Yes, WordPress is secure enough to run a store on, if you keep it maintained. The security company Patchstack counted 11,334 new vulnerabilities in the WordPress ecosystem in 2025. Of those, 91% were in plugins and 9% in themes. Only six were in WordPress core, all low priority. Your risk follows your plugin list, your logins and how fast you update.
The source is the Patchstack State of WordPress Security in 2026 report. Patchstack sells vulnerability protection, so read the numbers as one vendor's count. They still point the same way as most security reporting: core is rarely the problem.
Is WordPress safe from hackers?
WordPress is a target because it is common. According to W3Techs, WordPress ran on about 39% of all websites on 12 November 2026. A flaw found once can be tried against millions of sites, so attackers automate it.
Most of that traffic is bots, not people. A bot does not know your site is a small store. It finds a WordPress file, tries the login, checks your plugin versions against public vulnerability lists and moves on. Patchstack reports that the median time to mass exploitation of the most heavily exploited vulnerabilities was 5 hours in 2025. That leaves little room for a monthly update habit.
The mechanics of the login attack are in our guide to how a brute force attack works.
Is WordPress secure for ecommerce?
Yes, WordPress is secure for ecommerce when you maintain it, with more care than a brochure site needs. A store holds customer names, addresses and order history, and its checkout is worth attacking. The WooCommerce developer documentation tells store owners to keep plugins and themes updated, remove those that are no longer maintained, use strong unique passwords with two-factor login, and keep automated backups stored off site (WooCommerce security best practices).
The sharpest ecommerce risk is card skimming, where code on the checkout page copies card details. We explain it in WooCommerce payment security. If you run a store, WooCommerce hosting with a firewall and backups in front of it removes some of that exposure.
Is WordPress safe to use? Five checks you control
Five checks cover most of what you control: updates, removing unused plugins, protected admin logins, login limits and tested backups. Patchstack found 91% of 2025's new vulnerabilities in plugins, which is why the first two come first.
- Update on a schedule. Apply plugin, theme and core updates within days, not months.
- Delete what you do not use. A deactivated plugin still sits on your server. Decide how many plugins to run and remove the rest.
- Protect admin logins. Use long unique passwords. Turn on two-factor login for administrators. WordPress core does not ship it, so it needs a plugin.
- Limit login attempts. Throttle failed logins at the host, the firewall or a plugin.
- Test your backups. A backup you have never restored is a guess.
Security is a routine, not a setting. A site that was clean last month can be exposed today because a plugin you have not updated now has a public vulnerability record.
What a host can block before WordPress runs
A firewall and DDoS protection sit in front of your site, so some bad requests are dropped before PHP loads. EasWrk includes a web application firewall, DDoS protection, free SSL and daily backups kept for 30 days on every plan, as listed on our pricing page. What each layer covers, and what it does not, is set out in our security approach.
A host cannot choose your plugins, set your passwords or apply your updates for you. If you want someone else to handle updates, our care plans cover that work.