7 best WordPress security plugins to protect your website in 2022

Learn which WordPress security plugins you should install to make sure your website's data is well protected against threats.

Updated: January 3, 2022
the best wordpress security plugins

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Are you looking for the best WordPress security plugins to protect your website?

Making sure your data is secure and that your visitors are able to browse without the need to worry is essential to building trust on the internet.

WordPress hosting is the most widely used website management choice around and it already provides adequate security for your website data. However, it does not hurt to improve that even further by counting on the best plugins to extend those features. 

There are solutions available that allow you to scan for malware, protect user accounts, log activity and even add a firewall to audit your website’s connections.

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All of those features are within your reach; you just need to use the proper WordPress security plugins.

In this article, you will learn why it is essential to work with WordPress security plugins, how to choose the best one, and learn which ones warrant your consideration. Check it out!

Why is it important to use WordPress security plugins?

Keeping a website online is no simple feat. It deals with several calls to servers, databases, and other systems to make everything work properly. If one or more of those are compromised, your pages are at risk of going offline, losing their data, and even damaging your business’s brand image.

Good security on your website also protects your users. With so much of our information being online nowadays, it can be a serious breach of trust if your visitors are targeted in data breaches when dealing with your business online.

Making the appropriate WordPress security choices allows you to acquire the features you need to make sure that every aspect of your website is protected against attacks, leaks, and other threats. It will help you maintain peace of mind when counting on your business to operate online without risks.

What to consider when choosing the best WordPress security plugins?

As when choosing any other kind of solution, you must keep an eye out for the features the WordPress security plugins are offering. Consider what your website needs and what is available.

In addition, it is better to count on a single plugin with multiple features than to have multiple plugins with only one major feature. This lowers the risk of incompatibilities and the hogging of server resources.

Below, you can learn about the most important features to look for when choosing the best WordPress security plugins:

Malware scan

Just like the regular files on your computer, your website can be infected by malware. A good WordPress security plugin must be able to detect these issues as soon as possible and get rid of them.

Firewall

A firewall increases your website’s access security. It helps make sure only authorized people are able to connect to its most important parts, like the admin panel and your database. This is a great tool to avoid threats such as attacks and invasions.

Security notifications

You have to be aware of when your website is at risk. Not only do WordPress security plugins need to be able to protect you, but also must notify you when a threat is detected. This will allow you to make the correct decision to deal with the problem.

User account protection

Many security issues can be fixed by properly protecting user accounts on your WordPress website, especially the admin account. Some plugins allow for extra authentication processes when using these credentials and provide logging audits to detect possible breaches.

What are the 7 best WordPress security plugins?

Making the decision to use WordPress security plugins is a great first step. However, you must choose the best alternatives that can truly help you. Just as it is risky to work without any security solution, it is also problematic to install bad or ineffective plugins.

Here are the 7 best WordPress security plugins for your website:

1. Sucuri

The Sucuri Security WordPress plugin is widely known as one of the most complete solutions available. Not only does it have file monitoring and malware scanning but it also provides security notifications whenever needed and even activity auditing to ensure there are no vulnerabilities on your website.

You can even extend those features by signing up for the $9.99 per month premium plan. Then, you will unlock a firewall and support for SSL connections, which help protect your website even further.

2. WP Security Audit Log

Keeping reliable logs is a great way to make sure your website is functioning in a secure way. By using WP Security Audit Log, you can count on high quality monitoring of all activity on your site, which allows you to notice suspicious activity and stop possible attacks before they even happen.

This is also useful to troubleshoot issues your website might run into. All that you have to do is look over your logs to find what is wrong and fix the problem.

3. Astra

Astra Security Suite is another choice in WordPress security plugins when looking for complete suites to fit your needs. It has a fast setup time, which means it is able to configure itself to start working right away without needing your input. 

Among its features are a firewall, malware scanning and removal, DDoS attack protection, admin access brute force prevention and support for a whitelist and a blacklist for IPs and countries.

4. MalCare Security

If you focus is on making sure you website is free from malware, you cannot go wrong when choosing MalCare Security. It has a fast, reliable scanner that is also able to remove the threats if any are detected. The whole process is quick and easy, not requiring complex configurations.

MalCare Security also features firewall protection and remote malware scanning, which will not overload your server. It also has developer tools such as white labeling and client reports.

5. iThemes Security

Formerly known as WP Security, iThemes Security is focused on fixing possible vulnerabilities and strengthening your access to prevent unauthorized changes on your website. Through its frequent updates, you are able to keep your website secure as new exploits are discovered and patched.

If you choose to go for the Pro version, you will unlock features such as two-factor authentication, scan scheduling, Google reCAPTCHA for comments, user action logins among others. The Pro plan costs $199 per year and supports multiple sites.

6. Security Ninja

If you would like to be completely sure your website is really secure, you can run some tests on it. By using Security Ninja, you can execute over 50 security-related tests, such as checks on the WordPress core, plugins and themes, file accessibility, user password strength and other database vulnerabilities.

However, this plugin’s free version only gives you the test results. In order to fix them, you have to use Security Ninja Pro, which costs $29 per year.

7. Google Authenticator

Making sure there are no unauthorized accesses to your admin credentials is essential to good WordPress security. In order to do that, you can count on Google Authenticator by miniOrange to add an extra layer of authentication when logging in.

It goes even further and supports other WordPress plugins such as Woocommerce, BuddyPress, bbPress, and others. 

Now that you know which are the best WordPress security plugins for your website, the next step is making the right decisions on what solutions to use. Consider your needs, see what each solution is offering and try them out. Remember how important it is to protect your website’s data along with your visitor’s information.

Do you want to learn about the opportunities you are missing out on with your website? Use Stage’s analyzer and improve your site!

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