Before we get into any specific tips and techniques for WordPress security, let's set some groundwork in place. Your number one objective is to set the most fundamental elements in place so that you can avoid 99% of the attacks. Remember that the hackers are not targeting your site individually. Instead, they target a whole cluster of sites and aim to take advantage of known vulnerabilities. Therefore, if you erase that given vulnerability from your site, then you're effectively preventing the attack from happening.
Again, our number one goal: prevention through implementing best practices. Or, to say it another way, let's do the 20% of the work that'll give us 80% of the result. To achieve that, let's start with some overall best practices for website security.