The main reason for WordPress vulnerabilities is users not keeping there WordPress, themes and plugins up to date. The use of third-party themes and plugins very means exposing your website security threats as the more plugins you install the more issues you can develop, but just keeping them all up to date goes a long way to keeping your website secure.

So the first message is to regularly install the latest versions of WordPress plugins and extensions, you can ensure that your website possesses all of the prevailing security patches and your WordPress site is more secure.

• Regularly Audit WordPress Plugins and Themes
  Plugins and themes can become deprecated, obsolete, or include bugs that pose serious security risks to your WordPress website. To secure your WordPress installation and improve security, we recommend that you audit your plugins and themes on a regular basis.
• Assess Your Plugin Security
  You can assess the security of WordPress plugins and themes by reviewing a couple of important indicators:

• Does the plugin or theme have a large install base?:
  Check the number of installs before adding a new plugin to your WordPress site.

Are there a lot of user reviews, and is the average rating high?: Check WordPress plugin reviews and ratings before adding a new plugin.
Are the developers actively supporting their plugin and pushing frequent updates or security patches?: If a plugin has not been updated in a long time it can have vulnerabilities used by malicious users to compromise WordPress websites.
Does the vendor list terms of service or a privacy policy?: It is important to check if the plugin has a privacy policy or TOS.
Does the vendor include a physical contact address in the ToS or from a contact page?: Having a physical contact address adds credibility to a WordPress plugin.
Carefully read the Terms of Service – it may include unwanted extras that the authors didn’t advertise on their homepage. If the plugin or theme doesn’t meet any of these requirements or has recently changed owners before the latest update, you may want to look for a more secure solution for your WordPress site.

Note
Sometimes bad actors will purchase a plugin to add malicious or unwanted functionality. Exercise caution when installing plugins that have recently changed owners before the latest update.

Remove Unused WordPress Plugins & Themes

When it comes to unused plugins, less is more. Storing unwanted plugins in your WordPress installation increases the chance of a compromise, even if they are disabled and not actively being used in your installation. Removing unused plugins and themes helps improve security and protects WordPress from hacking.v

Before updating your website to the latest version of WordPress, we recommend taking the following precautionary steps:

• 1. Back up your website, especially any customized content.
  2. Review the release notes to identify if changes will have any negative impact on your website.
  3. Test the update on a development site to verify that your themes, plugins, and other extensions are compatible with the latest version.