Comments are an important part of a blog and they let users contribute their knowledge and participate in an argument. This dramatically increases the effectiveness of your articles as well as increases the traffic. There are very few people who still do not allow comments on their blogs or individual posts for one reason or the other, but it is a matter of personal preference. If you also own a blog and feel that you want to make your readers engage better in your content then having comments allowed on your posts is a must.
With this great power, there comes the responsibility of managing them. Not everyone writes a genuine comment and there are visitors who are there only to advertise their own blogs or websites. This is a serious problem especially if you are running a popular blog. Spams and abusive comments must be dealt with to avoid bad content and keep your visitors on topic. So, what can you do to keep such junk out of your WordPress blog without having to do much? Let’s discuss a few easy to use and important plugins that can help you significantly reduce the spam.
1. Akismet
Every WordPress user knows that Akismet comes with WordPress installation and the reason why they include it is its simplicity and importance. It won’t be included if comment spam is not a major problem for a blog. All you will need is to sign up and get an API key for it to be activated. There is an option for ‘Personal’ which is for personal and non-commercial blogs that will allow up to 50,000 checks per month. Anything above that, you will need to buy a paid subscription starting at $5 per month and going up to $50 per month for ‘Enterprise’ package.
Once it is set up, all you need is to check a few simple options, if you would like to, otherwise, they are already good to go by default. Once done, save your changes. Congratulations, you have just set up Akismet WordPress plugin. Now your website is safer from comment spam.
Growmap Anti Spambot Plugin, or otherwise called GASP, is another great plugin to control comment spam. It is a fact that most of the spam is caused by spambots (automated tools or scripts that crawl a website and posts comments). This plugin focuses on defence against such bots, thus, controlling almost all the spam.
The best bit is how it works. It generates client-side javascript-based checkbox which a user has to check in order to post comment. Since it is entering anything like captcha, it won’t make visitors go away. The checkbox cannot be seen by spambots and thus the pain of having spam comments is gone, forever!
Anti-spam by CleanTalk – No Captcha plugin uses a unique system to keep spam away from your blog. It processes each comment by using its own server cleantalk.org, and the server analyses each comment and gives command on what to do.
The great thing about this plugin is that it works together with many other plugins including ContactForm7, WooCommerce, BBPress, JetPack comments, Fast Secure Contact Form and many others. Yes, it really works great with all of these popular plugins to keep you away from spam as well as extra work you might otherwise had to do in order to integrate anti-spam with other plugins.
These were three of the best WordPress plugins to control comment spam and keep your blog cleaner. But what if you do not want to use these plugins? Or you are looking for a completely different type of solution? Yes, we have few more options for you. Continue reading to learn how you can integrate two of the most popular comment options into your WordPress blog.
1. Disqus
Disqus is probably the most popular comment management system. Since its introduction a couple years ago, it has managed to remain among the top options for pro-bloggers. The basic Disqus option is free and gives your readers the option to add comments using its beautiful and simplistic interface as well as various extra options including adding media to comments. Comments are added and updated instantly so the readers can see new comments in real time. Plus it has brilliant spam-control techniques implemented meaning all you need is to set it up and forget it. You can even import existing comments from a number of options including WordPress comments, Blogger and many more.
The best news is that installing it in a WordPress website is very easy since they have a nice plugin that will take care of everything once you input login details. So why not go ahead and give it a try for yourself!
Who needs introduction to Facebook? I’m sure if you are reading this, at least you don’t. Facebook has become an important part of most people’s lives and almost everyone who is on the internet owns a Facebook account. So why not use this to let users comment on your post and thus getting rid of any chances that a spam comment will come your way!
The beauty of WordPress plugins is that you do not need to do anything except a few simple clicks and inputs and everything else is done automatically. Luckily, there is plugin that will make it easy for you to integrate Facebook comments into your site. Simply give it your APP ID and a few other details and you are good to go.
It is best to try both of these plugins if you do have time. This way, you are sure that you use only the one that fits your needs perfectly and is easier for your users too! It is always best to test a new plugin on staging (temporary testing) website first to avoid any possible problems with your actual blog or website.
I am a freelance Web Developer and Graphic Designer with over 4 years of experience. I have completed over 300 projects working with clients from around the world. Learning new trends and writing code that portraits simplicity and power is what I enjoy!
How to Avoid Comment Spam
Comments are an important part of a blog and they let users contribute their knowledge and participate in an argument. This dramatically increases the effectiveness of your articles as well as increases the traffic. There are very few people who still do not allow comments on their blogs or individual posts for one reason or the other, but it is a matter of personal preference. If you also own a blog and feel that you want to make your readers engage better in your content then having comments allowed on your posts is a must.
With this great power, there comes the responsibility of managing them. Not everyone writes a genuine comment and there are visitors who are there only to advertise their own blogs or websites. This is a serious problem especially if you are running a popular blog. Spams and abusive comments must be dealt with to avoid bad content and keep your visitors on topic. So, what can you do to keep such junk out of your WordPress blog without having to do much? Let’s discuss a few easy to use and important plugins that can help you significantly reduce the spam.
1. Akismet
Every WordPress user knows that Akismet comes with WordPress installation and the reason why they include it is its simplicity and importance. It won’t be included if comment spam is not a major problem for a blog. All you will need is to sign up and get an API key for it to be activated. There is an option for ‘Personal’ which is for personal and non-commercial blogs that will allow up to 50,000 checks per month. Anything above that, you will need to buy a paid subscription starting at $5 per month and going up to $50 per month for ‘Enterprise’ package.
Once it is set up, all you need is to check a few simple options, if you would like to, otherwise, they are already good to go by default. Once done, save your changes. Congratulations, you have just set up Akismet WordPress plugin. Now your website is safer from comment spam.
Link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/
Current Active Installs: 1 Million+
2. Growmap Anti Spambot Plugin (G.A.S.P.)
Growmap Anti Spambot Plugin, or otherwise called GASP, is another great plugin to control comment spam. It is a fact that most of the spam is caused by spambots (automated tools or scripts that crawl a website and posts comments). This plugin focuses on defence against such bots, thus, controlling almost all the spam.
The best bit is how it works. It generates client-side javascript-based checkbox which a user has to check in order to post comment. Since it is entering anything like captcha, it won’t make visitors go away. The checkbox cannot be seen by spambots and thus the pain of having spam comments is gone, forever!
Link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/growmap-anti-spambot-plugin/
Current Active Installs: 70,000+
3. Anti-spam by CleanTalk – No Captcha
Anti-spam by CleanTalk – No Captcha plugin uses a unique system to keep spam away from your blog. It processes each comment by using its own server cleantalk.org, and the server analyses each comment and gives command on what to do.
The great thing about this plugin is that it works together with many other plugins including ContactForm7, WooCommerce, BBPress, JetPack comments, Fast Secure Contact Form and many others. Yes, it really works great with all of these popular plugins to keep you away from spam as well as extra work you might otherwise had to do in order to integrate anti-spam with other plugins.
Link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/cleantalk-spam-protect/
Current Active Installs: 20,000+
These were three of the best WordPress plugins to control comment spam and keep your blog cleaner. But what if you do not want to use these plugins? Or you are looking for a completely different type of solution? Yes, we have few more options for you. Continue reading to learn how you can integrate two of the most popular comment options into your WordPress blog.
1. Disqus
Disqus is probably the most popular comment management system. Since its introduction a couple years ago, it has managed to remain among the top options for pro-bloggers. The basic Disqus option is free and gives your readers the option to add comments using its beautiful and simplistic interface as well as various extra options including adding media to comments. Comments are added and updated instantly so the readers can see new comments in real time. Plus it has brilliant spam-control techniques implemented meaning all you need is to set it up and forget it. You can even import existing comments from a number of options including WordPress comments, Blogger and many more.
The best news is that installing it in a WordPress website is very easy since they have a nice plugin that will take care of everything once you input login details. So why not go ahead and give it a try for yourself!
Link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/disqus-comment-system/
Current Active Installs: 200,000+
2. Facebook
Who needs introduction to Facebook? I’m sure if you are reading this, at least you don’t. Facebook has become an important part of most people’s lives and almost everyone who is on the internet owns a Facebook account. So why not use this to let users comment on your post and thus getting rid of any chances that a spam comment will come your way!
The beauty of WordPress plugins is that you do not need to do anything except a few simple clicks and inputs and everything else is done automatically. Luckily, there is plugin that will make it easy for you to integrate Facebook comments into your site. Simply give it your APP ID and a few other details and you are good to go.
Link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/facebook-comments-plugin/
Current Active Installs: 90,000+
It is best to try both of these plugins if you do have time. This way, you are sure that you use only the one that fits your needs perfectly and is easier for your users too! It is always best to test a new plugin on staging (temporary testing) website first to avoid any possible problems with your actual blog or website.
About The Author
Usama Masood
I am a freelance Web Developer and Graphic Designer with over 4 years of experience. I have completed over 300 projects working with clients from around the world. Learning new trends and writing code that portraits simplicity and power is what I enjoy!