Change wp-content Path with WP Ghost

The WP Ghost plugin is packed with hack-prevention tools to protect your WordPress website from hackers. One of its most useful features is the option to change and hide important paths, such as the wp-content folder.

Hiding the wp-content folder makes it harder for hacker bots and tools to find weak spots in your themes and plugins. This simple step can significantly improve your website’s security.

In this tutorial, we’ll show how to easily change the wp-content path using WP Ghost’s simple and easy-to-use settings.

What is the “wp-content” path in WordPress?

Inside the wp-content directory, you’ll find subdirectories such as themes, plugins, uploads, and potentially others, depending on your specific website setup.

Here’s a breakdown of what each subdirectory contains:

• wp-content/themes: This directory contains all your installed themes. Each theme has its own subfolder, and the active theme’s files control your website’s appearance.
• wp-content/plugins: This directory houses all your installed plugins. Like themes, each plugin resides in its own subfolder and adds specific features and functionalities to your WordPress site.
• wp-content/uploads: WordPress stores all uploaded media files, such as images, videos, and documents, in this directory. It’s organized into subdirectories based on year and month to help manage large amounts of media.
• Other Custom Directories: Depending on your website’s setup, you might have additional custom directories within wp-content for specific purposes.

Changing the wp-content path with the WP Ghost plugin is a smart way to protect your website. By hiding this important folder, you make it harder for hackers and bots to find and exploit weak spots in your WordPress setup.

Why is it essential to secure the “wp-content” directory?

When you secure the wp-content path, you’re hiding access to important files like themes and plugins. It’s like putting a hidden door in place if hackers or bots can’t find the way in, they can’t cause harm or steal data.

Keeping the wp-content path hidden ensures that only authorized users can access these critical parts of your website. It’s a simple but effective step to protect your site from hackers and keep it running smoothly.

Note: Before changing the wp-content path, make sure you have installed and activated the WP Ghost plugin on your WordPress site. If you haven’t yet, follow the plugin’s setup instructions to get started.

How to Secure wp-content with WP Ghost

Activate Safe Mode or Ghost Mode

Begin by activating Safe Mode or Ghost Mode to open the path customization process.

1. Access your WordPress dashboard after installing and activating the WP Ghost plugin.
2. Go to WP Ghost > Change Paths > Level of Security.
3. Select Safe Mode or Ghost Mode. Safe Mode provides basic protection, while Ghost Mode offers more advanced security features.

Change wp-content Path

With Safe Mode or Ghost Mode enabled, proceed to change the wp-content path.

1. Go to WP Ghost > Change Paths > WP Core Security.
2. Next to the Custom wp-content Path you’ll see the predefined custom name for the wp-content path.
3. Enter a different name for the wp-content path or keep the predefined custom name.
4. Click the Save button to apply the changes.

Note: Select a custom name that is not easily guessable to improve security.

Note! WP Ghost does not physically change the paths on your server. It uses rewrite rules to prevent any functionality errors.

Hide wp-content Path

An essential action in protecting your website from hacker attacks is hiding the WordPress common paths like wp-content after changing the path name.

WP Ghost will add a filter in the config file to show a 404 error when a hacker bot or a non-logged-in user tries to access the wp-content path and subpaths.

1. Go to WP Ghost > Change Paths > WP Core Security.
2. Switch to the Hide WordPress Common Paths option to hide the wp-content path and sub-paths.
3. Select from Hide File Extensions the file extension you want to hide from wp-content sub-paths.
4. Click the Save button to apply the changes.

By selecting JS and PHP file extensions from the Hide File Extensions option, you hide and secure files like Javascript and PHP, which hacker bots use to inject SQL and JavaScript into vulnerable plugins.

By hiding the TXT files from wp-content sub-paths, you will hide the plugin’s readme.txt files, and theme detectors will not be able to identify the installed plugins on your server.

Run a Security Check

After saving your wp-content path changes, it’s important to run a security check to verify that the new wp-content path is hidden.

1. Go to WP Ghost > Security Check.
2. Click the Run Full Security Check button to initiate a new security scan.
3. The plugin will verify that the wp-content path has been successfully changed.
4. If the path is hidden as intended, the security task will be marked as complete.

Conclusion

Changing the wp-content path using the WP Ghost plugin is a strategic move to increase the security of your WordPress website.

This feature hides your website’s critical components and helps protect it from theme detectors and hacker bot attacks.

Regular security checks are recommended to maintain the effectiveness of these protective measures.

Troubleshooting

After Changing the wp-content Path, Some Plugins Are Not Functioning Properly

My Images Are Not Displaying Correctly After Changing the wp-content Path

Theme Breaks or The Layout Doesn't Load Correctly

Plugin or Theme Conflicts

Remember, while changing the wp-content path enhances security, it’s essential to be prepared for potential compatibility issues. Thorough troubleshooting and careful adjustments can help you overcome challenges and maintain a secure and functional WordPress website.