{"id":3739,"date":"2016-02-24T10:30:48","date_gmt":"2016-02-24T15:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eparrs.com\/blog\/blog\/?p=3739"},"modified":"2024-02-29T19:28:44","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T00:28:44","slug":"secure-your-blog-while-making-commenting-easier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eparrs.com\/blog\/secure-your-blog-while-making-commenting-easier\/","title":{"rendered":"Secure Your Blog While Making Commenting Easier"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thankfully you don\u2019t need to make your WordPress blog commenting as difficult for your readers as entering Fort Knox anymore. Now there are easier ways to discourage spammers and gain followers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Wasn\u2019t all of that long ago that I used the Intense Debate plugin due to so many spammers flooding my blog. Those who wanted to comment on any of my posts were forced to sign up for an Intense Debate account. You can well imagine I never had very many comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, as time went by, I found spammers signing up for their very own Intense Debate accounts enabling them to, once again, spam my WordPress blog. From then on, it was out with the old and in with the new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My advice to blog owners is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Always select to moderate your comments. \"Secure-Your-Blog-While-Making-Commenting-Easier-image01\"Go to Settings<\/strong>\/Discussion<\/strong> scroll down to Before a comment appear<\/strong>s and make sure to checkmark “Comment must be manually approved”.

    <\/li>
  2. At Commenting Moderation change the \u201cHold a comment in the queue if it contains\u201d field to 1 from the default value of 2.

    <\/li>
  3. ALWAYS Blacklist abusers\/spammers to your blog. Go to Settings<\/strong>\/Discussion<\/strong> scroll down to Comment Blacklist<\/strong>, and follow the instructions provided there.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    I have even had to blacklist of abusers\/spammers of my Contact 7 form!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now there are several simple, easy to install WordPress plugins to help protect your blog from spam bots while making it oooooh, so easy for those who visit your posts, and are itching to comment. The best part is, most of these are FREE to use!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Following is a list<\/strong> (an incomplete list, I\u2019m sure!) of 9 such plugins<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Anti-Spam<\/a><\/strong> which is free to use. This plugin needs no CAPTCHA, no questions, no counting animals, no puzzles, no math to block spammers. Users give this plugin a 4.9 of 5 rating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Another Anti-spam<\/a><\/strong> free to use, this plugin blocks spam in comments invisibly for users and administrators. No CAPTCHA, no moderation queues, no settings page. Users give this plugin a 4.8 of 5 rating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Cookies for Comments<\/a><\/strong> is free to use. This plugin uses a stylesheet or image as a cookie drop. If the user leaves a comment and the cookie doesn\u2019t exist, the comment is marked as spam. Users give this plugin a 4.9 of 5 rating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Stop Spam Comments<\/a><\/strong> which is free to use. No setup required. No CAPTCHA, no tricky questions or other user interaction required at all. Users give this plugin 4.7 of 5 rating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"SPAM,<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Growmap Anti Spambot Plugin<\/a><\/strong> this plugin is free to use, and it adds a client-side generated checkbox to your comment form asking users to confirm that they are not a spammer. Users give this plugin 3.9 of 5 rating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Akismet<\/a><\/strong> costing from as little as $5 up to $50 monthly depending on your use. This plugin comes standard in all WordPress installations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    WP Spam Fighter<\/a><\/strong> is free to use. Like Stop Spam Comments plugin, this plugin stops spam without requiring CAPTCHA or arithmetic questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Math Quiz<\/a><\/strong> free to use, this plugin generates a dynamic math problem in the comment form to beat spam robots while supporting customization of form style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    WP-reCAPTCHA-bp<\/a><\/strong> is a free service that protects a website against spam and other forms of attacks from bots. CAPTCHA is a C<\/strong>ompletely A<\/strong>utomated P<\/strong>ublic T<\/strong>uring test to tell C<\/strong>omputers and H<\/strong>umans A<\/strong>part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And the list could go on…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For the Pros, I offer you these BONUS tips<\/strong>: How I Stopped WordPress Comment Spam<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Can you imagine? No more need to ask your website visitors to \u201cjump through hoops\u201d in order to leave a comment! You really can secure your blog while making commenting easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now it\u2019s time to go make your comment form more user-friendly. With so many blog posts available, I\u2019m likely to choose to comment on those that cater to MY communication preference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What do I mean by that?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Well, let me give you an example: some blogs force users to use a Google ID. Since most of us don\u2019t access a gmail account regularly, we\u2019re not likely to see any follow-up comments. If that\u2019s the case then I simply say to myself, \u201cwhy bother commenting at all.\u201d and I leave the site. I\u2019m sure there are ways around this, but why should I have to work so hard just to contribute to someone else’s blog?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here’s another great tool if you wish to create ongoing chats on your posts. There are several WordPress plugins available that will notify those who left a comment on your blog<\/a> and have received your response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What a great way to get those people back to your website, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I do hope I\u2019ve provided you with something to think seriously about changing if your blog offers this sort of complicated commenting form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Protected<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
    \r\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Thankfully you don\u2019t need to make your WordPress blog commenting as difficult for your readers as entering Fort Knox anymore. Now there are easier ways to discourage spammers and gain followers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"BlogPosting","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archived"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"