WordPress maintenance + security

Every client that we work with at tiny blue orange provides us with login details for their WordPress website. But we tell them “don’t share your WordPress login with us!” Instead of asking them to email their username + password, we ask them to create an account just for us. And it has everything to do with security. It might seem convenient to have a single account to manage… What happens if a member of your team enters disgruntled territory? If you’re able to change your password before they do…

What do many small business owners that I work with have in common? They’re all hacked without warning. Because hackers don’t give warnings. They don’t wait until your to-do list is down to 1 item to wipe your entire site from existence. They don’t wait until it’s a “good time” for your site to be banned by your customer’s computers. They don’t wait until you’ve had plenty of notice to get your site protected before trying to hack it. Dramatic? Yes. Tough love? That too. As an online business owner,…

Customer support When you arrive at your annual ugly Christmas sweater party, would you be happy if the host wasn’t around to ask questions, told you where the bathroom was 2 hours after you asked or invited more people to the party than they had room + food for? Of course not! Your hosting company shouldn’t be any different. First and foremost, they should have a customer support team in place. It’s up to you if having that support team based in your country is important or not. To me,…

#1 – Secure your login screen Sometimes I feel like a broken record, but the reality is that making sure your username + password are secure is a great weapon in the fight against hackers. It doesn’t mean you have to use a 36-digit password that’s a random string of characters, numbers + letters like I do (although it certainly isn’t a bad idea.) Picking something that WordPress labels as strong is a great choice + will only set you up for success instead of heartbreak. #2 – Create a…

The good WordPress usernames In the decade I’ve been managing websites, I’ve seen plenty of WordPress usernames that could be better. One of the username trends that I’d love to see go is simple to guess options. Because variations on your business name or your first name don’t leave much guesswork for hackers. Which is why I don’t use tinyblueorange or alison as my WordPress usernames. They are easy enough options for someone to quickly try when breaking into a site. And I don’t know about you, but I hate…

The user area of your dashboard isn’t just about security though, it’s also a place where you can really customize your dashboard experience + share more about yourself with your audience. All users Before we dig into the settings, first hop over to your WordPress dashboard + head to Users > All Users from the menu. Depending on the features of your site — blog vs ecommerce vs membership — you might have a list of 1 name or a list of 100. Either way, there are some super quick…

The golden rule {the business version} Treat others the way you want to be treated We are all so familiar with the golden rule, and there is a reason for that. It’s generally a great way to live your life. Whether it’s being kind or leading by example, treating others with respect, empathy, generosity, love, etc is a win-win. And it isn’t difficult to apply that same rule to business by treating other businesses or business people the way you want to be treated as a business owner, I strongly…

Default post content The first place to start is the Posts section of your WordPress dashboard. When viewing All Posts, scroll to the very last page. If you see the post entitled “Hello World!”, it’s time to remove or rename it. That is the post that WordPress puts on all sites to demonstrate how the blog feature works. The next area to check is the Categories section under Posts to see if you have more than just “Uncategorized” as an option. If not, or if you wouldn’t use any of…