Imagine you were out car shopping this weekend and found an amazingly great deal. When you tried to figure out why it looked too good to be true, you discovered the reason.
There were no side or rear view mirrors.
Would you buy the car?
I hope not.
Because there are blind spots that those mirrors help you with. They make your driving safer because they're there.
But there are people who run their websites without paying attention to security at all.
They're like someone who would buy a car without side mirrors.
Not me. Not you. But you know, others…
But let me ask you the question another way.
If I tried to sell you a car that had side mirrors on it, and I told you that as long as you had those on the car, you'd never get into an accident – would you believe me?
I hope not.
Because the presence of side mirrors, while important, isn't an all-encompassing solution for driver safety.
But there are people who run their websites thinking that a simple plugin, a single solution, will do everything they need for security.
They're like someone who would think a car with side mirrors would take care of everything.
Not me. Not you. But you know, others…
Website Security is a complex thing
I'm not a security expert and don't play one on tv. And honestly, I don't want to become one.
So I choose hosting that will help me because folks like WP Engine and Pagely have staff that focus on it.
But that's not enough. Having a host pay attention to security is like getting side mirrors on the car: necessary but not sufficient.
On top of having hosting companies that provide Managed WordPress hosting – I also subscribe to Sucuri, because they're security experts that can find and fix issues if any of my sites get infected.
And now Sucuri offers a firewall that goes beyond malware cleanup to malware protection, included in your account.
Of course that doesn't mean you shouldn't get a plugin on your site – like iThemes Security Pro.
See what's going on here – plugin, service, hosting – they're all working together.
That's why I tell folks, website security isn't a DIY project.