How to Really Stop Comment Spam on WordPress Sites
As amazing as WordPress is, there are plenty of vulnerabilities within it’s platform. While most of these are quickly solved through updates and plugins, some issues still seem to plague site owners no matter what they do. The most common of problems is the never ending supply of comment spam that continually hits WordPress based sites.
WordPress comment spam has become such an issue, because it’s one that is powered through the use of automation and software. As spammers actively look to find vulnerable and unmanaged WordPress based sites, they can quickly leave a comment on these sites, while also planting links to their own site and devaluing the experience of the blog in the process.
Akismet is one of the most popular and effective comment spam plugins out there, however spam still seems to get through every once in a while. CAPTCHA forms are also an effective means to blocking spam as well, but they are also quite annoying for legitimate blog readers and commentators as well.
So what’s a WordPress user to do?
CleanTalk.org is a premium based spam blocker and WordPress plugin that actively monitors comments being placed on a site and only allows real comments that were submit when someone is actually on your site — theoretically blocking out the possibility for spam software to take advantage of your site.
CleanTalk, The Premium WordPress Spam Plugin
Through CleanTalks’ cloud based platform, they can actively monitor when a real visitor is using your site, along with when and where they are posting a comment or using a submission form. Yes, CleanTalk also actively monitors all form submissions for spam as well!
To best understand how CleanTalk works, I’ve broken it down as shown below.
- A visitor writes a comment or registers.
- CleanTalk plugin sends action parameters into the CleanTalk cloud.
- Service analyzes the parameters.
- If this is a visitor, the comment will be published. If it’s a spam bot, then CleanTalk blocks this comment or registering.
- Parameters are written to the log which can be viewed in the Control Panel service.
In addition to having CleanTalk actively monitoring your comment section and all active forms for spam, you can also login to your members area on their site to view full stats on how well the plugin is working for your site as well.
Installing CleanTalk on WordPress in 30 Seconds
The process for setting up CleanTalk on your WordPress site couldn’t be easier. The first thing you will need to do is sign up for a free account at https://cleantalk.org, then you can grab your access key and install the WordPress plugin the same way you would install any other. To show you this process step-by-step, you can follow the screenshots below.
Step 1: After creating your account, simply head over to your WordPress dashboard and install the “CleanTalk” plugin.
Once the plugin in installed, you can then throw in your access key and you are good to go!
With CleanTalk now active on your site, you can do a test spam comment on your blog to see if it’s actively blocking spam comment. To do this, use the email address ‘stop_email@example.com’ on any comment form or submission form on your site and you should then see the notice below.
As mentioned earlier, you can login to your CleanTalk.org account at any time to access full stats on how well the service is blocking spam from your site, while also having the ability to add new sites or to upgrade your plan.
Active Your 14 Day Free Trial of CleanTalk
When it comes to protecting your blog from comment spam, you really can’t put a price on it’s importance and avoiding all of that annoyance at the same time. The good news is that CleanTalk is currently offering a 14 day trial off their already ridiculously low priced service.
Once you create an account on their site, you can add the plugin to your WordPress site right away. This will actively monitor your site against all spam for 14 days. At the end of this trial you can then upgrade your account at a very reasonable price of just $8 per year (per site).
To save even more, you can use coupon code “ZACJOHNSON“.
Make your WordPress site a more attractive and safer environment by setting up your own CleanTalk.org account today.
