Security of Wordpress websites

We have had an incredible response to our two articles "why we don’t use Wordpress" and "10 reasons why web developers should not use Wordpress", especially regarding security concerns.

There is one simple thing, that you should be able to check yourself that, when fixed, will dramatically increase the security of your Wordpress website, and that is to ensure that your copy of Wordpress is up to date.

At the time of writing ¹ Wordpress is on version 3.5.2 (with 3.6 being released in a few days ²). We would suggest that you update your installation to 3.5.2 now if it is not already up to date, and ensure you update every time a new version is released so that it has all of the new security fixes.

(We would suggest that you check with your web designer before actually updating your Wordpress installation as a poorly coded plugin or template could break your website during an update)

We would be concerned if your Wordpress version is below 3.5.2 as Wordpress themselves say:

“This is a security release for all previous versions and we strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately.” ³.

You can determine your version number by logging in to your admin area, it should be prominently displayed (newer versions) or in the footer (older versions).

If you can’t find this information, please email us at [email protected], and we should be able to give you this information, free of charge, and we do not need any login details.

We don’t mind that you’re not a client of ours, because website security is something that we are passionate about and, as web designers in Salisbury, the local business community is something we want to look after.

Many thanks, the Webbed Feet UK web design team.

 

^{[1] Time of writing - 29th July 2013}

^{[2] http://wordpress.org/news/2013/07/wordpress-3-6-release-candidate-2/}

^{[3] http://wordpress.org/news/2013/06/wordpress-3-5-2/}