Is Your Business Website Security at Risk?
- DeLano Hornbuckle
- 3 hours ago
- 6 min read
Your website is one of those things you set up once and then stop thinking about. It sits there doing its job, so there is no reason to touch it. That is exactly why a neglected website is one of the most common ways a small business gets hacked. Most small-business sites run on WordPress, which powers more than 40 percent of all websites, according to W3Techs.
WordPress itself is solid.
The business website security risk usually comes from the plugins and themes added to it, which often do not get updated for years. According to Patchstack's 2024 WordPress vulnerability report, 96% of all WordPress vulnerabilities were found in third-party plugins. A plugin with a known security hole that has not been patched is an open door, and attackers scan for those doors automatically.
Business Website Security: What Small Business Owners Need to Know
A business website security risk is not always obvious. The site looks fine, loads normally, and nobody has complained. Meanwhile, an outdated plugin is leaving a hole that automated scanners find in minutes. The question is not whether your site is perfect. It is whether someone is actively keeping it that way, or whether it was built and abandoned.
🔑 Key Takeaways
WordPress powers more than 40 percent of all websites, but the risk is usually in the plugins, not the core software.
96% of WordPress vulnerabilities are in third-party plugins and themes, not WordPress itself.
A hacked website rarely announces itself; attackers usually keep it running while using it for malware, spam, or data theft.
Keeping WordPress, plugins, and themes updated, and knowing who is responsible for that, prevents most attacks.
How a Neglected Website Gets Hacked
Attackers don't usually pick your business by name. They run automated tools that scan huge numbers of websites looking for known weak spots, like a plugin with a security hole that has not been fixed. When the tool finds one, it breaks in. It is all automatic, and it is not aimed at you personally.
That is why old plugins are the problem. When a plugin maker finds a security flaw, they release an update to fix it. Until you install that update, the hole stays open, and the automated scanners know exactly what to look for. Security researchers who track WordPress flaws find that the large majority are in plugins and themes, not in WordPress itself. Patchstack's 2024 report found 96% of all WordPress vulnerabilities were in third-party plugins, with 11,334 new vulnerabilities tracked in 2025 alone, a 42% increase over the year before.
What a Hacked Website Is Used For
A hacked website rarely announces itself. Instead of shutting your site down, attackers usually keep it running and use it for their own purposes.
Serving malware. Your site gets changed so that visitors are infected or pushed to a page that tries to install something.
Spam and scam pages. Attackers add hidden pages selling fake goods or pushing scams, riding on your site's good standing with search engines.
Stealing form data. If your site has a contact or checkout form, a hacked site can copy what people type into it, including personal or payment details.
Redirects. Visitors who click your link get sent somewhere else, often a scam or malware site.
The damage lands on you even though the attacker was after your visitors. Search engines flag hacked sites with warnings and drop them down the rankings, and browsers may block them, so customers see a red "this site may be dangerous" screen instead of your homepage.
Is Your Website at Risk? 🤔
It depends on how your site is built.
If you use a hosted website builder like Wix, Squarespace, or Shopify, most of the security and updates are handled for you behind the scenes, so your risk is lower.
If you have a self-hosted WordPress site, usually set up by a web designer or agency on your own hosting, then keeping WordPress, the plugins, and the themes updated is someone's job. The question is whose. On a lot of small-business sites, the honest answer is that nobody has touched it since it launched.
You can usually tell your site is at risk if you don't know who maintains it, it has not been updated in a year or more, or it is running plugins from a developer who has since disappeared.
How to Keep Your Website Safe
Keep everything updated. WordPress, plugins, and themes all need updating when new versions come out. Many sites can be set to update automatically.
Remove plugins you do not use. Every extra plugin is another thing that can go wrong. If you are not using it, delete it.
Stick to well-known plugins. Use ones that are popular, well-reviewed, and updated recently. Avoid anything that hasn't been touched in years.
Watch for abandoned plugins. Sometimes a plugin stops being updated, or gets removed from the plugin store because of a security problem. When that happens it stops getting fixes, so check now and then that the plugins on your site are still supported, and replace any that are not.
Lock down the admin login. Use a strong, unique password for the website's admin account, and turn on multi-factor authentication if your setup supports it.
Add a security plugin or web firewall. A reputable one can block common attacks and warn you when something changes. Your web host or IT provider can recommend one.
Keep backups. If the worst happens, a recent backup lets you restore the site instead of rebuilding it from scratch.
Know who is responsible. Decide who looks after updates and security, whether that is your web designer, your IT provider, or your hosting company, and make sure it is clearly somebody's job.
What to Do If Your Site Is Hacked
If your site does get hacked, moving quickly limits the damage.
Get help straight away. Cleaning a hacked site properly is a job for your web host, IT provider, or a website security service. Most hosts have dealt with this many times and can help.
Take the site offline. Putting up a simple "down for maintenance" page stops visitors from being harmed while it is cleaned up.
Change the passwords. From a device you know is clean, change the passwords for your hosting account and the website's admin login, and turn on multi-factor authentication.
Restore a clean backup. If you have a backup from before the hack, restoring it is often the fastest fix. If you don't, the site will need to be cleaned by hand.
Update and tidy up before it goes back live. Update WordPress, the plugins, and the themes, and remove anything you do not recognize or no longer use, so the same hole doesn't get used again.
Tell anyone whose data was affected. If the site handled customer details or payments, check whether any of that was exposed, and let those people know if it was.
Frequently Answered Questions (FAQs)
How do I know if my website has been hacked?
Common signs are a warning from Google or your browser, a drop in search traffic, pages or pop-ups you didn't add, or your web host getting in touch about a problem. If you are not sure, your IT provider or web host can check.
Do I need to update my website if it works fine?
Yes. A site can look completely normal to you while an out-of-date plugin leaves a door open for attackers. Updates close those holes, which is why they matter even when nothing looks wrong.
I use Wix or Squarespace. Am I at risk?
Much less so. Hosted builders handle the updates and most of the security for you. You should still use a strong admin password and MFA, but you are not responsible for patching plugins the way a self-hosted WordPress site is.
Who should maintain my website?
Someone should own it clearly: your web designer or agency, your IT provider, or your hosting company, depending on your setup. The important thing is that someone is actually doing the updates.
What is a security plugin or web firewall?
It is a tool that sits on your website, blocks common attacks, watches for changes, and can alert you to problems. On WordPress, a reputable security plugin is a common, low-cost way to add that protection.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DeLano Hornbuckle
President & Chief Security Consultant - DH Solutions
DeLano Hornbuckle is the President and Chief Security Consultant at DH Solutions. A former Westland City Council member with a lifelong commitment to the Metro Detroit community, DeLano bridges the gap between public-sector accountability and elite technical defense.
He holds advanced industry certifications including Fortinet NSE 1-7, EC-Council Certified Network Defender, and Cisco CCNA. Guided by the mission to help local firms "do more with less" through smarter IT, DeLano is dedicated to defending your digital world with enterprise-grade protection tailored for the small business scale.
Republished with Permission from The Technology Press
