In the first post of this series on securing your WordPress files from intruders we learned why it’s important to create a strong password and how to add a layer of protection for your login page by use of the Login LockDown Plugin.

Today I want to show you how to change the default “admin” username WordPress gives us. This is very important as it’s just one more thing an attacker will have to figure out in order to access your files through the login page. The more difficult you make it, hopefully the more likely they will move on.

You’d think the creators of WordPress would make changing your username easy - but it’s not.

Changing your password, no problem. Changing your username, well . . . not as easy. So let’s do this one together and if you have any questions, feel free to comment below.

Fluffy thinks outside the box when it comes to defending his blog against attackers.

No, this series on how to better secure your WordPress blog from being hacked does not expand on Fluffy’s alternative means of defending it.

Sorry.

However, we will look at some relatively easy things you can do to fortify your blog and take a defensive position without the use of hand grenades and land mines.

This topic will be a series of 7 posts which include guided picture tutorials and is intended for anyone with great web development skills to well, maybe just above a beginner.

For this first post though, I’d like to mention a few good practices and first steps you should do to better secure your WordPress blog. Following that, we’ll look at ways to create multiple layers of protection by:

• Changing your default WordPress username
• Obscuring your database tables

What is your perception of the world you live in? Image by borzikako

Do you do great things or do great things happen to you?

What is the foundation of successful thinking?

For me it’s the way in which we perceive and think of ourselves. I’m not talking about simply thinking happy thoughts and good things will happen, I’m talking about the level in which you perceive yourself and the world around you and your place in it.

Your mind-set and belief system will greatly influence your creativity, potential, and most likely determine your success in business.

Life sort of molds us into the person we are today. Determining factors can be such things as where you’ve been and where you live, who your friends and family are, your income level, environment, etc. The elements around us condition the way we think. And the way we think determines how well we do in business.

It is my pleasure today to welcome aboard Theresa Hoff to the eVentureBiz team. Yes, you may have noticed her last name is the same as mine and I have a perfectly good explanation why.

She’s the person who taught me many things in life and along with my father, taught me such things as thinking laterally in business, integrity, and good will. You’ve probably guessed it, she’s my mother ;).

Theresa has worked in the legal field nearly 20 years and is our resident paralegal, notary, and director of our new department which will provide incorporation and living trust services here at eVentureBiz. Oh yeah, and she also knows a thing or two about filing state trademarks in case you need one or have questions.

What This Means For Business Owners & My Blog Community

To put it simply, this means we can now help you structure your business entity (C or S corporation, LLC, Partnerships, etc.) and help you protect your personal assets from lawsuits against your company. Theresa and I are here to help and answer any questions you might have.

My journey takes me along the path of a Web Entrepreneur.

My blog follows my journey and forces me to push my creative business ideas and mesh them with what I know about creating a successful website.

I’ve read article after article telling me I need to laser focus my blog’s niche crowd and write to them. These articles tell me if I write about web development, then only write about that. And if I write about entrepreneurship, only write about that. Consistency is key, otherwise, you’ll lose readership.

Don’t write about Google Sitemaps one day and then write about Unconventional Thinking the next, they say.

I don’t believe this is always the case.

To be a Web Entrepreneur, it’s not enough to only learn about popular web designs. It’s not good enough to only learn SEO techniques. And it’s definitely not good enough to only learn about marketing.

Googlebot reads websites, but not like you. Image by lauradahl

#1 on Google, and ok, maybe Yahoo!

That’s what Web Entrepreneurs want - and we all compete for it.

Here are some SEO guides I go by when optimizing a website.

Keep in mind though you should always first make sure your website is designed well for human navigation and readability; SEO is secondary. Googlebot doesn’t buy from you, humans do.

When thinking about search engine optimization, I always design with the notion that search engine algorithms change over time. Therefore, even if something today doesn’t have a huge impact on SEO but it seems logically it might, I use it when possible. I try not to assume, but always plan.

Please note this article has a lot of links. Ironically, I didn’t do this for SEO but rather educational purposes.

xml Sitemaps Are Quite Ugly Click image to view our Sitemap.

Is it necessary to have one? Will it affect my search engine rankings if I don’t have one? Will Google visit my website less because I don’t have one?

Let me see if I can clarify some of the questions people have when it comes to the widely known, but little understood, xml Sitemaps.

A xml Sitemap is a sitemap generated for your website that you have created for our buddy Googlebot to read and get to know your website.

There are some arguments out there as to whether or not a Sitemap is really beneficial to your website. The obvious advantage of having a Sitemap is to help Google index your site better, but does that really have any say in search engine optimization or PageRank?

Does Having A Sitemap Help My Search Engine Rankings?

It’s a crappy answer, but the answer is yes and no.