How to Secure Your WooCommerce Store: Best Practices and Tools

Anna Karydi

Your WooCommerce store is a treasure trove of sensitive customer data, including names, addresses, and payment information.

Losing this data to a security breach isn’t just about recovering from a technical setback; it’s about protecting your hard work, safeguarding customer trust, and avoiding legal headaches.

Essential Steps to Fortify Your WooCommerce Store

Find a Secure Hosting Provider

Your hosting provider is, essentially, the foundation of your site’s security — so, your host should have measures in place to protect your files and database from hackers and malware.

Ideally, you should find a host that understands WordPress and WooCommerce security well and clearly states what they do to prioritize your store’s safety.

A good host should offer the following:

SSL certificates
Regular backups
Attack monitoring
A robust server firewall
24/7 support
Up-to-date server software

Luckily, WP Autopilot offers all of that through managed dedicated VPS cloud hosting by an award-winning team.

Enforce Strong Password Policies

Implement robust, unique passwords for all associated accounts. Use a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols.

Tools like WordPress’s secure password generator and password managers like 1Password can help manage these credentials. You can use a plugin like Password Policy Manager to set password rules.

Add Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Keep your orders and customers safe from hackers.

Adding 2FA to your login process adds an extra layer of security, verifying the user’s identity through a second device, usually a smartphone.

You can implement two-factor authentication for free with Jetpack, and make it a requirement for all users on your website.

Regular Malware Scans

Malware is software developed with a malicious purpose, and it’s one of the most common forms of hacking.

It can accomplish a variety of tasks, including redirecting site visitors to suspicious websites and skimming customers’ credit card information.

Automated tools like Jetpack Scan help you continuously monitor your site for malware, alerting you instantly upon detection.

It sends you an instant alert if malware is found on your site so you can fix threats with one click.

Combat Spam

Enhance your WordPress and WooCommerce experience by expertly managing spam in comments and form submissions.

Navigate to your WordPress dashboard and select Settings → Discussion. This is your command center for elevating user engagement while maintaining quality control. Here’s what you can do:

Require authors to log in before they can submit a comment.
Enable email notifications for each new comment, keeping you in the loop.
Assure the integrity of your site by setting every comment to require your manual approval.
Smartly automate spam control by marking comments as spam based on specific triggers, such as the number of links or the use of certain keywords.

Akismet’s spam filter is 99.9% accurate and doesn’t use annoying and challenging solutions like CAPTCHAs.

Keep Your Software Up-to-Date

Stay ahead of the game by keeping your WordPress, WooCommerce, and all your plugins up-to-date.

Did you know? Out-of-date plugins cause 52% of all WordPress vulnerabilities. Updates are not just bells and whistles – they’re your website’s shield against cyber threats.

Here’s our top tip: Regularly carve out time in your schedule to review, back up, and apply these vital updates. Your website will thank you for it.

There is also the option of WordPress’s auto-update, but we don’t recommend using it as the only reliable source of security.

Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF)

Imagine a web application firewall (WAF) as your website’s round-the-clock sentinel, diligently standing guard at its virtual doorway.

This vigilant protector scrutinizes every visitor with an eagle eye, making swift, rule-based decisions on who gets the green light to enter.

Jetpack Firewall is not just equipped with a robust database of known threats; it’s also an adaptive warrior, evolving in real-time to the unique rhythms of your site.

Secure FTP Settings

FTP (file transfer protocol) is used to transfer files between two devices.

Through your hosting provider, you can create FTP accounts, which allow you to connect from your computer to your website server.

You can use these to make changes to your website files or share access to your site with a contractor or team member without giving them your hosting login information.

But if a malicious actor accesses those accounts, they would be able to make any number of changes to your site.

Limiting the permissions on these accounts can reduce or even eliminate the potential for damage.

Ensure that only your FTP account can access the following folders:

The root directory
wp-admin
wp-includes
wp-content

For more details on locking down your FTP, check out this section of the WordPress Codex.

SSL Certification

Enhance the trust and security of your e-commerce platform with a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate.

This essential tool safeguards your customers’ sensitive data, like credit card details and contact information, by encrypting it during transmission.

Beyond fortifying your website’s security, an SSL certificate is also a key player in boosting your SEO rankings.

Obtaining an SSL certificate is straightforward. Many hosting providers generously include them in their service packages.

However, if your current plan doesn’t offer one, don’t worry. You can effortlessly secure your site with a complimentary SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt, a widely respected open-certificate authority.

WooCommerce Security FAQs

Can a WooCommerce website be hacked?

Yes, like any website, WooCommerce sites can be compromised. However, implementing robust security measures significantly reduces this risk.

Which SSL certificate is best for WooCommerce websites?

A domain-validated (DV) certificate is a great starting point, but as your business grows, consider upgrading to organization-validated (OV) or extended-validated (EV) certificates for enhanced security.

What should I do if my WooCommerce site is hacked?

First, assess the situation and identify the breach.

Use a security plugin to scan and repair your site. Restore from a backup if necessary, reset all passwords, and implement additional security measures to prevent future incidents.