Many WordPress sites are plagued by spam. Every WordPress user can attest to the annoyance of comment spam, even if it’s not as severe as it used to be. Then there’s not just comment spam — there’s spam in your forums and your email and forms. It’s not only a bother for you, though. There are a variety of long-term effects of spam bots on your website, including a decrease in user engagement, damage to your online reputation, and even a decline in search engine optimization (SEO).
There may be hundreds of phony comments on your site if you have a spam problem, but there will be more. In the face of such an attack, what hope do you have?
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In the following paragraphs, you’ll discover nine strategies for permanently removing spam from your system.
1. Completely block the IP address
There’s no doubt about it, isn’t there? It would be so much easier if it were that straightforward! If you find a repeat offender, you can block an entire IP address in the WordPress comment blocklist. Cloudflare and other services allow you to block entire nations.
Typically, you won’t get a spam contact form submission from a person interested in your product or service. Most spam is generated by automated systems (programs that automatically post spam messages on every WordPress contact form that they can find). Additionally, spammers use proxies to avoid detection (a wide range of fake IP addresses).
While blocking a single spammer’s IP address may keep them away, it will do little to stop spambots in bulk. Blocking an IP address is simple, but it won’t help you solve the issue quickly. If you’re continually monitoring spam and IP addresses, this will work.
2. Add a JavaScript token to prevent form spam without using a captcha.
Your site’s JavaScript won’t be activated because spammers aren’t humans. You’re more likely to get spammed by a bot than a human. Your WordPress site automatically generates a JavaScript token whenever a human visitor comes to your site. After then, it’s hidden from sight in your forms so that only you know it’s there. When a user submits a contact form, the token is checked. To keep spammers at bay, it resets every few days.
Your contact forms and message fields will be protected without lifting a finger.
3. Disable URLs in Comments
The option to hold a remark in the queue if it contains x or more links on the Discussion settings page under Comment Moderation. Rarely will you see a spam comment without a link, which is why spammers spam? As a result, limiting the number of permissible links may improve the efficiency with which their messages are detected.
It’s up to you whether or not you want to allow links in your comments. This is a strident method that may harm real users, yet it effectively eliminates the vast majority of spam. Removing the website area from comments is also a good idea, as it’s essentially asking for spam links. Users will no longer be able to link to a website when they sign up to comment using a plugin or a simple line of code.
4. Update Your Blocklist
You’ll find a blocklist under your Discussion settings, which can be quite helpful in preventing spam. These remarks tend to repeat themselves or reference the same things, so that you may have noticed. Adding URLs, phrases, or words that repeatedly appear to the blocklist can help you resist this.
Put them in the Comment Moderation box, and they’ll be held in the queue for review. If you add it to the blocklist, it will be deleted immediately. Have trouble deciding what to include? Make use of WP’s Comment Blacklist. Copy and paste the text file into your blocklist before saving it.
5. Make use of reCAPTCHA
Stop WordPress from spam botsReCaptcha is designed to distinguish between humans and bots, so it’s so popular with Google. It is now widely available to programmers. However, it can be a little tricky if you’re not a programmer.
6. ReCAPTCHA v2- Stop WordPress from spam bots
Things start to heat up at this point. This reCAPTCHA will be familiar to you:
New reCaptcha tracks your mouse movement after clicking a box, and to verify that you’re not a spambot, you’ll be prompted to click on a variety of vehicles.
It’s currently one of the most popular options. Why? For the simple reason that it’s effective! The user isn’t bothered by it, and a bot would have difficulty getting around the tracking mechanism.
Nonetheless, you want the perfect user experience. The more email addresses you can get, the better off you’ll be. Contact form spam can be prevented in WordPress in a variety of ways.
Also Read: Proven Solutions To Stop BuddyPress Spam
7. Invisible reCAPTCHA- Stop WordPress from spam bots
This is where the invisible reCaptcha comes in. To be undetected and unobtrusive, it keeps track of the mouse. As a result, bots are prevented from accessing the site while real people do.
8. ReCaptcha V3- Stop WordPress from spam bots
As a last resort, if you’ve exhausted all of your reCAPTCHA choices… One another tool to help you combat spam from contact forms. V3’s invisible anti-spam is accompanied by a form submission score for every submission. When it comes to blocking scoring, it’s up to you.
Real traffic helps this reCAPTCHA learn more about your website over time. Website owners can then adjust the score threshold to prohibit more tightly or less strictly. This could also be an excellent approach to stop human spammers.
9. Custom spam protect form field
Is there anything more you’d like to see added to WordPress’s contact form anti-spam? There are a few more that could be of great assistance. You can build your forms if you have a good form builder. You ask visitors to respond to questions you’ve posed. As the questions and answers are unique for every site, bots have more complex issues breaking it.
A math question is a primary bespoke captcha method. Ask something like “5+6=?” and let the user fill in the answer. It’s a great solution, but it’s still less user-friendly than other options.
10. Install WordPress anti-spam plugins
The WordPress anti-spam plugins are essential to any spam message blocking list. Akismet, WordPress Zero Spam, and Jetpack are the most popular. Your contact form tools are not required to use these plugins. To prevent the threat even before it arrives, they use databases of spam IPs that are already known.
Conclusion of Stop WordPress from spam bots
Creating anti-spam protection on your WordPress site while maintaining a high user experience will require some expertise. Fortunately, the approaches mentioned in this essay are readily available if you have the proper equipment.
Interesting Reads:
reCaptcha for BuddyPress
Prevent Spam with BuddyPress reCaptcha Plugin
How To Create Google ReCaptcha V2 Keys