WordPress Security Checklist for Small Business Sites

As a small business owner, your website is often your most valuable digital asset, your storefront, portfolio, and lead generator all in one. But what happens when it’s suddenly offline? Or worse, hijacked by hackers? Unfortunately, these aren’t just “big company problems.” Small businesses are increasingly becoming the primary targets of cyberattacks because they’re seen as easier to breach.

From malware infections and phishing attacks to data breaches and unexpected downtime, the risks of not securing your WordPress site can be devastating. Beyond the obvious financial loss, a hacked website can erode customer trust, tank your Google rankings, and put sensitive user data at risk, all things a growing business can’t afford to ignore.

And while WordPress powers over 40% of all websites for good reason, flexibility, ease of use, and scalability, it’s also a favorite target for cybercriminals simply because it’s so widely used.

That’s why we’ve put together this WordPress security checklist, built specifically for small business websites. Whether you're running an eCommerce store, service-based site, or company blog, this guide will walk you through practical, easy-to-follow steps to help you protect your online presence without needing to be a tech expert.

Let’s dive into the must-have security practices that will keep your WordPress site safe, secure, and running smoothly.

Why Small Business Sites Are a Target for Cyberattacks

One of the biggest misconceptions out there is: “Hackers only go after big companies.”
It sounds logical, right? Major corporations have millions of customers and deep pockets, so why would a hacker waste time on a small business website?

But here’s the truth: Small business websites are actually some of the most common targets. Why? Because cybercriminals know that many small businesses don’t have the resources, technical knowledge, or time to maintain tight website security. It’s like leaving the back door unlocked in a quiet neighborhood, most people assume they’re safe until it’s too late.

Hackers often use automated bots to scan thousands of websites at a time, looking for easy entry points: outdated plugins, weak passwords, or a missing firewall. Once they’re in, they can inject malware, steal customer data, or use your site as a launchpad for larger attacks. The worst part? You may not even know your site’s been compromised until your customers start noticing.

For small businesses, even a brief security breach can be a major blow, leading to lost revenue, damaged reputation, SEO penalties, or even legal trouble if user data is involved. And unlike big companies, you likely don’t have an in-house IT team to manage cleanup.

WordPress Security Checklist: Key Steps to Secure Your Site

1. Keep WordPress Core, Themes, and Plugins Updated

Running outdated software is one of the most common reasons WordPress sites get hacked. Developers regularly release updates to fix bugs, patch security vulnerabilities, and improve performance. Ignoring those updates leaves your site exposed. Ensure your WordPress core, theme, and all installed plugins are always up to date. Even inactive plugins can pose a threat if left outdated, so remove anything you're not actively using.

To streamline the process, consider enabling automatic updates for trusted plugins or using a security plugin that alerts you when updates are available. For added peace of mind, back up your site before major updates in case of compatibility issues.

Pro Tip: Set a weekly reminder to log into your WordPress dashboard and check for available updates, it takes less than five minutes and can save you a major headache.

2. Use Strong Login Credentials & Limit Login Attempts

Your WordPress login page is the front door to your website, don’t leave it wide open. Weak usernames like “admin” and simple passwords are easy targets for brute-force attacks, where bots repeatedly try different combinations to gain access. To reduce this risk, always use a unique username and a strong password that includes a mix of letters, numbers, and special characters.

Beyond strong credentials, it’s smart to limit the number of login attempts. This prevents attackers from trying endless password combinations. You can easily set this up using plugins like Limit Login Attempts Reloaded or Wordfence, which block suspicious activity after a set number of failed logins.

For even stronger protection, enable two-factor authentication (2FA). This adds an extra verification step, like a code sent to your phone, making it nearly impossible for anyone else to access your site, even if they have your password.

Quick Tip: Avoid using the same password across multiple accounts. Use a password manager to generate and store secure logins for your WordPress site and other platforms.

3. Install a Reliable Security Plugin

A solid WordPress security plugin acts as your website’s first line of defense. It continuously monitors your site, blocks threats, and alerts you to suspicious activity, saving you from manually scanning files or checking for vulnerabilities.

Popular tools like Wordfence, Sucuri, and iThemes Security offer comprehensive protection tailored to different needs:

• Wordfence: Offers a built-in firewall, malware scanner, and login security. It also shows you real-time traffic and attack attempts.
  
  
• Sucuri: Focuses on malware detection and removal, along with a powerful website firewall to stop threats before they reach your server.
  
  
• iThemes Security: Provides over 30 security features, including file change detection, brute force protection, and 2FA integration.
  
  

These tools simplify security by automating many of the best practices, like enforcing strong passwords, limiting login attempts, and scanning for malware. They also help you monitor changes to core files and plugins, which can be early indicators of a breach.

Pro Tip: Choose one primary security plugin and configure it properly. Using multiple security plugins can cause conflicts and slow down your site.

4. Set Up Regular Backups (and Test Them)

No matter how secure your website is, things can go wrong, a plugin conflict, a failed update, or even a cyberattack. That’s why having a reliable backup system in place is non-negotiable.

Use trusted backup plugins like UpdraftPlus or BlogVault, which allow you to schedule automatic backups and restore your site with just a few clicks. These tools back up not just your content, but your entire site, database, themes, plugins, and settings.

Most importantly, store backups off-site. Keeping them on the same server as your website defeats the purpose. Cloud storage options like Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3 provide safer and more accessible backup solutions.

Equally crucial is testing your backups. A backup is only useful if it actually works when you need it. Periodically restore a test version of your site to ensure the backup files are complete and functional.

Pro Tip: Schedule daily or weekly backups based on how frequently you update your site. The more changes you make, the more frequent your backups should be.

5. Use SSL Certificates and HTTPS

If your website still shows “Not Secure” in the browser bar, it's time to fix that, immediately. An SSL certificate encrypts data transferred between your site and its visitors, protecting sensitive information like passwords, contact forms, and payment details.

Once installed, your site will use HTTPS instead of HTTP, adding a layer of security and boosting user trust. It’s especially important for eCommerce and membership sites, but every small business site should have it, regardless of whether or not you collect customer data.

Beyond security, Google considers HTTPS a ranking factor, so having an SSL certificate can also give your site a slight SEO boost.

Many hosting providers now offer free SSL certificates through services like Let’s Encrypt. Once installed, you can use plugins like Really Simple SSL to ensure your entire site is running securely on HTTPS. If you're also integrating marketing tools with your website, it's crucial to ensure these automations work seamlessly with your secure setup, learn how to integrate marketing automation with WordPress.

Pro Tip: After switching to HTTPS, update your Google Search Console and analytics settings to reflect the secure version of your site.

6. Harden Your wp-config.php and .htaccess Files

Two of the most sensitive files in your WordPress installation, wp-config.php and .htaccess, hold crucial data and control key functions. If not properly protected, they can be easy entry points for attackers.

The wp-config.php file contains your database credentials, authentication keys, and other core settings. By moving this file one directory level up from the root (if your host allows), you reduce its visibility to intruders.

The .htaccess file controls how your server handles requests. You can use it to block unauthorized access, disable directory browsing, restrict file editing, and even protect specific folders. A few simple rules added here can significantly improve your WordPress website security.

Here are a few hardening tips:

• Disable file editing in the WordPress dashboard by adding define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true); in your wp-config.php.
  
  
• Deny access to wp-config.php and .htaccess via browser using these lines in your .htaccess:

These changes may seem technical, but they're crucial parts of a strong WordPress security plan. If you're unsure, ask your developer or use a trusted security plugin that offers file hardening options.

Pro Tip: Always back up your site before editing core files, and test changes in a staging environment if possible.

7. Change Default Login URL

By default, WordPress login pages are accessible via /wp-login.php or /wp-admin. Unfortunately, every hacker and bot knows this. Leaving your login URL unchanged makes it easier for brute-force attacks and malicious login attempts to flood your site.

One simple yet effective way to enhance your WordPress website security is to change the default login URL. This adds an extra layer of protection by hiding the entrance to your admin dashboard from automated bots and unwanted visitors.

You don’t need to modify code to do this. Plugins like WPS Hide Login, iThemes Security, or All-In-One WP Security make it easy to set a custom login URL, something only you and your team know.

For example, instead of yourwebsite.com/wp-login.php, you could use yourwebsite.com/my-portal-login or something unique but easy to remember.

Important: Once you change the login URL, bookmark the new link. If you forget it, you may get locked out of your own site.

Pro Tip: Combine this tactic with limiting login attempts and two-factor authentication for even stronger protection.

8. Limit User Roles and Permissions

Not everyone who has access to your WordPress site needs full control. One of the most overlooked WordPress security best practices is assigning the right user roles and permissions based on what each person actually needs to do.

WordPress offers six default roles: Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber, and Super Admin (for multisite setups). The Administrator has full access—including theme and plugin settings—so only trusted individuals should hold this role.

Giving too many users admin access increases the risk of accidental changes, plugin conflicts, or worse—unauthorized access if a user account gets compromised.

Here’s how to manage user roles wisely:

• Assign Contributor or Author roles to content writers.
  
  
• Limit editors to publishing and managing posts, not changing site settings.
  
  
• Regularly audit your user list and remove inactive accounts.
  
  
• Use plugins like User Role Editor if you need custom access levels.

Pro Tip: When outsourcing tasks or working with third-party developers, create temporary accounts with limited permissions—and always delete them after the job is done.

9. Monitor Activity and Audit Logs

One of the smartest ways to stay ahead of potential threats is to monitor user activity and keep audit logs on your WordPress site. These logs record everything from login attempts and plugin changes to content edits and file modifications—giving you full visibility into what’s happening behind the scenes.

Tracking this activity is essential for early threat detection. For example, if you notice multiple failed login attempts or an unknown user suddenly installing plugins, it’s a clear sign that something’s wrong.

Audit logs are also incredibly useful for troubleshooting. If your site suddenly breaks or content disappears, you can review the logs to pinpoint who made changes and when.

Plugins like WP Activity Log, Sucuri Security, or Simple History offer comprehensive logging features without slowing down your site. They notify you of suspicious behavior in real-time and help maintain accountability if multiple users have access to the dashboard.

Pro Tip: Store log data securely and review it regularly—especially after updates, new user additions, or plugin installations.

10. Use Web Application Firewalls (WAF)

A Web Application Firewall (WAF) is one of the most effective tools for protecting your WordPress site against malicious traffic. It works by filtering and monitoring incoming traffic, blocking threats like SQL injections, cross-site scripting (XSS), and brute-force attacks before they ever reach your website.

There are two main types of WAFs:

• Cloud-based WAFs like Sucuri and Cloudflare sit between your site and incoming traffic, acting as a protective shield on a global level.
  
  
• Plugin-based WAFs such as those included in Wordfence or All-In-One WP Security are installed directly on your site and provide firewall rules from within the WordPress environment.
  
  

For small business websites, a cloud-based WAF is generally more effective, as it blocks harmful requests at the DNS level, reducing server load and enhancing performance.

In addition to security, many WAFs also offer features like DDoS protection, CDN integration, and real-time threat intelligence.

Pro Tip: Combine a WAF with regular activity monitoring and updates for a more comprehensive WordPress security plan.

Conclusion

Securing your website isn’t just about checking a few boxes—it’s about protecting your business, your customers, and your reputation. This WordPress security checklist is designed to help small business owners take the right steps to prevent costly issues before they happen.

But we get it—running a business is already a full-time job, and keeping up with security tasks, plugin updates, backups, and log monitoring isn’t always realistic. That’s exactly why we’re here.

At WhatArmy, we specialize in WordPress maintenance and support, so you don’t have to worry about the technical stuff. From proactive security management to real-time monitoring and hands-on support, we help small businesses stay safe, stable, and stress-free online.

Ready to stop worrying about WordPress security?
Let our team take it from here. Learn more about our WordPress Maintenance and Support Services and how we can keep your site protected 24/7.