Hackers have different goals when trying to break into sites. Some want to use the site they break into as a tool. Others want to cause chaos by simply breaking it or deleting it. While other hackers want to steal the information contained within. So what happens when a WordPress site gets hacked? It really depends.
Your site might be riddled with malware that needs to be removed, you might lose access to the site or your domain + need to gain control back with the help of the companies you work with, or you may need to let your clients know that their data was accessed. One thing all of those versions have in common is that they all require site clean up.
That clean up can range in cost from a few hundred bucks to well over $10,000.
Paying to unhack a WordPress site
Spending over $10,000 means that you’re replacing your site from scratch. WordPress sites need to be repaired or cleaned up in most situations.
For these repair situations, we typically spend 4-6 hours on minor hacks. But we have spent over 10 hours for a bigger breach of security. The average hourly rate for a WordPress developer is $120, so your repair cost would start at $480!
That’s not the end of what it costs.
Avoid the major headache (+ expense) of a hacked site by improving your WordPress site security.
Enter your email address below + within the hour, you’ll be improving your site security like a boss. Over the next week, your inbox will get a handful of emails that’ll save you from shitty situations.
It’s all served up in manageable chunks. Site security doesn’t need to be a big thing, which is why each email has one task. This project won’t derail your other tasks over the next week. Simply carve out 15-20 minutes for each task and you’ll be set.
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It costs more when your WordPress site is hacked
The cost of lost income + the cost to clean up your reputation. They both have a value that can’t always be assigned an exact dollar amount.
No matter what happened when a WordPress site gets hacked, the site will be offline for some amount of time. Restoring a site from a backup is a fast solution. Rebuilding the entire thing from scratch requires more time + in that time, your site is not able to make you any money.
And your reputation cleanup? When your site shows up on google with the phrase “this site may be hacked” right below your company name, simply removing the crappy code isn’t going to make that label go away. In fact, removing that label from Google results alone can take up to 14 days.
There’s always a risk when you operate your business online, but the best way to avoid having to pay these costs is by avoiding getting hacked in the first place.
Prevent your site from getting hacked
There are 3 simple ways to protect your business + your site from getting hacked:
- Use a hosting company that cares about keeping your site safe. For example, our Site Care Club hosting plans come with monthly maintenance, weekly security checks done by a real human being + a hack-free guarantee that simply means you won’t pay a fee to get your site cleaned if it is hacked.
- Require strong + secure passwords for all users on your site. Admins have the most risk, but it’s a good idea to require the same from Editor + Author roles too. Anyone that logs into your site should be using a strong password. And that password should not be used for any other account they have. Bonus points for using a unique login URL + requiring 2 factor authentication too.
- Update on a schedule + when security risks are found. The PHP security risk in October 2026 caught a lot of site owners in a pickle because they were using seriously outdated versions of PHP (the language WordPress runs on). It seemed like “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality that bit them in a big way. Update WordPress, your themes, your plugins + your PHP on a schedule that makes sense. For most sites that would be monthly, but some need weekly checks because of how many plugins they are using or if we’re talking about ecommerce sites.
How to protect your WordPress site
These aren’t guarantees that your site will stay safe, but they are easy steps to take that will protect you from a lot of bad situations. Because what happens when a WordPress site gets hacked is that the hackers gained access through 1 of 3 places. They broke in via a weak or leaked password, a plugin that should have been updated or through the server. If you don’t give them a way in, you’re doing a great job of protecting your assets.
How to fix your hacked WordPress site
When trying to fix a hacked WordPress site, time is working against you. Thankfully these 4 steps are all you need to work through. If you’re not sure if you’ve been hacked, read through this post to see if your site has indeed been compromised.
Change all of your passwords
You must change your password after discovering your site has been hacked. Why? It will stop the culprit from doing even more damage + ensure that you still have control over your website.
With any hacking (big or small) you’ll want to change the following passwords –
- all administrator users on your WordPress site
- your hosting account
- all FTP accounts (if different from the hosting password)
Helpful article: how to pick + use secure WordPress passwords
While you are working on changing your passwords, look for any new user accounts in your dashboard by going to Users > All Users. Immediately remove any name in the user list that seems off or isn’t one you made.
Restore your site from a backup
Fingers crossed that you’ve been following along + started backing up your site a while ago. If so, you have a backup to restore to. Make sure you are backing up to a version of your site before it was hacked, which means you’ll need to scan it for issues after restoring your backup.
And remember, once you restore your backup, you’ll need to change your password a second time. The backup will have your old password — the one that the hackers may know already.
Helpful article: {video} how to restore a site from a backup
If you don’t have any backups to restore to, it’s time to contact your hosting company. Not all of them do this, but some will have backups available + can help you restore. The faster you act, the better, since they often only store one backup every 24 hours, if at all.
Helpful article: how to backup your WordPress site
Clean up + fix your hacked WordPress site
This is where things get mighty nerdy + is usually a great time to bring in support. But if you want to attempt the cleanup on your own, the best tool for the job is the free WordFence plugin. This plugin will scan your site + tell you exactly which files are suspect, but be careful! Sometimes they flag files that are not actually problematic + you could end up deleting an important theme or site file.
You can also reach out to your hosting company for their assistance (usually for a fee) or contact a WordPress security expert for help.
Secure your site
Once you’ve got your site cleaned up, it’s time to figure out what the heck lead to your compromise in the first place. It’s possible it was a weak password, which you solved by changing it to a strong one in the first step, but there could be more weak points that you aren’t seeing.