It's all fun and games until you notice something is wrong with your website. The symptoms of a security breach can be alarming. Here are the most common signs that your WordPress site has been compromised:

• You receive a "This site can't be reached" message when entering your URL.
• Random pop-ups appear on pages while you are navigating your site.
• Random files and folders suddenly appear in your web directory.
• Random new user accounts have been created without your knowledge.
• Your WordPress Admin account has been removed or you are locked out.
• Unidentified files have been installed via FTP that you did not authorize.
• When you Google your site, the result says: "This site may be hacked."

Reasons Why You Have Been Hacked

While a breach could be caused by someone with existing access (like a disgruntled developer), most vulnerabilities stem from common oversight:

• Using a weak and easy-to-guess password.
• Running outdated plugins and theme files.
• Using "nulled" (pirated) plugins and themes, which often contain backdoors.
• Never setting up a security solution on your WordPress installation.

What to Do if You're Hacked

If your hosting provider offers scheduled backups, contact them immediately to revert to the last working version. If you don't have backups, you may need to hire a web design company to manually retrieve and clean your site. This process is technically challenging and depends on the complexity of the site.

My 5 Rituals for a Secure Website

1. Strong Username and Password

What passwords and condoms have in common:
• You don't reuse them.
• You don't share them with others.
• You don't use the same one as everyone else.
• If you're in doubt, change it!

Stop using "admin" as your username. Choose a unique handle unrelated to your personal information or social media handles. For your password, use a mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. Regularly update your credentials, especially after working with external freelancers.

2. Keep Everything Updated

Outdated plugins are security holes that hackers love to exploit. Keeping WordPress and your plugins updated not only closes these holes but often improves site performance and load times. Regularly audit your plugin list and delete anything you aren't using.

3. Use Quality Hosting

I recommend SiteGround for hosting. They offer daily backups, 99.99% uptime, and a user-friendly control panel. Their support is competent and, in many cases, they can assist in restoring your site if a breach occurs.

4. Install Wordfence

Wordfence is an essential security plugin. It features a built-in firewall, virus scanning, and real-time login alerts. You can block specific IP addresses or entire countries from accessing your backend, significantly increasing your defensive layers.

5. Prioritize Backups

I cannot emphasize this enough: without backups, all your investment can go down the drain. Even with the best theme and hosting, things can go wrong. I recommend UpdraftPlus for its simplicity and reliability in automating site backups.

Remember to keep your site maintained. Security isn't a one-time setup; it's an ongoing ritual to keep the "wrong people" out of your files.