WordPress is perhaps the best CMS platforms today. For all the WordPress website owners, spam is a real issue that needs to be resolved in order to stop hacking. It is an ongoing process of WordPress Development that can be done following two methods. If the website traffic and the number of comments are at a lower level, this can be easily resolved by configuring WordPress settings manually. For the owners of large websites with huge traffic and series of comments, opting for the WordPress antispam plugins would be the ideal option, according to the WordPress developers across the globe.
To begin with, the owner needs to know about all the antispam plugins to choose from. By getting a comprehensive idea about the functionality and salient features of all the plugins available, the owner can easily select the most suitable one catering to all the requirements. Here we have selected the top eight plugins that come with different features and functionalities to stop WordPress spam and protect your WordPress website in the long run.
1. Akismet: This one is perhaps the most popular WordPress anti-spam plugin that works brilliantly to prevent spam. Akismet works by filtering all the comments on the blogs and marking the suspicious ones as spam. After the filtration, it sends the spam to the comment page that you will find in the wordpress admin. Though Akismet is free for personal blogs, it offers subscription for the commercial websites. Almost all WordPress sites provide pre-installed Akismet at the time of installation. To make it work, all you need is to enter the API key.
Highlights:
- Checks spam up to 50,000 every month
- Commercial subscription starts from $5 per month
- Compatible with
Jetpact , Contact Form 7
2. WordPress Zero Spam: Letting the users enjoy a better experience, this one makes spam bots jump through the hoops. The spam will be blocked right away without showing the users any difference. JavaScript key validation is the method that Wordpress Zero Spam uses to identify spam. The users need to enable JavaScript to comment when WordPress Zero Spam is active on your website.
Highlights:
- Anti-spam checking can be done without external servers
- Provides free usage for both personal and commercial blogs
- JavaScript based plugin
3. AntiSpam Bee: Another popular one among the WordPress plugins, AntiSpam Bee is packed with many features to opt for. Using Fail2Ban, it works by blocking comments from the specific IP addresses or countries it identifies to be suspicious ones. AntiSpam Bee may also block comments with different language. The benefit is that AntiSpam Bee shows the number of spam with details on the dashboard and clears the WordPress spam database after few days and saves space.
Highlights:
- Displays the spam statistics on the dashboard
- Doesn’t require any registration
- Provides free usage for both personal and commercial blogs
4. CleanTalk: As a cloud-based plugin, CleanTalk makes a popular choice among many website owners and developers. This one works by blocking spam comments, trackbacks and the spambot signups. When the users comment on blogs, CleanTalk uploads them to its cloud servers to check spam. It refuses mostly the JavaScript disabled comments and blacklisted HTTP links. Right after the spam check, it sends the blocked comments to the spam list and allows the valid ones.
Highlights:
Cloud based plugin- Offers 14 days of trial and subscription onwards
- Shows the reason of blocking the comments
5. WP-SpamShield Anti-Spam: This WordPress plugin works brilliantly in blocking comment spam, trackback spam, registration spam and contact form spam. Equipped with an advanced methodology, WP-SpamShield Anti-Spam prevents all kinds of spams from entering the WordPress database. It uses comment logging and features like blacklisting the suspicious spammers. With the help of WordPress database proxy server, the user can also block comments for the visitors.
Highlights:
- Blocks comment spam, trackback spam, registration spam
and contact form spam - Compatible with
comment form, social, e-commerce and membership plugins - * Provides two layers of protection
