We all have been on the internet long enough to know that while it brings the world in our palms, it is also vulnerable to theft and attacks. When your website grows, it also gets vulnerable to security threats like DDoS attacks, phishing attacks, SQL injection attacks, cross-site scripting(XSS), password thefts, and more. In this blog, we are going to talk about the most common threat – a DDoS attack. A DDoS or Distributed Denial of Service, dramatically slows down your website and renders it inaccessible to users. This may directly impact your conversions and business revenue, as it causes an unsatisfactory user experience. Understanding DDoS Distributed Denial of Service attack is essentially a process of swarming the server or a network with bot traffic, to overwhelm the system and ultimately cripple the website for real users. With the help of multiple computers, the attackers send thousands of requests to the target server, typically more requests than the server were built to support at a time. Here are some tips to keep your WordPress website safe from DDoS attacks: 1. Get your Hosting right There are plenty of options when it comes to web hosting. But choosing the right one can be a deciding factor in keeping your website safe. Not all web hosts are created equal! Some may kneel under even a moderate strain. Ensure that your host is capable of handling DDoS attacks and your website remains functional and accessible to users under worst-case scenarios. 2. Setup a Website Application Firewall (WAF) Another way of securing your WordPress website is to set up a Website Application Firewall (WAF). It protects your website by adding a layer of protection between your site and web traffic. It also utilizes an intelligent algorithm that automatically blocks incoming malicious traffic. 3. Disable XML-RPC XML-RPC is a WordPress feature that allows you to connect your site with any 3rd party application. It comes enabled by default and you may find it difficult to disable it. The ability to connect with 3rd party applications is a great thing but it comes at a cost. It leaves your website vulnerable to security threats such as DDoS. Although it’s absent from the dashboard, there is a way to disable XML-RPC. You can do so by accessing your .htaccess file through your host’s cPanel account. Just copy-paste the code mentioned below at the end of the file. # Block XML-RPC <Files xmlrpc.php> order deny,allow deny from all allow from // IP </Files> Save and exit. 4. Disable REST API Just like the XML-RPC, REST API also allows 3rd party applications to access your WordPress site. It allows the plugins to send/receive data or delete content. However, it also leaves your website vulnerable to attacks. Unlike XML-RPC, disabling REST API is not a chore. It’s pretty straightforward. This plugin will disable it for you. 5. CDN to the rescue CDN or Content Delivery Network utilizes multiple servers spread across the world to reduce loading time and increase the speed of your website. What CDN does is that it stores your website’s files in caches residing in their data centers. Now whenever a visitor requests your website the CDN immediately loads it through their caches without having to approach your host server. While the CDN is increasing the speed of your, it’s also filtering out malicious traffic to prevent DDoS at the same time. Related blogs: 9 steps to ensure high speed of WordPress website What makes a great WordPress plugin Final Thoughts As you expand your business and more and more users start to show up to your website, the potential impact of a threat such as a DDoS also grows. So do what all is necessary and secure your WordPress website today. Our tips will help you along the way and if you’re looking for WordPress experts to fortify your website then give us a call. About Galaxy Weblinks Galaxy Weblinks is your one-stop solution for WordPress solutions, We offer a complete range of IT services including WordPress development and WordPress optimization. Contact us now for the complete WordPress solutions.