unless you have a security plugin installed.

As a WordPress contractor who manages client sites on many hosting platforms, including GoDaddy, I can attest to the fact that if you do not manage your website's security, no one is going to do it for you. I have yet to take over the management of one WordPress website that had an existing security plugin or any security strategy whatsoever!

The bottom line is that regardless where you host your WordPress website, you have to have a security plugin (if allowed) and an ongoing, persistent strategy! If you don't manage your website directly, you must be sure your in-house team or contract does!

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Website security has always been an important component of managing a WordPress website. WordPress websites are targets because not only are there so many of them, but many are poorly managed. Several areas of poor management can help a hacker gain access to a website. Some of those areas include a lack of delaying updates to the core WordPress program, using out of date plugins or themes, and/or simply not paying attention the website.

If you want to protect your client, brand, customers, SEO, or even critical infrastructure in your country, you must actively manage security on your WordPress website!

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In Episode 11 of Channeling WordPress, we go over how to use your CPanel to login to your WordPress website and use the Softaculous Installation Manager to create on-demand backups of your WordPress website. I really suggest going one step further when it comes to using your CPanel account. That step, logging into your CPanel before any substantial update of your WordPress website, can be a lifesaver.

Beyond on-demand backups and restore tools, a CPanel offers quite a few features, so it is good to be familiar with the options available. Not only can you save money by using features available in a CPanel, but you can also avoid tech support calls or frustrations with User Password resets.

In this case, using the Softaculous Installation Manager, you can perform on-demand backups before any theme, plugin, or core WordPress update. You really don't need to pay for a backup tool when if your CPanel uses an app launcher like Softaculous that has a Backup and Restore option built it. Backing up and Restoring is also generally pretty fast.

Other features we will cover in later CPanel 101 podcasts include updating PHP version, creating emails, connecting to CDNS, accessing the File Manager and dealing with SSL issues.

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