Comparison of Wordfence and iThemes Security
When you get the opportunity to speak to a real veteran of the WordPress world, you don’t think twice before jumping on it! All of us at Can We Talk had the huge privilege this week of hearing from Paul Taubman.
Paul’s a WordPress maverick who’s been developing and updating sites since before some of the Can We Talk viewers were born. (I promise I’m not trying to call you “old”, Paul!) Paul and I hang out at the GoWP Happiness Hour, which is definitely worth checking out if you haven’t yet.
Besides being a super-funny and friendly guy, Paul’s the founder and brains behind Digital Maestro. It’s an online-strategy agency that lives by the motto, “We speak human, not .html”. His mission is to make things make sense. Period. Using language that anyone can understand, Paul and Digital Maestro work tirelessly to help everyone make more of an impact with their Web presence.
But Paul’s drive and dedication doesn’t stop there —he’s also a stickler for site security, which is why I’m so grateful that he’s come to chat with us today about security plugins like Wordfence and iThemes Security.
Comprehensive site security is essential for making sure that our data and information, along with our clients’ data, stays safe. This isn’t necessarily news to you; I know. But do you have a good grasp on what’s lurking around the walls of your sites?
Paul really caught me off guard with just how vulnerable we can really become if we let our guard down. Don’t panic, though! We’re here to learn the lowdown on the security plugins you’ve probably been using, see what’s working, and figure out how to keep our info even better protected.
The man needs no further introduction nor help explaining his craft, so I’ll let Paul talk as we go over my big takeaways.
- Don’t sleep on your security concerns.
Security threats can come from all sides—it’s just a fact of life in our industry. Sometimes this comes down to unsafe passwords, or even a less-than stellar hosting site. Make sure your recurring clients are protected as possible, and they’ll thank you for it.
Keep these questions in mind for your current sites:
- “When was the last time I did a security update?”
- “How often is my current plugin catching security-related issues?”
- “Am I satisfied with the security coverage I’m receiving for what I’m paying?”
- “How am I storing and protecting my site-related passwords?”
If your answers seem sketchy to any of those questions, it’s time to act right now.
- Do your research—before you start building.
There’s nothing more frustrating than getting halfway through building a site and realizing that it’s been left nearly-defenseless. You’re then stuck with either making enormous overhauls or relying too heavily for comfort on your security plugins.
If you do your research and stay on top of what others are saying before you even start the site, you’re going to have a much better chance of making your own job easier, staying within your budget and deadline, and making your clients happy. All of the things we love here at Can We Talk!
Security concerns create another excellent opportunity to educate yourself and your clients and communicate with them. If their current preferences and practices are putting their own security risks, they should know!
Be ready to both explain why their sites are naturally less secure than they’d probably home, and be armed with viable solutions.
- A great personality is a professional ASSET!
Paul is living proof that you can find the best of both worlds in one agency owner. There’s time for silliness, and there’s time for seriousness, but it’s not enough just to be an extremely capable professional.
Lean into your people skills, or work on perfecting your casual client conversation. You’ll be amazed at how effective being personable, friendly, and fun can be towards closing a sales lead or retaining clients.
Time spent with Paul Taubman never disappoints, and I’m so happy and grateful that we all learned a thing or two about our security plugins. I’m off right now to make sure that my sites are up to speed—and security!
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