Globally, there has been a surge in the number of new websites. Businesses and e-commerce ventures offering various products and services are making the shift to the digital sphere. A website has become a necessity for digital marketing, attracting more customers, and building brand loyalty. One must take every step to promote a business. However, one must not neglect the threats that accompany the benefits of a website. With websites, there is always a threat of cyber attacks and unethical activities carried out by hackers. When you are trying to woo your potential customers, you also need to keep a tab on your website security. You need to verify that website is secure and not at risk of any data breach activities. This step is required to protect the data of the organization and the customer data. Thus, for every business owner, the foremost thing would be to keep their website secure. The most popular platform for website development is WordPress. In this article, we will discuss how to keep your WordPress website safe with the help of security plugins in the year 2022. Our tech experts have put together the ultimate list of 20 WordPress Security plugins that will help you keep your WordPress website protected and safe.

#1 Wordfence:

This security plugin helps scan malware and acts as a firewall that safeguards against malicious attacks, cyber breaches, backing attacks, and even attacks by the bots. With the help of this WordPress security plugin, you will get a strong firewall that is designed to scan all the malware that is trying to attack the website and get rid of them within a specified timeline. The security plugin helps keep the overall website protected from all kinds of unethical attacks.
Wordfence is one of the best security plugins that helps you to safeguard the WordPress website. Here are some of the specific features of Wordfence.

•  Wordfence has a specifically designed firewall for web applications. It detects malicious traffic and also blocks it.
• It enables deep integration in the WordPress website and does not allow data to leak.
• It has an integrated malware scanner that blocks all types of malicious content.
• It protects from brute-force attacks by limiting the logins.

You Get Leaked Password Protection With Wordfence: 

Wordfence will keep your WordPress website protected from unethical attackers by blocking the logins of administrators who use a known compromised password.

Scanning Of Live Traffic: 

With The help of Wordfence, you can view all the activities that take place on the website and collect real-time data (even those not captured by Google analytics), and scan them.

• You could keep track of hackers who are trying to break into your site in real-time.
• You can monitor the visitor’s login and log out from the WordPress website.
• You can easily keep your intellectual property protected from content thieves.
• You can completely block the movement of rogue crawlers.

Get Two-factor Authentication For Your Website:

With two-factor authentication (2FA), you add multiple layers of security to your website and keep the accounts of all your users safe.

You can try the free version and then opt for the premium version of the Wordfence Security plugin.

#2 WP Cerber Security, Anti-Spam & Malware Scan:

This is one of the best security plugins offered by WordPress because it provides complete protection. The plugin is powerful and helps in detecting malware, spam, and even brute force attack. You will get a routine security report that will keep you updated. You can perform a background scan of all the malware and get rid of them.
With this excellent WordPress security plugin, you will get these features.

• You can set a limit on the number of login attempts by blocking the malicious IP or sometimes by blocking the subnet.
• Block any login attempts that are carried out by authentication cookies.
• You have the flexibility to create a custom URL for the admin login page for your WordPress website.
• With Cerber, you can protect different contact forms or registration forms through anti-spam engines.
• The spam content published on the website is easily detected and discarded.
• Provides 2 Factor Authentication that will help keep the log users, unethical hackers, and bots from forcefully entering the website. All important pages of the website, such as wp-login.php, wp-signup.php, and wp-register.php would be protected from attacks.
• This security plugin uses the REGEX patterns to protect the usernames and passwords on registration/login pages.
•  With the help of a plugin, you will be able to completely hide access to the REST API of the WordPress website.

The best aspect of this plugin is that you will get a weekly report on the respective email id. You can scan through the report to verify the health of your WordPress website.

#3 iThemes Security:

The iThemes security plugin is the security plugin that was formerly the Better WP Security plugin. This has more advanced and improved features that will help keep your WordPress website more secure and safe in the digital world. With this plugin, you will get almost 30 or more security parameters, such as a virus scan, malware scan, detection of the virus, spam check, file check, and getting rid of the malware and viruses that might infect the WordPress files. This security plugin is robust and helpful to those who wish to have multiple security features to protect their website.

#4 Sucuri WordPress Security Plugin:

You might already know that Sucuri is one of the most popular security plugins on the WordPress platform. This specific plugin is useful for scanning and monitoring the WordPress platform, and it is helpful with the security of WordPress in majorly 4 sectors – these are:

• Security activity auditing,
• Remote Malware Scanner,
• File integrity monitoring, and
• Overall WordPress Security Hardening.

If you are a coder or a developer, then this will be helpful for you to maintain the perfect security of the WordPress website.

#5 MalCare:

This plugin is a perfect firewall that has an in-built feature. This security feature helps to protect the login of the WordPress admin page from all the unethical hacking or brute force attacks and even from different malware. With the help of this plugin, you can scan almost 100 or more signals/indications of the malicious codes, detect them and get rid of them. These security scans take place every day automatically. But you can also scan it manually as per your preferences. The MalCare plugin is an intelligent firewall that keeps a tab on the website and regularly monitors all traffic, including visits, login attempts, and errors, and stores them in the database.

#6 BulletProof Security:

A popular WordPress security plugin is BulletProof Security. There are multiple features provided by this plugin. For instance,

• You can maintain the number of failed login attempts, put a check on fake traffic, and block all those IPs and code scanners.
• The security plugin will keep on a scan on the WordPress files of codes that include the themes, as well as plugins.
• With the help of this security plugin, you will optimize the overall functioning of the WordPress website and also add caching to it.
• You can try the free as well as the pro version of this security plugin.

#7 All In One WP Security & Firewall:

With the help of this security WordPress plugin, you will get a comprehensive set of almost all the security tools. The plugin will help in implementing the latest security features to protect the WordPress website. It will also aim to reduce the vulnerability of the WordPress website. The best aspect of this security plugin is that you can use it free of cost. You download and install it, and your WordPress website remains secure and safe.
It is not just a powerful and easy-to-use plugin but also a comprehensive security tool that safeguards your WordPress website. With the help of this plugin, you can add an extra layer of security to the WordPress website. The primary function of this security plugin is to detect all the vulnerabilities of the WordPress website and remove them by implementing security parameters.

Security For User Account:

• It does not allow you to set the username ‘admin’ as someone can easily hack it.
• It will help detect if any other user account on the WordPress website has the same username/password and suggests you change it.
• It detects the strength of the password used for the admin accounts.

Security for user Login/registration:

• It helps in limiting the number of logins and protects from brute force attacks.
• Focuses on blocking the IDs that bring in malicious content.
• You can track the IPs from which multiple failed login attempts are taking place.
• Keeps a tab on the activities of all the users and maintains their details(IP address, login time, and date).
• Automatically blocks the IPs that appear suspicious.
• You will have the flexibility of adding Google Re-captcha for different WordPress forms.

Security of Database: You can keep the databases of the WordPress website secure and safe. Along with that, you can maintain the backups with the support of instant DB.

Security Of file Systems:

• You can have permissible access to all the files and folders of the WordPress website.
• Ensure security of the PHP codes by disabling the file editing to anyone except admin.
• Keep a track of the hosting logs by the users.
• All the essential files are kept inaccessible —readme.html, license.txt, and wp-config-sample.php files.

Firewall Protection:

• You can block all the malicious scripts that are trying to enter the WordPress website forcefully.
• The admin would control the accessibility of the users.
• Proxy commenting on the WordPress website is completely prohibited.
• Use the 6G Blacklist firewall protection.
• It supports the WordPress PingBack Vulnerability Protection feature. With the help of this feature, you will be able to block the access of the xmlrpc.php file.
• Detects the fake bots that attempt to crawl the website.

#8 WebDefender Security:

According to expert developers, WebDefender is one of the most professional security tools or plugins that helps keep the WordPress website secure. This plugin is highly effective in keeping the WordPress website protected from many web attacks. This plugin has a built-in WAF feature that supports a hack protection mechanism. It provides an anti-virus scan to keep the website safe from many cyber threats.

#9 Shield Security:

This plugin helps keep your WordPress website secure from various unethical hacking. It also keeps the website shielded from the attacks of viruses and malware. The setup process is simple on the WordPress website and does not require any technical knowledge. The user interface is also very user-friendly and will help keep your WordPress website secure from malicious attacks. This plugin also helps keep a check on the brute force attack and limits the number of logins.

Shield Security Plugin is one of the most effective security plugins that help protect the WordPress website. This plugin is used for single-page WordPress websites. Some essential features of the plugin will help in keeping your WordPress website protected.

•  It is 100% secure and helps in safeguarding the admin pages of the WordPress website.
• You can install a strong firewall for almost all web requests that originate from the WordPress website.
• You can manage as well as keep control of the user sessions.
• You can protect the WordPress website from brute force attacks, which target the main login pages/admin pages.
• You can add an extra layer of protection to the website with the help of a 2-factor authentication feature.
• The plugin will instantly detect the spam comments and content and block the IP addresses from where these comments get posted.
• The plugin gets automatically updated as the latest features get added to it.

#10 Akismet Spam Protection:

 This security plugin is quite helpful for checking the comments you receive on the pages of the blog or any section of the website. The comments that you receive on the website are not always trustworthy, and many may even be spam. It might also have some misleading links you would find difficult to detect manually. The security plugin will help you detect such spam comments and prevent them from injecting malware into the website. It will help in protecting your website from publishing such content to other people as well. The comments, which get published become visible only when approved by the admins.

#11 WPBruiser:

This WordPress security plugin is highly effective and helps detect varied spam-bots without any captcha tool. Usually, the captcha tools are not the primary choice of the website developers because they seem to be very annoying and are hard to read. This smart plugin is designed to remove all such interruptions because of spam-bots. It can even check the comments that appear malicious. This plugin will also help in protecting the WordPress website from brute force attacks and enable login protection.

#12 WPS Hide Login:

Have you ever heard about this WordPress plugin that is lightweight (does not put any load on the website) and is yet powerful in providing security to the WordPress website? You can protect the main admin pages of the WordPress website with the help of this plugin. When you install the plugin and activate it, you will make the main admin directory of the WordPress website and login page inaccessible to anyone. When the hackers cannot access the admin pages, they would not be able to enter it even through unethical means. The best aspect of this plugin is that it is easily compatible with other security plugins that are working to keep the admin pages secure.

#13 IP Geo Block:

With the help of this plugin, you will remove all the access to the back-end files, directories, and the admin section of the WordPress website. Usually, the pages that are available on the website that are under threat of hacking are:

• wp-comments-post.php,
• xmlrpc.php,
• wp-login.php,
• wp-signup.php,
• wp-admin/admin.php,
• wp-admin/admin-ajax.php,
• wp-admin/admin-post.php.

The plugin will help in keeping these files and pages protected from undesired access. Some of the additional security features that the plugin provides are:

• It limits the number of login attempts on your WordPress main pages/credential pages.
• It protects the WordPress website from brute force attack.
• It detects the malware and prevents them from entering the websites.

#14 Astra Security Suite — Firewall And Malware Detection:

This is a powerful and effective WordPress security plugin that aims to protect the WordPress website from different brute force attacks, functions as anti-APM, and detects and removes the malware that tries to enter the WordPress website. The best aspect of this plugin is that you can easily install it and activate it for WordPress website protection. You do not require any DNS changes on the website — it is the all-in-one solution for providing security to a WordPress website.
When you have Astra installed and activated on your WordPress website, you do not have to worry about any attacks by malware or payments page attacks, SEO spamming, and brute force attacks.

Here are some of the features of Astra that will keep your WordPress website protected from all the different attacks that might take place on your website.

• You will get a Web Application firewall that will help protect the website from malicious traffic in real-time.
• You will get the flexibility of immediate malware scanning and clean-up.
• All the vulnerabilities of your WordPress website would get detected. It would then make the authentication strong for the users.
• You will have a robust security engine to keep the WordPress website protected.
• It will identify all the bad bots and block them.
• It will attempt to block all the IP ranges that appear to be malicious and are blacklisted.
• Keeps a full log of the admin activities and identify if any threats are found.
• The plugin provides layer 7 DDoS protection to the website.
• It will detect all the spam activities and block them from the website.
• The database of the website will also get complete protection from unethical attacks.

Astra Security Seal
1. It will help you display your website as a security-conscious company
2. You can show your audience that you are trustworthy and reliable.

#15 Quttera:

This is another malware scanning option that helps detect different malware, trojan horses, viruses and aims to remove them to keep your WordPress website protected. Another aspect of this plugin is it periodically verifies with Google to ensure whether your WordPress website is not on any blacklists. It offers comprehensive website protection or security plugin that has easy installation and a simple user interface.

#16 BackWPup:

With the help of this security plugin, you can maintain a proper backup of the WordPress website. It gets maintained on external storage such as cloud platforms, Dropbox, or on the platform of any other backup service provider. In the backup, you can store all your wp-content, media, files, login files, etc. all you have to do is convert the files into a zip folder and then store it with full protection. You can try out a free version and then decide to buy the pro version of the plugin.

#17 Security & Malware Scan By CleanTalk:

It is a lightweight security plugin that gets used on single-page WordPress websites. You can get many security features in the free plan, but you can also opt for the pro version. With a single click, the plugin will detect all the malware present on your website (if any). It will also effectively eliminate them. The plugin updates itself automatically and maintains a security log which you can check.

This security plugin of WordPress is extremely lightweight and very useful in keeping the website safe from any hacking and cyber-attacks. Some of the interesting features of this plugin are listed below:

• The firewall of the security plugin helps in filtering user access by blocking the IP addresses, which are not from secure sources.
• The Firewall uses the Web application Security feature to protect the website from malicious attacks.
• The Security Malware Scanner regularly scans the WordPress website, and it comes with anti-virus functioning. The malware scans occur automatically daily, and you will get a report at the end of the scan.
• The plugin helps protect the website from brute force attacks that attempt to hack the passwords and usernames of the admin pages. It will also limit the login attempts on the admin pages.
• You can schedule a security audit of your website to ensure whether the website is working free of malware and viruses.
• You can monitor the real-time traffic of the WordPress website.
• The plugin has the support of the Two Factor Authentication to add extra layers of security to the website.
• You have the flexibility to generate custom URLs for the admin section of the website and keep them secure from external access.

#18 Really Simple SSL:

You can understand the functioning of this security plugin just by its name. This security plugin helps in handling all the SSL issues of the WordPress website. With the help of this plugin, you will be able to configure the entire website to HTTPS security. The installation and activation process is simple, and you will not have to worry about HTTPS security. The plugin will also help you get a perfect backup with no hassle.

Some of the essential security features of Really Simple SSL are:

• It would run regular scans on the entire content of the website and publish the report to your email id.
• You will have the flexibility to enable the security of HTTP Strict Transport.
•  With the help of this plugin, you will be able to easily configure the HSTS preload list.
• For an additional layer of security, you get advanced security headers for the WordPress website.
• You will have an additional feature of backup that will help you keep a regular backup of the entire website.
• You will always get an intimation when the SSL certificate expires.
• The plugin will help you overcome the issues of the WordPress load balancer and reverse proxy.
• The plugin will redirect all the incoming web requests to HTTPS.
• Much insecure content would get blocked. The IPs would get identified and get blocked permanently.

#19 Two Factor Authentication:

Usually, we all use passwords to keep the website protected from undesired access. But just having password protection will not be helpful. You need two-factor authentication to keep the WordPress website highly secure from any unethical attacks or malicious content injection. Two Factor Authentication WordPress plugin will help you safeguard your WordPress login process by enabling 2FA.

#20 Jetpack;

This is yet another all-in-one security plugin offered by WordPress to keep the websites protected from many data breaching attacks and the activities that are attempting to forcefully cause harm to the website. With this plugin, you can scan your entire website, identify all the vulnerabilities, and remove them.

Some essential features of Jetpack are:

• You will get real-time backups of the entire website. This means that it would save every single change in the backup.
• You can restore the entire WordPress website with just one click. A hassle-free way to work with the backups.
• The plugin helps maintain all the activity logs that help you identify which particular activity is suspicious and may seem like an attack.
• The plugin has a decentralized method of malware scan that will keep your WordPress website safe from varied types of security threats.
• The plugin also offers spam content scans and protecting the publishing of spam content on the website.

Summary:

WordPress is the most popular platform for building and designing a website. But when popularity increases, you need to enhance the security of such platforms as well. WordPress offers many security plugins that will help you keep the WordPress website protected from different malicious and unethical attacks. You can use any of the security plugins provided by WordPress and safeguard your website.