Spam can be a major headache for WordPress site owners. Here are some effective strategies to keep your site spam-free.
Suggestions to keep your WordPress safe from scams
There are four options that site owners can try.
Adjust your discussion settings
First things first, let’s tackle your WordPress discussion settings:
1. Go to your WordPress dashboard
2. Click on ‘Settings’, then ‘Discussion’
3. Look for the section ‘Before a comment appears’
4. Tick the box that says ‘Comment must be manually approved’
5. Under ‘Comment Moderation’, set it to hold a comment if it contains 2 or more links
6. Save your changes
Pro tip: Consider closing comments on older posts as spammers often target these.
You can do this by ticking ‘Automatically close comments on posts older than X days’ in the same Discussion settings.
Use honeypot for contact forms
If you’re using Contact Form 7, here’s how to set up a honeypot:
1. Install the ‘Honeypot for Contact Form 7’ plugin
2. Go to your contact form settings
3. Add this shortcode to your form: [honeypot honeypot-170]
4. Save your changes
The honeypot field will now be invisible to humans but visible to bots, effectively trapping spam submissions.
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Implement Google reCAPTCHA
Setting up reCAPTCHA v3 is straightforward:
1. Go to the Google reCAPTCHA admin console
2. Register your site and get your site key and secret key
3. Install Advanced Google reCAPTCHA plugin for WordPress
4. Enter your site key and secret key in the plugin settings
5. Enable reCAPTCHA on your forms
Pro tip: reCAPTCHA v3 works silently in the background, providing a better user experience than older versions that required user interaction.
Install Akismet
Akismet is a powerful spam-fighting tool. Here’s how to set it up:
1. Go to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress dashboard
2. Search for ‘Akismet’
3. Click ‘Install Now’, then ‘Activate’
4. Sign up for an Akismet account and get your API key
5. Enter your API key in the Akismet settings
Akismet will now automatically filter out spam comments and form submissions.
Conclusion
By implementing these steps, you’ll significantly reduce spam on your WordPress site. Remember, combining multiple methods often provides the best protection. Keep your WordPress and plugins updated for optimal security, and regularly review your spam-fighting measures to ensure they’re working effectively.
