A Little History
In the early days, websites were hand-built using a special code called HyperText Markup Language (HTML). To create good-looking websites back then, you had to be something of a geek. Then, special tools came onto the market to reduce the learning curve associated with building websites in HTML. Two of the more popular ones were Macromedia Dreamweaver (now owned by Adobe) and Microsoft Front Page (discontinued in 2006). The problem with these web development tools is that they were expensive.
In May 2003, Matt Mullenweg & Mike Little released a new tool that would change the face of website building forever. They called it WordPress.
I have to admit I was a little reluctant to give up my copy of Dreamweaver at first. But in 2004, I began to experiment with the WordPress platform. It was a time when WordPress was just starting to get interesting. This was thanks to the introduction of something we now know as “plugins.”
Fast-forward to today, and WordPress is now the site-building tool of choice. It’s popular with professionals and enthusiasts alike. Home-based businesses run by moms & dads love it, as do school kids running blogs about their favorite bands or video games. Today, even large corporations use WordPress and just about everyone else who builds websites.
WordPress is extremely powerful, flexible, and produces very professional-looking websites and blogs. It’s pretty easy to use too, but best of all is that it’s 100% free.
The other advantage of WordPress is that the code is freely available to anyone who needs it. This same advantage, though, is also its biggest security threat. The open nature of the code means developers can create exciting new plugins and themes to extend the functionality. Alas, it also means hackers can find security holes in the code and use them to gain illegal access to WordPress websites.
A lot of the discussion on website security can get overly technical. Even so, the average webmaster needs to be able to protect and secure their website. That means there should be no technical barriers to stop the average user. It’s why we need these things written in plain and simple English.
That’s where this tutorial comes in.
I’m going to take you by the hand and guide you — one easy step at a time — as you secure your website(s) against hackers.
Read our tutorials here:
Enjoy!
From your WordPress guy,
Festinger