WordPress Security For Teams Who Actually Need To Get Work Done

This video is hilarious. It’s also an uncomfortably accurate representation of the people we work with every day.

Your marketing coordinator who writes excellent product descriptions. Your customer service team who respond to enquiries within an hour. Your operations manager who keeps the business running smoothly. They’re brilliant at what they do. They excel at their roles.

They’re also blissfully unaware of what happens if their WordPress password gets compromised. And honestly? That’s how it should be. They shouldn’t need to think about security architecture. That’s our job.

But here’s what’s changed: your website isn’t a beautiful business card anymore. It’s a lead generation system collecting customer names, email addresses, business details, and qualifying questions. We’ve done a lot of work to keep credit card information out of WordPress with payment processors like Stripe. But all that other information? Still sitting in your database. Still accessible to anyone with the right login credentials.

Which means we need to talk about WordPress security in practical terms.

Stop Giving Everyone Nuclear Launch Codes

Most WordPress sites have too many Admin accounts.

Your team doesn’t need nuclear launch codes to publish a blog post. An Admin can do everything. Install plugins. Delete the entire site. Export your customer database. Change user permissions. Modify your checkout process.

Your content writer doesn’t need any of that. Neither does your product manager or your customer service team.

Here’s what different roles actually need:

Editor – Can publish and manage all posts and pages, including those created by others. Perfect for content managers.

Author – Can publish and manage their own posts. Good for blog contributors.

Shop Manager (WooCommerce) – Can manage products, orders and customers. Can’t touch site settings or install plugins.

Contributor – Can write and manage their own posts but can’t publish them. Needs editorial approval.

Subscriber – Can only manage their own profile. That’s it.

The quick win here is auditing your user list right now. Who actually needs Admin access? Probably just you and your developer.

Everyone else should have the minimum permissions they need to do their job well.

Two-Factor Authentication Isn’t Optional Anymore

If someone gets your password, two-factor authentication (2FA) is what stops them at the door.

It works like this: you enter your password, then you enter a code from your phone. Even if someone has your password, they can’t get in without that second code.

We typically set up Wordfence or iThemes Security for this. Both are solid. Both add about 10 seconds to your login process.

Those 10 seconds stop most automated attacks cold.

Password Managers Are Worth The Friction

Here’s the honest version: password managers are slightly annoying to set up. They require you to change your habits. You’ll need to learn a new workflow.

They’re also the only practical way to have strong, unique passwords for every login.

1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass – pick one. Generate random passwords for every WordPress site, every plugin account, every service you use.

Stop reusing passwords across sites. Stop using patterns that can be socially engineered in a 30-second conversation (see video above).

The friction upfront is worth it. One compromised password shouldn’t give someone access to your entire digital presence.

Old User Accounts Are Forgotten Backdoors

That contractor who built your homepage in 2022? They probably still have Admin access.

The marketing manager who left last year? Still in your user list.

The agency you used before us? Their developer account might still be active.

Set a calendar reminder for quarterly user audits. Takes 10 minutes. Remove anyone who’s moved on or doesn’t need access anymore.

Updates Matter More Than You Think

Most WordPress breaches we see don’t come from sophisticated hacking attempts. They come from outdated software.

WordPress releases security patches regularly. So do plugin and theme developers. These patches exist because someone found a vulnerability and reported it.

Which means the vulnerability is now public knowledge. Which means automated tools are scanning for sites that haven’t updated yet.

Keeping WordPress core, themes and plugins updated isn’t about having the latest features. It’s about closing known security holes before someone exploits them.

What This Looks Like In Practice

Phase one is quick wins:

• Audit your user permissions today
• Enable 2FA on all Admin accounts
• Remove old user accounts
• Check everything is updated

Phase two is building better habits:

• Set up a password manager
• Create a monthly check-in for updates
• Document who needs what level of access

Phase three is ongoing maintenance:

• Quarterly user audits
• Regular security reviews
• Keep documentation current as your team changes

None of this is complicated. It just needs to be systematic.

When To Get A Second Opinion

If you’re not confident in your current security setup, that’s reasonable. WordPress security has layers, and it’s easy to miss something.

We’re happy to walk through what you’ve got and flag anything obvious. No pressure, no pitch. Just a conversation about whether your site is protected the way it should be.