More than 30,000 websites are victims of cyberattacks every day. If your website becomes one of them, the consequences can be devastating for your business. Hackers could steal information from both you and your customers.
It might endanger your brand reputation and hurt your SEO rankings. And in the worst-case scenario, you could completely lose access to your website. Luckily, you can avoid security breaches just by installing WordPress plugins.
However, as many security plugins exist, it can be hard to choose between them. That’s why we asked Alpha Efficiency to help us create this list of the 8 best WordPress plugins you should install to secure your website.
Sucuri
Sucuri is one of the best WordPress plugins that can keep your website secure from a wide array of hacker attacks.
A free version of this plugin will be enough to secure you from common threats, but we recommend paid version because it offers many additional features, such as:
- DNS firewall
- CDN (content delivery network) service for website performance boost
- SEO spam scanner
- HTTP/2 Support
- Zero-day exploit prevention
This plugin is great protection against all different security threats, such as DDoS, brute force attacks, malware, spam, and others. Its firewall is cloud-based, which will ensure the improved speed of your website.
The average user rating for Sucuri is 4.3 out of 5 stars. The premium version starts from $199 per year.
Wordfence
Wordfence is another freemium plugin you can use. It automatically scans your website for common threats and allows you to launch a full scan at any time. Wordfence includes:
- WordPress firewall
- Malware scanner
- Brute force attack protection
- Option to block a country
- Great login protection
What makes this plugin a less attractive option than Sucuri is the fact that its firewall runs on your server, which might result in a lower page speed.
However, Wordfence offers a great malware scanner, and its easy-to-use dashboard will ensure that you won’t have much trouble using this plugin.
Many users are satisfied with Wordfence, which is confirmed by the average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. The premium version starts at $99 per year.
Jetpack
Jetpack is an all-around plugin installed on more than 5 million websites, and has an average rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars. It offers both free and pro versions. Let’s see what both versions offer.
Free version:
- Downtime monitoring
- Bruteforce protection
- 100+ WordPress themes
- Site management tools
The pro version starts at $24.95, but it includes important additional features:
- Automatic security fixes
- Automatic updates
- Daily website backups
- Automatic malware scanning
- Email alerts
- Spam filtering
Jetpack is very easy to install and use for everyday purposes.
iThemes Security
iThemes Security is one of the most popular WordPress plugins you can use to secure your website. Here are the features it provides:
- Security email notifications
- Bruteforce protection
- Strong login protection
- Database backups
- Lockout bad users
- File change detection
- 404 error detection
This plugin offers a beautifully designed dashboard, which allows you to easily monitor activity and check security logs. However, iThemes Security does not have a firewall and its own malware scanner. It uses Sucuri’s SiteCheck for detecting malware.
Users rated it at 4.7 out of 5 stars, and its pro version with additional features starts at $80 per year.
WPScan Security
WPScan Security uses its own database to scan your website for vulnerabilities. It is a great choice if you do not like manually scanning for threats.
WordPress security specialists often update this plugin to ensure it can protect websites from new hacking methods. WPScan Security will also inform you of potential weaknesses hackers could exploit. Other features include:
- Debug file logs and weak passwords scans
- Email notifications
- Theme and plugin weaknesses scan
- Set up an automated daily scans option
This plugin is rated 4.1 out of 5 stars by its users. Pricing starts at $5 per month, but there is also a free version you can install.
BulletProof Security
Another great WordPress plugin we conclude this list with is BulletProof Security. It is a freemium plugin that comes with many features, including:
- One-click Setup Wizard
- Malware scanner
- Login security
- Database backup
- Email notifications
- Anti-spam
- File monitoring in real time
The only drawback is its interface beginners can find confusing. However, when everything is taken into account this plugin earns the average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars given by users. For just $69 you will have lifetime access to BulletProof Security.
Final thoughts
Keeping your website secure is one of the biggest challenges when running an online business. The plugins we have listed in this article will help you protect your website from hackers. Some of them are designed to prevent spam comments from being added to your website, while others help to protect you against malware and other vulnerabilities. Choose the one that fits your budget and preferences. And keep in mind that creating a safe environment for your website visitors should be your top priority.
