Access & Identity
The most fallible part of any security system is the human element. We start here:
- Least privilege — users get only the access they absolutely need.
- Limited admin access — only authorised people can touch critical systems, DNS, or servers.
- Unique strong passwords — required for all accounts, generated with a password manager.
- MFA enabled everywhere — authenticator apps preferred; SMS/email only when necessary.
- No account sharing — every person, client, and contractor gets their own identity.
WordPress Application Security
Most breaches come from outdated or poorly coded plugins and themes. We lock that down:
- Weekly updates for WordPress core, themes, and plugins.
- Security updates applied immediately when available.
- Threat monitoring against known vulnerability databases.
- Automatic virtual patches for high-risk issues, with vulnerable components replaced before they’re exploited.
- AI-assisted visual checks after every update — if a layout shifts more than 3%, we review it manually before it stays live.
Server Hardening
We secure the server layer so there’s less for WordPress to defend:
- SSL certificates with HTTPS enforced across every site.
- Weekly Ubuntu and NGINX updates — patched and tested.
- Secure PHP versions configured by default.
- Strong usernames and passwords on all service accounts.
- Directory browsing disabled — curious eyes can’t map your files.
- PHP execution disabled in uploads and theme directories.
- Secure
wp-config.php permissions and placement.
- Security headers applied at the server level.
- SFTP and SSH only — plain FTP is dead.
- Nginx rate limiting to slow brute-force attempts.
- Default WordPress login page disabled — replaced with a safer custom entry point.
We also protect against the common WordPress-specific attacks: HTTP Response Splitting, XSS, Cache Poisoning, SQL/PHP/Code Injection, and File Inclusion.
Backups
Good backups are like insurance that covers everything, costs almost nothing, and always pays out. We take them seriously.
- 14-day retention on all plans by default.
- Tiered schedules — local backups for speed, remote backups for safety.
- Remote destinations include Wasabi, AWS S3, and Google Drive.
- Higher tiers add hourly backups and physical-drive archives for enterprise clients.
- Optional client-owned destinations (OneDrive, Dropbox, pCloud, DigitalOcean Spaces) so you always hold a key.
Monitoring & Logging
Knowing what happened is half the battle. We log activity across both the hosting environment and client sites so every action is traceable back to a user or service worker.
- Uptime monitoring with Better Uptime.
- Server performance tracking with NetData.
- Ongoing reliability checks with Hexometer and Hexowatch.
- Centralised activity logs for audit, forensics, and compliance.