My conversations around WordPress security plugins and strategies are generally focused on the potential for vulnerabilities in WordPress core files, themes and plugins. I generally don't point to hosting being violated in a manner described by recent news on multi-year GoDaddy breach. Apparently for the last four years, GoDaddy's shared hosting accounts, serving approximately 1.2 million customers, were exposed to hackers. They stole client data, loaded malware into websites, and also redirected website traffic.

Unfortunately, GoDaddy didn't notice this issue until December 2022 and just recently advised clients of the breach. Coincidentally, GoDaddy did upload some security software in late 2022, that suggests they were taking some action a few months prior to announcing they had a massive problem.

WordPress security is a fundamental technical responsibility of a website owner. While website and content security has been high-profile news, hosting companies have generally left individual site security up to the website owner. Companies like GoDaddy, generally only alert subscribers to their hosting services, if a problem negatively impacts a server's performance or other accounts. That means in almost all cases where they may be a security issue, there is no alert unless you have a security plugin installed.

As a WordPress contractor who manages client sites on many hosting platforms, including GoDaddy, I can attest to the fact that if you do not manage your website's security, no one is going to do it for you. I have yet to take over the management of one WordPress website that had an existing security plugin or any security strategy whatsoever!

The bottom line is that regardless where you host your WordPress website, you have to have a security plugin (if allowed) and an ongoing, persistent strategy! If you don't manage your website directly, you must be sure your in-house team or contract does!

Support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/how-to-do-it-yourself-wordpres

This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-b05810 for 40% off for 4 months, and support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast.

Website security has always been an important component of managing a WordPress website. WordPress websites are targets because not only are there so many of them, but many are poorly managed. Several areas of poor management can help a hacker gain access to a website. Some of those areas include a lack of delaying updates to the core WordPress program, using out of date plugins or themes, and/or simply not paying attention the website.

If you want to protect your client, brand, customers, SEO, or even critical infrastructure in your country, you must actively manage security on your WordPress website!

Support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/how-to-do-it-yourself-wordpres

This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-b05810 for 40% off for 4 months, and support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast.

In Episode 11 of Channeling WordPress, we go over how to use your CPanel to login to your WordPress website and use the Softaculous Installation Manager to create on-demand backups of your WordPress website. I really suggest going one step further when it comes to using your CPanel account. That step, logging into your CPanel before any substantial update of your WordPress website, can be a lifesaver.

Beyond on-demand backups and restore tools, a CPanel offers quite a few features, so it is good to be familiar with the options available. Not only can you save money by using features available in a CPanel, but you can also avoid tech support calls or frustrations with User Password resets.

In this case, using the Softaculous Installation Manager, you can perform on-demand backups before any theme, plugin, or core WordPress update. You really don't need to pay for a backup tool when if your CPanel uses an app launcher like Softaculous that has a Backup and Restore option built it. Backing up and Restoring is also generally pretty fast.

Other features we will cover in later CPanel 101 podcasts include updating PHP version, creating emails, connecting to CDNS, accessing the File Manager and dealing with SSL issues.

Support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/how-to-do-it-yourself-wordpres

This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-b05810 for 40% off for 4 months, and support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast.

The basics on why you need to harden your WordPress website, along with three of the plugins I generally use and why. Also covered are why I strongly suggest using premium versions of the plugins. The short story is they save time and money, while raising the security threshold.

Also covered are managing the metaverse "chain of custody". That is ever WordPress website relies on the Internet and the developer's computer.

What prompted this Valentine's Day podcast was a post on Malwarebyte's website that mentioned the Sugar variant of Ransomware. While websites may be the delivery device, the target is data on a computer.

Securing both your computers and websites is simply common sense.

Support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/how-to-do-it-yourself-wordpres

This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-b05810 for 40% off for 4 months, and support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast.

After spending a week fixing a website that was impacted by malware, I just had to start 2022 with a common sense wake up call to why good hosting is absolutely one of the best investments you can make to support your website.

A short story that illustrates how $20 a month more for hosting would have been an awesome deal for this particular client.

His eCommerce store crashed due to a bad plugin. Forget that in a recent audit I told him the plugin was bad news and didn't do anything worth the risk. Well he updated his website and the plugin caused a conflict that broke his website. No admin panel access either. He had the server backup, but no premium back up plugin. This was another issue he ignored in his end-of-year audit. So the option was to restore his website from one of five daily backups stored on the server.

All of them were in some way corrupted at the file level. The tar files would not fully open.

After six hours of fussing with it, we opted to create a new website. A proper hosting environment and off-side backup would have made restoring his website a one hour job.

Total Time: 31 Min

Support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/how-to-do-it-yourself-wordpres

This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-b05810 for 40% off for 4 months, and support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast.

WordPress plugins are both friend and foe. While a plugin can add a necessary function to the front or back end of a WordPress website, they first have to add value. WordPress plugins should be carefully considered on function, value, and how they impact the website's performance.

This podcasts goes over some important issues related to plugins and WordPress.

My "Golden Rules" when it comes to plugins are"

1. Use the least amount of plugins possible.
2. A plugin must add a clearly defined BENEFIT to the website's function.
3. A plugin must have a history that suggests issues are resolved in a timely manner.
4. Learn CSS and use the WordPress Customizer before adding a plugin to make design changes easier.
5. A plugin should not need another plugin to give yo the functionality you seek.
6. If a plugin is collecting and sharing data, the exact nature of that collecting and sharing of data must be disclosed.
7. A plugin must have a history of responding to bugs in a timely manner.
8. A plugin must be compatible with the latest version of WordPress.
9. If compatible with the hosting platform, add a security plugin that tracks and notifies you of issues with themes and plugins.
10. Do not be an early adopter.

The bottom line is that plugins are necessary and useful components you can add to a WordPress website, but resit

Support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/how-to-do-it-yourself-wordpres

This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-b05810 for 40% off for 4 months, and support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast.

If you are going to use page builders, pay attention to performance issues that are now plaguing WordPress websites world-wide. Page builders are a sword with many edges that can come back around and stick your website with terrible performance metrics. This podcasts goes over some tips if you are going to use WordPress page builders like DIVI, WP Bakery, Fusion Builder, Elementor, Origin, Oxygen, Beaver Builder, or SiteOrigin.

Below are three links to websites that can check a website's performance. I generally use these before and after I add a function to a page or a new plugin to the website.

Google Page Insights https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/

Perspectives on Using Google Pagespeed Insights https://kinsta.com/blog/google-pagespeed-insights/

GTMetrix https://gtmetrix.com/

GTMetrix Blog https://gtmetrix.com/blog/

Pingdom Website Speed Test Tool https://tools.pingdom.com/

Support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/how-to-do-it-yourself-wordpres

This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-b05810 for 40% off for 4 months, and support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast.

Tips on picking plugins for your WordPress website Plugins add functionality to WordPress websites. The first step is to be sure you actually need a plugins. One way to determine if the functionality you want to add to your WordPress website is to ask Google, "How do I add (insert feature) to a WordPress website?" My results suggest asking Google a proper question gets a better answer. Generally the search engine results page will include the following types of answers.

1. Links to WordPress plugins available at WordPress.org
2. Links to WordPress plugins available from third-party websites.
3. Links to "How to (insert feature), without a plugin.
4. Links to websites that offer lists of "Best Plugins to (insert feature).
5. How to use a specific WordPress plugin to (insert feature).

There are other answers that may show up in the search engine results pages, but the idea here is to see what is trending when it comes to the functionality you want to add to your WordPress website.

For more information, check out my 10-minute Channeling WordPress podcast that covers more of the basics on "How to Pick A WordPress Plugin".

If you have a specific question, feel free to drop me a note via my contact page.

Support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/how-to-do-it-yourself-wordpres

This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-b05810 for 40% off for 4 months, and support Channeling WordPress 2023 - WordPress This Week Podcast.