Sadly comment spam is very common in the blogging world. But the good news is that it's easy to reduce it automatically using a plugin.
There are numerous comment spam plugins you can install and activate for your WordPress website. Many of them have settings and options to increase their strictness, but that increases the risk of real comments being marked as spam. For the vast majority of websites, the default settings will be enough to catch most of the spam automatically.
To install a spam plugin:
- Head to your WordPress Dashboard.
- Go to Plugins > Add New.
- In the search bar at the top, search for a spam plugin. Two of the most popular with our customers are Akismet and Antispam Bee. (Note that Akismet is pay what you like, you can set it to 0 if you aren't a business). Always check that the plugin has been recently updated by the developer before installing and activating it. For more on this and other things to consider, see What To Check Before Installing A WordPress Plugin.
- Install and activate your chosen plugin.
- Most of your spam comments should be automatically flagged as spam moving forward. You can check your "Spam" section by clicking "Comments" in your WordPress Dashboard to check what's been marked as spam. If they're all spam comments, just click "Empty spam" to delete them all in one go.
That's it! If you have any problems, please raise a support ticket for further help.
