Choosing a Strong Password and Turning On Two-Factor Authentication

Your account holds your websites, email and billing details, so keeping it secure is well worth a few minutes. This guide covers how to choose a strong password and how to switch on two-factor authentication for extra peace of mind.

Why this matters

A weak or reused password is the most common way accounts get broken into. Taking two simple steps — a strong, unique password and two-factor authentication — protects your websites, email and personal details from almost all of these attempts.

Choosing a strong password

A good password is long, unique and hard to guess. It doesn't have to be hard to remember.

1. Make it long — aim for at least 12 characters. Length matters more than anything else.
2. Make it unique — never reuse the password from your email or another website.
3. Consider a passphrase, such as three or four random words strung together, which is both strong and easy to recall.
4. Avoid obvious details like your name, business name, birthday or the word "password".
5. Consider a password manager to generate and store strong passwords so you don't have to remember each one.

Turning on two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication (also called MFA or 2FA) adds a second step at login — a one-time code from your phone — so your account stays safe even if someone learns your password.

1. Log in to your account.
2. Open your profile, then go to the Security section (usually found under Profile then Security).
3. Find the two-factor or multi-factor authentication option and choose to enable it.
4. Using an authenticator app on your phone, such as Google Authenticator or Authy, scan the QR code shown on screen.
5. Enter the code from your app to confirm, then save.
6. If you're given backup or recovery codes, store them somewhere safe in case you ever lose access to your phone.

From now on you'll enter a short code from your app each time you log in, alongside your password.

Next steps

A strong password plus two-factor authentication will keep your account well protected. If you get stuck enabling two-factor authentication, or you're ever locked out of your account, open a support ticket from your account and we'll help you get back in safely.