If you're tired of dealing with spam comments on your WordPress website, Google reCAPTCHA is a great solution. With it, users will have to click a checkbox or identify matching objects, ensuring that only genuine interactions are allowed.
This article will guide you through the process of adding Google reCAPTCHA to your WordPress comment form.
- Step 1 - Install the Advanced Google reCAPTCHA plugin
- Step 2 - Register your website for reCAPTCHA API keys
- Step 3 - Add reCAPTCHA to Your WordPress comment form
- Step 4 - Verify and confirm
- Additional tips
Step 1 - Install the Advanced Google reCAPTCHA plugin
Install and activate the Advanced Google reCAPTCHA plugin on your WordPress site.
- In your WP Admin, click Plugins and then Add New Plugin in the menu to the left.
- Use the search bar to find the Advanced Google reCAPTCHA plugin.
- Click Install now if you have found the plugin.
- Go to Installed plugins to find the plugin you just installed and click Activate.
- Once activated, head to the Advanced Google reCAPTCHA page to configure the plugin's settings.
In this guide, we activate the Google reCaptcha v2.
Step 2 - Register your website for reCAPTCHA API keys
The plugin requires your Google reCAPTCHA API keys, which you can get for free by registering your domain on the official website.
- Visit the reCAPTCHA website.
- Sign in with your Google account.
- On the Register a New Site page, provide basic information about your website.
- Type a (website) name in the Label field to easily identify your website in the future.
- Select the Challenge (v2) radio button, which will open up 2 new options.
- Choose an option. We selected the "I'm not a robot" tickbox in this example.
- Enter your website's domain name in the Domains field, where the reCAPTCHA will appear.
Note: You can add multiple domains or subdomains by clicking on the + icon, which allows you to use the same API keys on different websites.
- Agree to the terms and click the Submit button to register your site.
- Done! A page containing the site key and the secret key will appear.
Step 3 - Add reCAPTCHA to Your WordPress comment form
- In your WP Admin, navigate back to Settings > Advanced Google reCAPTCHA page via the menu to the left.
- Go to Captcha and paste the site key and the secret key.
- Click Verify Captcha to verify that you are not a robot.
- Confirm with the Save Changes button.
- Open the Where to Show tab and ensure the toggle for the Comment Form is activated.
Note: By default, reCAPTCHA is set up for login, registration, lost password, and comment form. You can turn it on or off for these areas as needed.
- Click the Save Changes button if you have made any changes.
Step 4 - Verify and confirm
Congratulations! You have successfully integrated reCAPTCHA into your WordPress comment form.
To confirm if it is working properly, you need to log out of WordPress or open your site in an Incognito window and then navigate to a blog post's comment section. If it's working, you should be able to see the reCAPTCHA checkbox.
Additional tips
While reCAPTCHA is a powerful tool, there are other measures you can take to combat spam further:
- Enable comment moderation to manually approve comments before they appear on your site.
- Consider using the Akismet plugin to automatically detect and filter spam comments.
- Utilize premium security plugins like Sucuri to block suspicious requests before they reach your site.
- Enhance spam filtering with plugins like Antispam Bee, which allows you to set customizable rules for spam detection.
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