After you set up your wordpress blog, there are important things you need to do to keep it secured and running smoothly. Ignoring some of the things covered will leave your site loading slowly even if you are using powerful unlimited web hosting by Smart Hosting, and also make it vulnerable to the activities of hackers. What are these things?
Update regularly
Contrary to what many newbies think, the installation of wordpress software, themes and plugins is not something you need to do only once. New versions of wordpress come out every now and then and each new version offers more features and improved functionality. The same applies to plugins as well. Regularly updating them ensures your website functions fluidly and is also protected against known attacker. Here is an example of a wordpress vulnerability that was dealt with through an update.
Back up regularly
With the amount of work that goes into building a wordpress site from scratch, and getting it indexed in the search engines, you will be making a big mistake by not backing up your website. A single mishap can wipe out all your efforts! You don�t need to back up your wordpress site daily. One backup per month is probably enough. However, don�t forget to back up the site after any major changes.
Here is a piece on how to easily back up your wordpress site.
Avoid a crowded sidebar
For many newbies, the wordpress sidebar is a junkyard.� Having a crowded sidebar is a great way to slow down your website and make it prone to the occasional crash.� To get the ideal sidebar, you need to have a proper idea of your goal for each page. This will help you create a cleaner sidebar, while directing traffic to the right parts of your website.
Rename your admin account
When you begin using your wordpress account, you log in as �admin�. Operating your wordpress site with this username makes it easier for hackers to take over your website. This is why you should always change the username as soon as you can. Apart from changing the username, it is also advisable to keep the username different from your account display name.
�Install WP Security Scan
While installing a barrage of plugins, many overlook this important one. WP Security Scan will look through your wordpress blog for any vulnerability and tell you if there are any malicious code snippets. From the results, you will be able to know if you are open to any security threats or not.
With these tips, you should be able to keep your wordpress blog protected and running smoothly.