First emerged as a simple content publishing platform, WordPress has recently evolved into a robust content management system (CMS). It empowers more than 38% of all websites on the Internet. But its effectiveness doesn’t end there. WordPress is now popularly used for profitable eCommerce business.

Popularity comes at a cost. WordPress has been the prime focus of hackers and cybercriminals. The fact that your e-commerce shop is working on this CMS also poses even more security issues. Some questions make sense. If the regular WordPress blogging website is targeted, it will be shut down, and it will lose all content. 

WordPress is probably one of the most commonly used CMS these days. The website’s success is due to its open-source nature and the fact that it is free of charge. Being open-source ensures that anyone can use and configure any of their passwords. However, some people see the popularity of WordPress as a vulnerability to huge websites running on it, as successful hacking of the platform could give hackers a golden opportunity to undermine the protection of virtually all the websites that it supports.

How Safe Is WordPress? 

WordPress has two main tasks to play in the protection of your website. First, as security problems are found on the site, it has a team that handles the responsibility to warn their customers of the issues on time. Second, in conjunction with another group that oversees themes on the site, it discusses every new theme or plugin turned over to the repository. 

When discovering a security vulnerability on a plugin or theme, these teams would work hand-in-hand with developers to fix the problem. It will then release an update to the platform users about the modification(s) made. This daily verification is critical to ensure that all the themes and plugins used are safe and stable. 

Despite security issues, millions of site owners use WordPress and its free e-commerce plugins to create their online shop. To make you at peace, here are three reasons why WordPress is secure for your eCommerce business:

• Security Plugins

There are dozens of great firewalls and security plugins available in the WordPress repository that you can select from. These plugins act as guardians are standing in front of your website to deter spam attacks. It can also reduce the chances of malicious bots targeting your eCommerce business. 

Almost all standard WordPress security plugins function well on eCommerce websites such as Sucuri, iThemes Security Pro, Jetpack Security, or Wordfence. All of them offer a collection of powerful features and pitfalls that can significantly affect your site’s success down the line.

• Frequent Updates

A further primary protection mechanism for WordPress is its core functionality and well-engineered themes and plugins. It helps increase the functionality of your eCommerce website while enhancing stability. The current study has found that 39% of compromised WordPress websites are affected by obsolete versions of the software. 

Understanding the value of updates, WordPress’s central themes, and plugins make themselves more reliable by regularly delivering up-to-date copies. Not only does the upgrade come with more useful functionality, but it also guarantees that glitches and flaws from earlier releases are addressed.

• Overall Control

If you market your goods on another self-hosted eCommerce website, you are likely to be worried about maintenance and security problems. However, it could take a lot of time and effort to customize your eCommerce business. Moreover, WordPress makes it easier for you to handle both your product offerings and your content. You can sell products, have blogs to promote your services, and view portfolios simultaneously, thus giving you overall control of your website. 

Ways To Keep Your eCommerce Business On WordPress

WordPress is doing whatever it can to make it a secure forum for its users. However, you have to note that protection starts with you. When you plan to run an eCommerce website on WordPress or any other provider, you should be prepared to follow the latest safety standards. 

Here are some useful tips to keep your eCommerce website secure on WordPress:

1. Robust Login Credentials

Your login credential on your eCommerce website serves as a lock and key to your company premises. So, it would help if you are extra cautious when picking them. You don’t want your username and passwords to be an easy guess to hackers and other people who might dream about wanting to get unwanted access to your site. 

You can keep it in the default state (admin) for the username. However, it would be wise to change it. Furthermore, you should choose the password more carefully. You can build one by yourself, but make sure it is complicated and robust. Ideally, you can have it with random letters, numbers, and symbols. Put it another way, and you can depend on WordPress to make one for you. If you don’t trust your brain, you can document your login token somewhere secure for comparison while signing in.

2. Secure Payment Gateway

The online payment portal helps consumers to pay for your products. It relates to customer records, such as credit card numbers, identity information, and shipping addresses, which should be completely guarded. 

These kinds of confidential data should not be saved on your computer. You never want your website to be compromised, and customers’ data will be the botnets’ priority when it happens. It will negatively affect your business, and your consumers will be significantly affected. 

What you can do is use a third-party payment provider to handle this confidential customer information. Do not settle on the first payment provider you encounter—research multiple payment gateways to ensure the best degree of security for your clients and your eCommerce business. 

3. SSL Certificate

The SSL or Secured Socket Layer certificate guarantees data transfer’s confidentiality and confidentiality between your online store and customers. However, you need to purchase an SSL certificate for your eCommerce website because it is not available by default. You must also take note when adding an SSL certificate to your WordPress online store. You need to verify whether your hosting company allows you to handle certificates in your WordPress dashboard. Google is already taking a step higher by requiring your website to have an SSL certificate. Otherwise, they would declare your site to be unsafe. It will not only affect your reputation towards your target audience, but you will not also be able to rank in Search Engine Result Pages or SERP. 

4. Reliable Host

Choosing a suitable hosting company is a significant move to protect your WordPress eCommerce website from the onset. Because you’re running an online store on your WordPress platform, it is better to use eCommerce-specific hosting. Besides, a good web host can have security features for your domain, such as SSL/TLS certificates, DDoS authentication, and Web Application Firewall (WAF). These features are handy in defense of your eCommerce business.

Final Thoughts

WordPress was not built for eCommerce. However, because of its flexibility, it can be a good option for your eCommerce business. While the platform runs its security features, you must use several protection options to secure both your WordPress website and your store running on it. You have to remember that you are not only marketing and selling your products and services. Most notably, you’re offering a healthy shopping experience. The more stable your WordPress web store is, the more likely you will draw new customers and bring existing customers coming to your site.