Is Your WordPress Hacked? Let's Find Solutions

With WordPress powering about 40% of all websites, it’s no wonder why about 90,000 of them get attacked every minute. It’s an issue that affects small business owners and multi-million dollar corporations alike. These attacks can devastate your business’ performance — you can face a severe loss in revenue and reputation. Google can flag your site for malware, and if you handle sensitive customer information, you might face GDPR fines and other issues. 

However, not everything is lost. Remember, plot twists happen for a reason. What if we told you how to read the signs of WordPress-hacked websites and how to fix them? We are throwing a lifeline here; see if you get hooked. 

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How to Know If Your WordPress Is Hacked – The Signs

You know the saying: “They won’t know I won the lottery, but there will be signs.” Well, a similar thing can be said for the signs of a hacked WordPress website. Although, the signs won’t be that subtle. Here are some of the most common ones. 

Unexpected redirections

If your website sends users to unknown and unauthorized sites, this can be a sign that someone has hacked your website. When you access the site as a logged-in WP user, you might not even spot this redirection. Even the users who type in your website’s address in the web browser might not even get redirected, making that backdoor malware even sneakier. 

Unusual user activity or unknown accounts 

Once they breach your security, hackers can easily set up additional admin accounts on your website to maintain access to it even after you’ve cleared the initial threat. This is especially dangerous because attackers can modify settings and lock you out. Make sure to regularly check Shell File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) or FTP accounts. These protocols give access to your website’s back-end files and folders. If you notice any unknown admins or similar, remove them immediately. 

Defaced content or unusual pop-ups

A more obvious sign of WordPress hacked is a homepage defaced with strange banners and pop-ups with their signatures. Hackers will use these to direct users to other malware sites, effectively using your page for phishing attacks. They will even insert spammy links and inappropriate content without your knowledge.  

Drastic drop in website performance or SEO ranking

A sudden drop in traffic can also be a telltale that your WordPress site has been hacked. Hackers are known for injecting malicious scripts to divert traffic from your page to some unknown sites. Once caught by Google, your site may get flagged, and Google’s Safe Browsing tool will warn users about accessing your page. Unless this is fixed, Google will exclude your site from search, so check Google Search Console regularly to keep track of the traffic. 

Spammy links or advertisements appearing on the site

Scam ads and spammy links are a more surreptitious style of attack, especially when directed at those websites that already have ads on them. It’s not always easy to distinguish between ads, especially if your website is part of display network ads. Hackers will use these ads to route users to malicious websites, so make sure to remove these ads immediately. If part of a display network ads, remove them temporarily and notify the network about the issue. 

Difficulty logging in or changed passwords

If you get locked out of your WordPress admin panel and the password no longer seems to work, hackers may be behind it. They may have changed your login credentials or deleted your user account entirely. This means they now have complete control over your site, and you’ll need to recover access via your database or hosting provider.

Receiving warnings from Google or hosting providers

Remember the Google Safe Browsing tool? If your website has been hacked, it will display a malware warning message, like “This site ahead contains malware,” when a user attempts to visit from search. Use Google Safe Browsing to check the report on your site. Also, certain hosting providers will send messages in the dashboard for unknown logins and other notifications about suspicious activities, so be sure to check the dashboards regularly. 

What To Do When You Are Hacked: The Essential Fix

In the sea of WordPress issues, hacking is probably the biggest one. Even if your website got hit, you can still recover. Here’s how to fix it. 

Take the Site Offline (Maintenance Mode) to Limit Damage

If you still have admin access, put your website into maintenance mode immediately. This move will prevent visitors from interacting with infected pages or malicious scripts, minimizing the damage already done. You can enable the maintenance mode via a plugin like WP Maintenance Mode. 

Scan the Site for Malware Using Security Plugins

After doing damage control, you can move to the “fixing” stage. First stop — identifying where the attack occurred. Security plugins such as Wordfence, Sucuri, or MalCare can help you run a full malware scan and detect malicious files, unauthorized codes and scripts, and suspicious entries in your database. Speaking of databases, theme folders, plugin directories, and core files are the most common targets of hackers. 

Remove Malicious Code or Infected Files

After identifying the malware, it’s time to clean house. There are two ways to do it. You can either let a security plugin remove the malware for you or do it manually if you’re comfortable with FTP. 

Update All Passwords

It is essential to change and update all of your passwords. This includes the WordPress admin password and those for FTP  and hosting, which you can change through the hosting panel. Just to be safe, consider changing the password to your database (MySQL) via phpMyAdmin and your wp-config.php file. 

Restore from a Clean Backup

If your site was completely hammered, the safest way is to restore a clean backup. However, make sure that the backup hasn’t been infected as well. Hosting providers usually offer automatic backups, and backup plugins like UpdraftPlus, BlogVault, or Jetpack are another way to go. 

Check for Unauthorized Admins

Fake admin accounts are as big of a red flag if there ever was any. Go to Users → All Users in your WordPress dashboard; look for any suspicious accounts with admin privileges and delete them. 

Reinstate the website and Monitor It

Once you’ve cleaned up your site and secured it, it’s time to bring it back online. However, don’t just assume everything is fine — keep a close eye on things for the next few days.

How to Prevent Future Hacks

Cybercriminals are always on the prowl, and you must stay vigilant and prepare for every eventuality. Here are some best practices to prevent hackers from accessing your WordPress website. 

Use Strong and Unique Passwords

Default passwords like “admin” are useless. In fact, weak login credentials are among the most significant WordPress security issues. Using symbols such as $,%, numbers, and uppercase letters makes it more difficult for hackers to crack your password. The more random the password and the more characters it has, the better. To get maximum protection, these passwords should be different for WordPress admin, FTP, hosting, and databases. 

Update WordPress, Plugins, and Themes

There’s an intrinsic vulnerability to hacker attacks in old versions of WordPress, as well as its plugins and themes. Just think about it. Most system and app updates are about improving security measures. To prevent attacks these attacks, you can enable automatic updates for WordPress and trusted plugins.  

Install Security Plugins

Security plugins can be lifesavers for your WordPress website. Wordfence and Sucuri lead the pack primarily because of the features they provide. You can count on two-factor authentication, blocklist monitoring, firewalls, malware scanning, and more. Some of them, like Sucuri, are free of charge, but there are premium versions with advanced features to consider. For example, Wordfence Premium blocks 40,000 known threat actors and has a country blocking system in place, in addition to their 24/7/365 security monitoring. 

Enable Two-Factor Authentication

The two-factor authentication (2FA) system is a second verification step beyond your password. 2FA blocks brute force attacks, which are one of the most common ways hackers attack us. It can also reduce unauthorized logins, especially from your WordPress admin area, which makes it an essential security feature. 

Migrate to Webflow for Integrated Security

If security is your top priority, consider using WordPress alternatives to power your website. Webflow should, by far, be the strongest contender. Here’s why. With WordPress, 90% of hacking attacks are due to outdated and third-party plugins and themes. With Webflow, you can count on automatic updates, so there’s no need for manual maintenance. Your site is guaranteed to run on the latest and safest model. 

When you stack WordPress against Webflow, especially when it comes to hosting, you’ll see that it’s a largely lopsided affair. Webflow’s built-in hosting is powered by AWS, which means 99.99% hosting uptime. Moreover, Webflow comes with Cloudflare CDN, so not only does your content load well for all users, but you can also count on built-in protection from Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks and advanced Bot protection. 

SSL encryption is also included by default on Webflow. While WordPress often requires manual SSL setup and renewal, which only increases the WP price tag, every Webflow site plan automatically includes SSL and TLS. 

Suppose you are considering a transition from WordPress to Webflow. In that case, you’ll be opting for a more reliable and secure solution that doesn’t require constant security patches and plugin updates that make a site vulnerable in the first place. 

Use a Reliable Hosting Provider (if staying on WordPress)

Sticking to WordPress has its security challenges, but proper hosting providers can be of help. A good hosting provider is one that gives you firewalls, real-time threat monitoring, automated backups, and malware scanning. All in one. 

WP hosts like Kinsta and WP Engine have server-level firewalls and automatic updates, which can significantly reduce security risks. Cloud-based hosting, like Kinsta, works on an isolated software container system, where each site has its own hosting environment. It was built on Google Cloud Platform, so it innately offers more isolation and security. 

Regularly Back Up Your Website

No one can know for sure when hackers can feel like coming after their websites, so you’d better be prepared. Backing up your websites regularly is one way to be prepared and continue where you left off. WordPress like UpdraftPlus is a prime example, with over 3 million WP websites using it. 

The plugin backs each WordPress entity, including the database, plugins, themes, and content,  separately, all of which are accessible via the WordPress control panel. Also, you can import the files through a drag-and-drop feature for additional ease of access.  

Implement Firewalls and Limit Login Attempts

Brute-force attacks are hackers’ favorite weapon of choice. These happen when hackers use automated bots to try thousands of password combinations until they break into your WordPress site. That’s where the name comes from. 

A firewall is how you keep the wolves from your door. It acts as a protective barrier between your website and malicious traffic, tasked with blocking suspicious login attempts before they even reach your WordPress login page. It’s best to pair firewall protection with tools that limit login attempts. These tools allow you to restrict failed login attempts to a certain number — for example, they will block an IP address after three failed logins.

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Conclusion

A WordPress site hacked is well beyond an inconvenience. It can wreck your reputation, tank your SEO, and cost you money. Luckily, you are not powerless in this battle. Simple steps like regular updates, strong passwords, firewalls, and opting for a reliable host can make all the difference. If you want to take things to another level, we suggest using Webflow as your CMS. This way, you can leverage Webfow’s built-in security, which might be a better long-term solution.