How to Force a Strong Password Generator on a WordPress Website

WordPress offers a number of ways to increase the complexity of your passwords with thePassword Generator, can help users generate strong passwords easily. In this article, we'll dive into how to enforce the use of a strong password generator in your WordPress website to improve the security of your website.

Why do you need strong passwords?

By default, WordPress allows users to choose a password, but does not enforce its strength. This means you can set as simple a password as you like, and even some users choose "123456"or"password" and other common passwords, greatly increasing the risk of website attacks.

Strong passwords includeUpper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters should also be included.furthermoreThe length should be long enough. Using complex passwords can make it more difficult for hackers to brute force your site and protect it.

WordPress Default Password Generator

By default, the password generator appears on the user registration page and the user profile page. On these pages, you can click "Generate Password" button to automatically generate a random strong password.

How to Force Strong Password Generator in WordPress

Method 1: Useplug-in (software component)strong password (computing)

The easiest way to force a strong password generator in WordPress is to use thePassword Policy Manager Plugin. With the plugin, it is possible to set requirements for strong passwords and ensure that every user must comply with password strength regulations.

Install and activate the Password Policy Manager plugin

1. Log in to your WordPress admin backend.
2. Go to "plug-in (software component)">"Adding Plug-ins", search and install "Password Policy Manager"Plugins.
3. After the installation is complete, click "start using".

Configuring Password Policies

1. After activating the plug-in, go to "Password Policy Manager".

2. On the Settings page, you can enable the "Strong password policy". Make sure to enable "Password strength check" option and set a strong password requirement, such as at least 12 characters and must contain upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters.

3. Configuring the password expiration time allows you to set a certain amount of time after which users must update their passwords.

4. In "Advanced Options" in which you can set other security policies for passwords, such as automatically resetting passwords for inactive users, restricting password reuse, and so on.

5. Enable the "Limit logon attempts" option to preventbrute force attack (Brute Force). You can set a limit on the number of failed login attempts.

Method 2: InCustomized FormsEnforcing the use of strong passwords in

If you use a customUser Registrationrespond in singingLogin Form, rather than the WordPress default signup forms, then you need to make sure that these forms also force strong passwords. A common practice is to use the WPForms PluginUpgrade toWPForms Pro, which helps you to create customized user registration forms and force users to use strong passwords.

Installation of WPForms plugin

1. Log in to the WordPress dashboard.
2. Go to "plug-in (software component)">"Adding Plug-ins", search and install WPForms Plug-ins.

3. After activating the plugin, you need to go to "WPForms" setup page and enter your license key for activation.

Creating Customized Registration Forms with WPForms

1. In "WPForms"menu, click "Add New Form".

2. After adding all the required fields. For our form, we add the following fields:
   • name and surname
   • email
   • Single line of text (for user name input)
   • cryptographic

3. In the form editor, click "cryptographic"The field is edited to turn on the "Enable password strength" option. You can set the password strength requirement to "unyielding" and customize the display of the password strength bar.

4. Map form fields to WordPress user profiles and assign user roles to new users. First, click
   "Settings" ""User Registration". 

5. After completing the form settings, click the "Save" button.

Adding a form to a page

1. In the WordPress page editor, select the registration form you want to add theweb pageThe
2. Inserting in the editor WPForms block and select the custom user registration form you just created.

3. Save and publish the page.

Mandatory password security

When a user fills in a password, WPForms checks the password strength in real time. If the password is weak, the form will not be submitted. In this way, it is possible to ensure that all registered users use strong passwords, thus increasing overall security.

Method 3: Remove the weak password option

In addition to enforcing strong passwords, you can also change the default WordPress settings by removing the "Confirm the use of weak passwords" checkbox. This further prevents users from bypassing password strength checks.

// Remove the "Confirm use of weak password" checkbox
add_action('user_profile_update_errors', 'disable_weak_password_checkbox', 10, 3);
function disable_weak_password_checkbox($errors, $update, $user) {
    if (isset($_POST['confirm_weak_password'])) {
        unset($_POST['confirm_weak_password']);
    }
}

// Disable bypassing password strength checks
add_filter('wp_check_password_strength', function($strength, $password, $username, $user_id) {
    // Force the password to be strong
    return 4; // 4 means strong password level
}, 10, 4).

The checkbox to use a weak password can be removed by modifying the site's theme files or using a custom plugin. This prevents users from having the option to useweak password, further enhancing the security of the site.

Best Practices for Password Security

In addition to enforcing the use of strong password generators, there are a number of other password security best practices that can be implemented to further enhance the security of your WordPress site:

1. Enable two-step verification: Enable two-step authentication for user accounts (2FA), ensuring that even if the password is compromised, hackers cannot easily access the account.
2. Change passwords regularly: Require users to change their passwords on a regular basis, especially for administrators and users with sensitive privileges.
3. Limit Login Attempts: Set a limit on the number of login attempts to prevent brute-force breaking attacks.
4. Using a password manager: Encourage users to generate and store strong passwords using a password manager to avoid reusing the same passwords.

summarize

By enforcing the use of a strong password generator, you can effectively improve the security of your website and prevent data leakage and unauthorized access. Whether you use a plugin to configure a password policy or create a custom registration form through WPForms, the use of strong passwords is an important step in securing your website.