- Take your site offline:
The first step is to take your site offline. This will prevent any further damage from being done while you work on cleaning up the site. You can do this by either temporarily disabling your site or by using a maintenance mode plugin.
- Backup your site:
Before you start making any changes to your site, it’s important to make a backup of your site. This will ensure that you have a copy of your site in case something goes wrong during the cleanup process.
- Scan your site for malware:
Once you have taken your site offline and backed it up, you can start scanning your site for malware. There are a number of tools available for this, such as Wordfence, Sucuri, and Quttera.
- Remove any malicious code:
Once you have identified any malicious code on your site, you can remove it. This can be done manually or with a plugin such as Wordfence.
- Change all passwords:
Once you have removed any malicious code, it’s important to change all passwords associated with your site. This includes your hosting account, WordPress admin account, and any other accounts associated with your site.
- Update WordPress and plugins:
Once you have changed all passwords, it’s important to update WordPress and any plugins you have installed. This will ensure that any security vulnerabilities are patched and your site is as secure as possible.
- Monitor your site:
Once you have cleaned up your site, it’s important to monitor it for any further malicious activity. You can do this by using a security plugin such as Wordfence or Sucuri.