How to Tell if Your WordPress Site is Hacked

2 min read

WordPress is one of the best and most user-friendly platforms to use when you want to build a blog or website. But as with any other website, it can be hacked. The trick is in knowing when this has occurred, so you can quickly do something about it.

There are some signs to watch for that can indicate your site has been compromised. For example, if you’re having trouble logging in, or you’re getting errors or strange redirects, these all raise red flags. Once you’ve dealt with the issue and got your site back up and running properly, make sure you change your password. Make it long, impossible for anyone to guess, and a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers.

Hunting for clues

Other red flags may include an inappropriate image on your site, or indeed anything you know you weren’t responsible for putting there. There are lots of ways a website can be hacked and defaced, so if you spot anything out of the ordinary, don’t ignore it. Look at it further.

Another major alert to a problem is a loss of traffic. If someone has hacked your site and is using it for their own ends, your traffic will almost certainly suffer, with either a huge drop… or no traffic at all.

Investing in a care plan

While no website can be 100% immune to hacking attempts, there is a lot you can do to reduce the odds in your favour. A top-notch WordPress care plan will ensure nightly backups are performed, so you always have a copy of your website in case something should go wrong.

A good care plan will also include regular software updates, so you don’t need to worry about doing them yourself. Choose a plan that offers security monitoring too, leaving you to get on with the day-to-day business of running and improving your site.

If your WordPress site is hacked, it can take many hours to put things right. That means you’re taken away from whatever you should be doing. That’s why we view a care plan as an investment rather than a cost, because you’re investing in the health and robust nature of your WordPress site. If you can avoid things going wrong to begin with, why wouldn’t you do just that? It means you’ve got a good chance of avoiding all the issues we’ve mentioned here.