Top 9 WordPress Security Plugins

Protecting your WordPress site is essential, no matter what its nature. Ensuring the security of your information and that of your visitors, while guaranteeing continuous access to your platform, is crucial. Fortunately, there are a multitude of extensions dedicated to security. To help you in this process, we have studied and compared the best security plugins available, in order to provide you with all the information necessary to make a wise choice, whether you are a novice or an experienced user.

Wordfence

Our first security plugin is Wordfence Security. It is a WordPress plugin designed to strengthen the security of your site. It offers various protection features, including an application firewall, a malware scanner, two-factor authentication, and brute force defense. With over 5 million active installations, it is the most popular security extension in the official plugin directory, ahead of iThemes Security, All in One Security, and Sucuri.

The Wordfence Security extension, also known as “ Wordfence Free”, is free. In addition to this, Wordfence offers several paid solutions:

• Wordfence Premium, a more complete version than the free extension with support included;
• Wordfence Care, where the security tool team takes care of the installation, configuration, optimization and monitoring of your site, with intervention in the event of a security problem;
• Wordfence Response, a service dedicated to WordPress sites whose downtime has a financial impact, mainly aimed at large, high-traffic sites and online stores;
• Wordfence Intelligence, which is aimed at web hosts wishing to collect data on security in general.

How to install Wordfence in 3 steps? The first step is to install the plugin from your WordPress admin interface. Go through the menu Extensions> Add and type “wordfence »In the search bar.

Click the “Install Now” button next to “Wordfence Security – Firewall & Malware Scan” and then activate the plugin. Once the plugin is activated, a highlighted window will open asking you to get a Wordfence license. This is a necessary prerequisite to take advantage of all the options of the free extension..

You will then be redirected to the Wordfence pricing page on its official website. Click on the " Get a free license » to get a key for the free version of the extension:

Sucuri Security

The other security plugins are Sucuri Security. It offers a suite of tools to protect websites, including WordPress file auditing, malware scanning, security hardening, email alerts, and post-hack actions. Founded in 2012 by Daniel Cid, Sucuri was acquired in 2017 by GoDaddy, which has maintained and developed it ever since. Initially a paid plugin, the plugin is now free and has more than 800 installations active, making it one of the most popular WordPress security plugins.

To begin, install the extension from your administration interface via the menu Extensions> Add. Click on "Install now". Then remember to activate the extension. You will then find a new menu called "Sucuri Security", in the left sidebar of your back-office WordPress.

In order to be able to activate some additional tools offered by the extension, Sucuri recommends that you generate an API key. To do this, click on the button “Generate API Key”, at the top of your dashboard (Dashboard:

In the highlighted window, select your account email address, check the terms of use if you agree, and then click “Submit.” The Sucuri Security Dashboard displays the results of the audit performed on your WordPress site. Sucuri inspects WordPress core files for possible changes.

Article to read: Top SEO plugins for WordPress

Askimet

Akismet is a free anti-spam plugin that comes built into WordPress by default. It automatically scans all comments and contact form submissions, then filters out those that appear to be spam. With over 5 million active installations, it is the most popular anti-spam plugin in the official directory. Developed and maintained by Automattic, Akismet has been a popular service since 2005. It checks comments and contact form submissions against its global spam database to prevent malicious content from being published on your site.

Akismet is a very simple tool to use that works automatically once activated. A few steps are enough to get rid of spam. On your WordPress dashboard, go to the Plugins menu, Akismet is already installed by default. You just need to activate it so that it can work.

Once this is done, you are offered two options: 

• Set up your Akismet account (number 1 in the screenshot below);
• Log in using an API key (digit 2).

Select your Akismet service plan. After clicking the blue “Set up your Akismet account” button, you will be redirected to this page.

Akismet offers a free plan (Personal) to protect a personal website or blog from spam. More advanced anti-spam options are available with paid plans (Plus, Enterprise, or Enterprise Plus) starting at 7,50€ for a site. If the site is for commercial use, it is recommended to subscribe to one of the paid offers.

If you don't want to pay, you can set the slider to 0€/year and provide your email address, first name, last name and URL of your site/blog. You must also check 3 boxes attesting that you are not using your site for commercial purposes. Finally, click on “Continue with personal subscription" to finish.

Article to read: Core web vitals: 10 tips to improve

Defender Security

Defender Security is a free WordPress plugin that offers solid protection with a user-friendly interface. It has a setup wizard to help you configure essential security settings. Its dashboard provides a clear overview of your site's security status, accompanied by practical recommendations. The plugin has a rating of 4,5/5 stars, and a pro version is available at starting at $36 per year.

Defender Security stands out from its competitors with its ease of use and well-designed user interface. Unlike many security plugins, Defender offers both a malware scanner and firewall protection in its free version. The Pro version enhances these features with advanced options, such as scheduled scans and audit logs.

Safety Features:

• Malware Scan : Regularly scans your site for malware and vulnerabilities.
• Firewall protection : Blocks malicious IPs and suspicious activities.
• Connection protection : Protection against brute force attacks, two-factor authentication and login masking.
• Safety recommendations : Provides practical tips for improving site security.
• Audit logs : Tracks user actions for better monitoring.

Who is Defender Security recommended for?

Defender Security is ideal for small to medium-sized business websites, blogs, and personal sites. Its user-friendly interface makes it perfect for beginners and intermediate WordPress users. This plugin is especially useful for those looking for a balance between advanced features and non-overwhelming complexity.

Defender Security is well-suited for users who want to protect their sites from common threats, such as brute force attacks, malware infections, and unauthorized logins. Its powerful features and ease of use make it a great choice for anyone looking to improve the security of their WordPress site.

All-In-One Security

All-In-One WP Security & Firewall is a free WordPress security plugin that offers a wide range of features. The setup wizard will guide you through the basic security tools in just one click, so you don’t have to worry if you’re short on time. Its dashboard offers a quick overview of the most critical details, and its user-friendly interface with clear instructions sets it apart from its competitors.

Security features include enhanced user account security, limiting login attempts to prevent brute force intrusions, and additional database and file system protections. It also blocks malicious IP addresses, implements advanced rules to filter malicious traffic and performs regular scans of your site for vulnerabilities, providing detailed reports with recommendations.

This plugin is ideal for personal blogs and small business sites, catering to users of all skill levels, with a simple setup and excellent protection features, making it a particularly good choice for beginners who don't want to get bogged down in too many settings.

SiteLock

SiteLock is a popular web security solution that offers a variety of features such as DDoS protection and malware scanning. Designed to provide optimal site protection, it is particularly effective for WordPress and WooCommerce platforms.

Every day, SiteLock performs in-depth scans of your WordPress themes, plugins, and files to identify potential security vulnerabilities. If malware is detected, the solution automatically intervenes to fix the problem and notify you. Plus, with a detailed scan report, you can quickly take steps to strengthen your site’s security.

SiteLock’s Web Application Firewall (WAF) helps distinguish legitimate traffic from malicious bots, blocking attacks before they reach your site. Key features include threat detection, remediation, and blocking, PCI compliance for credit card data protection, and continuous security and threat monitoring.

The price of this solution is 14,99 $ per month, with annual billing.

Jetpack Security

Jetpack is a very popular all-in-one plugin used for security, performance, and site management, with over 5 million active installations. Developed by Automattic, it also offers tools for website design and marketing automation. With a focus on security, Jetpack monitors your WordPress site and alerts you immediately if it goes down. It also protects against brute force attacks, spam, and malware injections.

Jetpack's premium version offers advanced features, such as one-click backup and restore, malware scanning, and automatic spam filtering. However, due to its feature-rich nature, some users find that the plugin can slow down their site. Jetpack's pricing is 11,97 $ per month (billed annually), while the bundled offer is at 47,97 $ per month (also billed annually).

BulletProof Security

BulletProof Security is a popular WordPress plugin that helps secure your website. It offers features like malware scanning, firewall setup, database backup, and more. The plugin comes with a 1-click automatic installation wizard, making it easy to set up. After installation, BulletProof Security automatically detects and fixes security threats in real-time.

It is recommended to scan your website after installation to detect any pre-existing hacking files or code. The plugin offers an IP-based firewall to protect your plugins from public access and exploitation. BulletProof Security could be a good choice if you are on a budget, with a one-time price of $ 69,95 for installation on unlimited WordPress sites, and free lifetime updates and support.

IThemes Security

IThemes Security is a must-have plugin to ensure the security of your WordPress site, developed by security specialists at iThemes. This plugin allows you to effectively protect your site from various threats, giving you peace of mind. Its intuitive design makes it accessible even to novice users.

This plugin addresses common vulnerabilities and defends your site against hacking attempts, malware and breaches of data. It strengthens the security of your WordPress site, making it difficult for cybercriminals to access it.

Some of its key features include protection against brute force attacks, file change monitoring, 404 error detection, strong password enforcement, and database backup. In addition, it offers many other impressive security options. Instant email alerts after threat detection allow you to respond to issues quickly.

iThemes Security offers over 30 ways to protect your site from hackers, including blocking access to known attackers, locking accounts after multiple failed login attempts, scanning the site for malware, strengthening passwords, forcing SSL, monitoring files for unauthorized changes, sending notifications of suspicious activity, and obfuscating and hiding important WordPress system information.