{"id":5349,"date":"2025-12-21T09:52:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T09:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uk-cheapest.co.uk\/support\/?p=5349"},"modified":"2025-12-21T09:53:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T09:53:27","slug":"minimum-wordpress-security-requirements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uk-cheapest.co.uk\/support\/minimum-wordpress-security-requirements\/","title":{"rendered":"Minimum WordPress Security Requirements"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Last updated:<\/strong>&nbsp;21 December 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To protect our network and our customers, all WordPress websites hosted with UK Cheapest must meet the&nbsp;<strong>minimum security requirements<\/strong>&nbsp;outlined below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Websites that do not meet these requirements are at a significantly higher risk of being hacked and may be temporarily restricted if they pose a security or abuse risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-this-is-required\"><strong>Why this is required<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress is a popular platform and is frequently targeted by automated attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most compromises occur due to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>outdated WordPress core<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>vulnerable or abandoned plugins<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>weak passwords<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>lack of basic security protection<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Once a site is compromised, it can be used to send spam, perform attacks, or host malicious content. These activities can result in service disruption or action by upstream providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-minimum-security-requirements-mandatory\"><strong>Minimum security requirements (mandatory)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>All WordPress installations must meet&nbsp;<strong>all<\/strong>&nbsp;of the following requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-keep-wordpress-fully-up-to-date\"><strong>1. Keep WordPress fully up to date<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>WordPress core must be kept on the latest stable version<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>All themes and plugins must be kept up to date<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Any themes or plugins that are not actively used must be\u00a0<strong>deleted<\/strong>, not just disabled<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-use-strong-login-credentials\"><strong>2. Use strong login credentials<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Strong, unique passwords must be used for all WordPress admin accounts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do not reuse passwords from other websites or services<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Remove any unused admin or user accounts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-install-a-security-plugin\"><strong>3. Install a security plugin<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A reputable WordPress security plugin must be installed and active.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examples include (but are not limited to):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wordfence<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>iThemes Security \/ Solid Security<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>All In One WP Security<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The security plugin should provide basic protection such as login rate limiting and malware scanning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-protect-the-login-page\"><strong>4. Protect the login page<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>At least one of the following must be enabled:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>login rate limiting<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CAPTCHA<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>two-factor authentication (recommended)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This significantly reduces brute-force and credential-stuffing attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-xml-rpc-protection\"><strong>5. XML-RPC protection<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>XML-RPC must be disabled if it is not required,\u00a0<strong>or<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>protected via a security plugin<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Unprotected XML-RPC is a common attack vector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-6-file-and-plugin-hygiene\"><strong>6. File and plugin hygiene<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>No executable files or custom binaries should exist in the website document root<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Plugins and themes must only be installed from trusted sources<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pirated, nulled, or unverified plugins\/themes are not permitted<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-if-your-site-is-compromised\"><strong>If your site is compromised<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If a WordPress site is found to be compromised or generating malicious activity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the site may be temporarily restricted to prevent further abuse<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>cleanup or rebuilding will be required before the site can be re-enabled<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>UK Cheapest offers a\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/billing.uk-cheapest.co.uk\/store\/custom\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WordPress Rescue Service<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for customers who would like us to professionally clean and secure their site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-important-note\"><strong>Important note<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Meeting these minimum requirements significantly&nbsp;<strong>reduces risk<\/strong>, but no website can be guaranteed to be completely immune from attack. Ongoing maintenance and updates are essential for long-term security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-need-help\"><strong>Need help?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you would like assistance securing your WordPress site, or if you are unsure whether your site meets these requirements, please open a support ticket and our team will be happy to advise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last updated:&nbsp;21 December 2025 To protect our network and our customers, all WordPress websites hosted with UK Cheapest must meet the&nbsp;minimum security requirements&nbsp;outlined below. Websites that do not meet these requirements are at a significantly higher risk of being hacked and may be temporarily restricted if they pose a security or abuse risk. Why this &#8230; <a title=\"Minimum WordPress Security Requirements\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uk-cheapest.co.uk\/support\/minimum-wordpress-security-requirements\/\" aria-label=\"More on Minimum WordPress Security Requirements\">Read more&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61,64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-support","category-wordpress-support"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v23.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Minimum WordPress Security Requirements - UK-Cheapest.co.uk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uk-cheapest.co.uk\/support\/minimum-wordpress-security-requirements\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Minimum WordPress Security Requirements\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last updated:&nbsp;21 December 2025 To protect our network and our customers, all WordPress websites hosted with UK Cheapest must meet the&nbsp;minimum security requirements&nbsp;outlined below. 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