How to Migrate from Wordfence to Shield Security

Switching from Wordfence to Shield Security is straightforward and ensures your site remains protected.

This guide will walk you through a smooth migration from your existing Wordfence setup to ShieldPRO, highlighting the matching features and steps to ensure Shield is configured the same way, with links to helpdesk articles for easy implementation.

Wordfence Feature: Firewall

  1. Wordfence

Advanced Firewall Options > Allowlisted IP addresses that bypass all rules

  1. ShieldPRO

Bots & IP Rules > use the Create New IP Rule form to add IP(s) to the bypass list


  1. Wordfence

Advanced Firewall Options > Allowlisted services (manual setting)

  1. ShieldPRO

Shield automatically whitelists services like Sucuri, Facebook, ManageWP, etc.

If you need to whitelist a specific service, you can always reach out to us directly here.


  1. Wordfence

Advanced Firewall Options > Firewall Rules

  1. ShieldPRO

Firewall Zone > enable Request Firewall Options


  1. Wordfence

Firewall Options > Real-Time IP Blocklist

  1. ShieldPRO

Security Zones > configure Bots & IPs Zone options

Also use Bots & IP Rules tool to review blocked IPs in the real-time.


  1. Wordfence

Brute Force Protection > Enable brute force protection

  1. ShieldPRO

Security Zones > configure Bots & IPs Zone options


  1. Wordfence

Brute Force Protection > all Password protection options

  1. ShieldPRO

Users Zone > configure Password Policies options


  1. Wordfence

Additional Options > Prevent discovery of usernames through '/?author=N' scans, the oEmbed API, the WordPress REST API, and WordPress XML Sitemaps

  1. ShieldPRO

Firewall Zone > configure WordPress Obscurity & API & XML-RPC options


  1. Wordfence

Additional Options > Participate in the Real-Time Wordfence Security Network (manual setting)

  1. ShieldPRO

Shield automatically gathers and shares data through its ShieldNET: WordPress Network Threat Intelligence.


  1. Wordfence

Rate Limiting > Rate Limiting options

  1. ShieldPRO

Firewall Zone > configure Rate Limiting options


  1. Wordfence

Rate Limiting > Allowlisted 404 URLs

  1. ShieldPRO

Bots & IPs > Auto Blocking Rules > add URL(s) to the Request Path Whitelist field


  1. Wordfence

Allowlisted URLs > Add Allowlisted URL/Param

  1. ShieldPRO

Firewall Zone > add parameter(s) to the Whitelist Parameters field

Wordfence Feature: Scan

  1. Wordfence

All Scans options & Results table

  1. ShieldPRO

Scans Zone > configure all Scans options

Also use Scans section to review scan results.

Wordfence Section: Tools

  1. Wordfence

Tools > Live Traffic options & Table

  1. ShieldPRO

Activity Logs > configure Request Logging options

Also use Live HTTP Log Viewer to view your site live traffic logs.


  1. Wordfence

Audit Log > Audit Log options & Logs Table

  1. ShieldPRO

Configure WP Activity Log options

Also use WP Activity Log Viewer to view your site activity logs.


  1. Wordfence

Whois Lookup (manual tool)

  1. ShieldPRO

Use manual IP Info / Bot Or Not tool

This is also automatically integrated into IP Analysis dialog > ShieldNET IP Reputation Score.


  1. Wordfence

Import/Export Options

  1. ShieldPRO

Tools > configure Import/Export feature


  1. Wordfence

Diagnostics

  1. ShieldPRO

Tools > review Debug Info

Wordfence Feature: Login Security

  1. Wordfence

Two-Factor Authentication > 2FA apps

  1. ShieldPRO

Login Security Zone > configure 2FA: OTP & Passkeys options


  1. Wordfence

Settings > Allow remembering device for 30 days

  1. ShieldPRO

Login Security Zone > configure 2FA Remember Me option


  1. Wordfence

Settings > Disable XML-RPC authentication

  1. ShieldPRO

Firewall Zone > use Disable XML-RPC option

Also review XML-RPC Access setting under the Bots & IPs Zone > Bot Actions.


  1. Wordfence

Settings > WooCommerce integration

  1. ShieldPRO

Tools > Integrations > 3rd Party User Forms Bot Checking > select WooCommerce from the list


  1. Wordfence

2FA management shortcode

  1. ShieldPRO

Use the Shield's Custom 2FA Management Shortcode


  1. Wordfence

reCAPTCHA

  1. ShieldPRO

Bots & IPs Zone > configure silentCAPTCHA AntiBot Technology options


  1. Wordfence

General > Allowlisted IP addresses that bypass 2FA and reCAPTCHA

  1. ShieldPRO

Bots & IP Rules > use Create New IP Rule form to add IP(s) to the bypass list


  1. Wordfence

Settings > Delete Login Security tables and data on deactivation

  1. ShieldPRO

Dashboard > Plugin Defaults > use Delete Plugin Settings option

Wordfence: Global Options

  1. Wordfence

Wordfence License information section

  1. ShieldPRO

ShieldPRO License Management section

Please also read how to activate your ShieldPRO license.


  1. Wordfence

General Wordfence Options > Update Wordfence automatically when a new version is released?

  1. ShieldPRO

Dashboard > Plugin Defaults > configure Self AutoUpdate option


  1. Wordfence

General Wordfence Options > Where to email alerts option

  1. ShieldPRO

Reports > use Report Email option


  1. Wordfence

General Wordfence Options > How does Wordfence get IPs?

  1. ShieldPRO

Dashboard > Plugin Defaults > select your IP source from the IP Source drop-down list


  1. Wordfence

Dashboard Notification Options

  1. ShieldPRO

Dashboard > Plugin Defaults > enable/disable In-Plugin Notices option


  1. Wordfence

Email Alert Preferences (all options)

  1. ShieldPRO

Reports > configure Alert, info & Instant Alerts options


  1. Wordfence

Email Alert > Alert me when someone with administrator access signs in

  1. ShieldPRO

Users Zone > User Session Management > configure Admin Login Notification Email option

While we've highlighted equivalent features between Wordfence and Shield Security, it’s worth noting that Shield offers many additional features not available in Wordfence (review the comparison list here). For a complete overview of Shield’s capabilities,

  1. explore the full feature set within the plugin or visit our knowledge base here ; or
  2. reach out to us directly ; we are available 24/7 for you.

Note: All attempts have been made to ensure the information provided is as accurate as possible. There may be unintentional errors in this and if this is the case, at any time we receive notice of a correction, the information will be updated as soon as possible.

This information was last updated: 12th December 2024.