Is WordPress Safe for eCommerce Websites?

WordPress is undoubtedly among the most widely used content management system (CMS), running with more than 60 million websites on the Internet.

The popularity of the platform is attributed to its open source nature and the fact that it is free of cost.

Being open-source means that anyone can access and customize all of its codes. However, some people see the popularity of WordPress as a risk to the massive websites running on it since a successful hacking of the platform can possibly give hackers a golden opportunity to compromise the security of nearly all the websites it supports.

But why are millions of popular and successful eCommerce websites still running on WordPress? The answer is simple: the platform is safe and secure for the smooth online operations of the websites.

What safety measures does WordPress take for the safety of your site?

Some of the features that WordPress incorporates for the safety of the websites running on it include security plugins, well-vetted WordPress themes, tough login requirements such as passwords, SSL certificate integration, well-vetted plugins and secure payment gateway integration.

The WordPress project team has two major responsibilities for the safety of the platform. First, when there are security problems identified on the platform, it is the duty of the team to let its users know about the issues on time.

Secondly, in collaboration with another team that view of themes on the platform, the project team scrutinize any new theme or plugin handed over to the repository.

When they detect a security issue on a plugin or theme, the teams work hand in hand with developers to sort out the problem and then release an update to the users of the platform regarding the modification(s) done.

This regular verification is crucial in ensuring that all the themes and plugins used on the platform are safe and secure.

What compromises with the safety of WordPress-Run eCommerce websites?

Hacking of websites running on WordPress mostly occurs for other reasons but not risks associated with the core(the platform itself). Some of the reasons that make such websites become vulnerable to hacking include:

• Weak WordPress administrator password
• Insecure host control panel
• Insecure website server
• Insecure domain registrar account
• Insecure internet connection
• An insecure theme or plugin
• Interference of a computer by malware/keyloggers

How to keep your eCommerce site safe on WordPress

It is evident that WordPress is doing all it can to be a safe platform for its users but remember that safety starts with you. If you decide to run your eCommerce website on WordPress, you should be ready to adhere to security best practices for its safety.

In as much as WordPress itself has put numerous safety measures into place to protect its users, it is worth noting that it is almost impossible for any online platform to offer 100% safety.

There are some precautions you ought to take for the full safety of your eCommerce website as well as for the compliance with the regulations concerning PCI data security.

Having complied with the best practices, you’ll rest assured of minimal hacking risks of your website and that your clients’ payments and your receipts are secure.

Here are some helpful tips to keep your eCommerce website safe on WordPress:

1. Choose a top-notch host
   It is important that you go for a web host company that offers eCommerce website hosting services. with the service, you’ll be offered your own hosting plan rather than a shared one which increases the safety risks of your site. You can’t go wrong with VPS or dedicated servers on this.

   Besides, a good web host will offer your site security features like SSL/TLS certificates, DDoS protection and Web Application Firewall (WAF). These features come in handy in the security of eCommerce websites.

2. Get a secure eCommerce plugin
   Irrespective of the protection your site receives from its host or WordPress, that’s not enough for the full safety of the transactions made by your users.

   You need to go an extra mile as far as the security of the users’ transactions is concerned about getting a secure eCommerce plugin. MarketPress, WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads are among the most prominent eCommerce plugins for their security as well as PCI compliance.

3. Update your WordPress core regularly
   It is important that you update your WordPress core on time by a trusted website design company so that your website can tap into the updated features, including those related to the security of your site, on the platform. If you don’t like automatic updates, you can try to ensure that you log in daily to know when they are ready and update the core manually and on time.
4. Maintain the ideal permissions settings
   WordPress recommends the people who can access, execute, edit, read and/or execute files on your website without compromising with its safety. Particularly, you are advised to set your folders to a permissions level of 755 while files ought to be left at level 644.

   For the safety of your site, try as much as you can not to alter the recommended levels, otherwise, some users might have unnecessary access to your files and folders. Unnecessary access puts your site at risk of alteration of data and information for malicious purposes.

5. Use strong login credentials
   Your eCommerce website ’s login credentials act like a lock and a key to your business premises. Therefore, you should be extra-careful while choosing them because you don’t want them to be an easy guess to hackers and other people who would think about trying to have unauthorized access to the site.

   For the username, you can leave it in its default setting (admin) or you can change it. Nevertheless, the password ought to be more carefully selected. You can create one by yourself but ensure that it is very strong, preferably with random letters, numbers, as well as symbols.

   Alternatively, you can rely on WordPress to generate one for you. If you don’t trust your memory, you can record the login credentials somewhere safe for reference while logging in.

Wrapping it up

WordPress is a safe platform for your eCommerce website as long as long as you’ll put sufficient measures in place to keep your site secure. It can’t be possible that millions of ECommerce sites keep on running on an unsafe platform.

Therefore, if you’ve had a thought of giving WordPress a try, just go ahead and do it knowing that the platform has done all that it can for the security of your site. Nevertheless, you have a role to play as well.