WordPress is an open and free content management system. Also, it is a very powerful blogging platform where users can create the blog in a WordPress site.
Most of the customer’s first choice for creating a blogs is WordPress. There are many peoples who are trying to spread malicious code into different user websites. Which can harm your system and website badly.
You can avoid spam user registration in WordPress by yourself. Here are some tips that you can identify spam users that occur from your WordPress website.
If you have just created a website and started working on it. Suddenly you are getting some problem like a spamming problem this can be dangerous.
Don’t get worried because you have chosen the correct platform for creating websites and blogs i.e. WordPress.
For deactivating and identifying such type of spammer you just need to select a correct website builder that helps and gives access to your website completely.
With the help of this, you will able to find such types of spammers. Some tips to avoid spam user registration in WordPress are listed below
- Enable ‘Subscriber’ as the Default
Enabling the “subscriber” as the default user role is the simplest way to prevent your website from different spammers. You can find this setting on the WordPress website.
You just need to uncheck the membership option and check “anyone can register” button. By this process, any user can easily create an account for your WordPress website but will not able to access the form until you gave the permission manually.
- CAPTCHAs
CAPTCHAs is simple to test and to avoid Spam user registration in WordPress. You will be able to find that the visitor is a robot or a human. This test is highly impressive. but this test is not good for those people who are not spammers.
Because if you are not able to solve the math test or image test then you will mark as a spammer. Therefore you have to install CAPTCHA plugins like reCAPTCHA on your website from a host. This will give more chances to the user to solve the equation.
You can use CAPTCHA in various pages like WordPress login page, password recovery page, comment, contact form, etc. Some CAPTCHA is very simple to solve but some are difficult.
Plugins give access to the users who are trying to solve CAPTCHA to change the question if they are not able to solve it. Therefore the questions must not too hard which can be time-consuming and will drop the user experience.
The simple version of CAPTCHAS is simply entering letters and numbers which are displayed in the images.
- Honeypots
Honeypots are one type of plugins that give access to block spammers. You can block the spammers just like CAPTCHAs. But it will reduce the extra efforts that users need to take like changing questions, etc.
Honeypot plugins are must user-friendly which are usually hidden in the registration page of your website.
This is not visible to normal users. but when spambot finds that invisible form, then the blank space will be filled using spam data.
While using honeypot plugin the spam user will get triggered and the request for creating a page on your website will immediately get rejected.
Honeypot plugins are very easy to use and handle which are available with different form plugins.
Some examples of honeypot plugins are Contact Form 7 honeypots, WP-honeypots, and WP-SpamShield Anti-Spam. you can set up a registration form for your website without any problem.
- Email Verification
Email Verification is the best way to avoid spam user registration in WordPress. You are able to block spammers with the help of email verification without using any type of plugins.
you just need to install WPForm plugin and enable the user email activation option from the Add-ons tab.
when different users try to create an account on your website the WPForm plugin will directly send the verification link who signup. if the user is unable to open a verification link that user will be blocked and will be marked as a spammer automatically.
- Admin Approval
With the help of Admin Approval, every signup user will need approval that is manually checked by the admin of the website. In this way, the real user and the spammer user will be identified.
Step to Enable admin approval.
- Go to the setting page of your WordPress website
- Select user activation method on the right at the preview panel
- Then select manual approval
But keep in mind that you should have admin panel always alert as many users will try to send your request and will wait for your approval. In this case admin panel should immediately take action else genuine user will not get approval when needed. Hence this will minimize the user experience on your website.
- Secure User Registration Forms
If you want to create a custom security form you can make use of WPForms user registration addon. This plugin is a paid plugin that can be installed to WPForms.
Follow the given steps to set up secure user form
- Download the WPForms Plugin
- Head to WPForms>Add-ons
- Select the user registration Addon
- Create a User Registration Form using the provided tools
- Setup CAPTCHAS or Honeypots for added security
- Save the Form
After all these steps all users will require to fill the form before a subscription to your website.
Just follow the strategy that form should be simple to understand so that any user should able to fill it who are interested in your website.
- Block IP addresses of spammers
All the devices on the internet have unique IP addresses. In case you are facing lots of problem of spamming you just need to follow these steps.
Go to the notification panel from your WordPress setting menu
- Click on ‘show Smart Tags’ under messages.
- Click on ‘user IP address and write down the IP addresses all spammers.
Then send this all IP addresses to your website hosting provider company and tell them to block these users from accessing your website.
For same, you can use plugin ‘IP Ban’ which will allow you to block an IP address by yourself from the setting page of your WordPress.
These are the simple and easiest way to avoid spam user registration in WordPress
