What to do if your WordPress Site Gets Hacked- According to some estimates, WordPress is used by 40% of websites as a Content Management System (CMS). WordPress is one of the simplest platforms for quickly launching a decent website.
However, if you do not keep your website up to date, there is a considerable risk that you will discover malware on your site one day.
The majority of users discover their site has been hacked when their browser starts showing a warning when they try to access it.
So, what are your options? There are numerous services that can assist you in removing malware from your website. However, without having to pay someone, this list of options will bring you to a solution quite soon.
The first thing to do is to call your hosting service
The first thing you should do is contact your hosting company. There’s a good chance they’ll be able to assist you in resolving your problem.
Your hosting service can perform a scan of your website to identify the specific malware that has affected it. Then they’ll be able to tell you what steps you need to follow to get rid of the infection.
Most likely, you’ll have to go back to a previous backup. You must return the website to a previous state before it became infected. The majority of hosting services now include automated backups. So, if you’re lucky, the hosting customer service will handle the necessary job for you.
If your hosting service can handle this, you’re good to go! After your site has been restored, make sure to update your WordPress software as well as all of your plugins. It’s a good idea to disable and remove any plugins that aren’t in use on your site.
If your hosting service can’t help
I’d be amazed if your website hosting business couldn’t offer you the assistance you require. However, if you do not receive the assistance you require, you will have to do your own scan. You may do this using a variety of WordPress plugins. The following are the top three items that I recommend:
1. Sucuri
2. Wordfence
3. Anti-Malware Security
You will have validated that you have an issue after running the scan. Now is the moment to locate the most recent backup of the site you have. If you haven’t backed up your site in a long time, you’ll have to deal with the consequences – Your backup restore will return your website to its previous state, but you may lose some content in the process.
Remove all of your WordPress files from your server completely
You must delete all WordPress files from your website. Do not waste time attempting to repair the infected files.
I’ve spent hours trying to track down and remove malicious code from several of my previously hacked sites. This ended up being a waste of time because the infection kept reappearing. The best course of action is to remove your WordPress site and start over.
You can delete the files manually, however using the Cpanel to destroy the WordPress instance is the most convenient option. Then completely reinstall the WordPress software. If you run into any problems, contact your hosting provider. They can provide you with answers to your inquiries or direct you to a tutorial that will lead you through the procedure.
Reinstall your Theme and Plugins
Next, re-install your theme and your plugins.
Restore your backup
Then you should restore your backup. You can follow the instructions provided by the plugin creator if you’re using Backup Buddy.
Scan again
You’ll need to restart your scan to ensure that your restored site is clean. If the problem persists, you’ll need to restore your site from an even older backup. It’s a triumph if your website is now clean.
Tell Google that your site is clean
Now you must go to your Google Webmaster account and notify them that your website is ready to be removed off the malware list. It’s simple to create an account if you don’t already have one. Simply go to this link: Google Webmaster Tools is a free service provided by Google.
What if you don’t have a back-up plan in place?
There are various services that can help you if you don’t have a backup. You should be able to clean this property for a bargain — between $50 and $200. Then consider it a learnt lesson. Make sure you pay for a backup service or use a plugin like BackupBuddy in the future.
