How to Create a Custom WordPress User Registration Form

by Simon Keating March 18, 2022

Converting visitors into registered users is a big win for any website. If you’re going to build a loyal community, a quick and easy user registration form is essential.

Fortunately, there are various ways to create a custom WordPress user registration form. With the right tool, you should have no problems capturing leads, building your mailing list, and reaping the many other benefits of user registrations.

In this post, we’ll discuss why registration forms play a huge role in running a successful website. We’ll then cover four ways to create an effective form.

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What is SEO Spam? How to Protect Your WordPress Site

by Simon Keating March 9, 2022

Depending on your overall search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, getting your website to the top of search results can take months or even years. Unfortunately, some people don’t want to go through that effort, so they turn to SEO spam — which is never a good idea.

What’s more, if you fall victim to questionable black hat SEO tactics from third parties, your own site’s rankings can suffer. Protecting yourself from these attacks can help ensure that you aren’t unfairly penalized by search engines.

In this article, we’ll talk about how SEO spam works. Then we’ll show you how to find out if your WordPress website is under assault. Finally, we’ll show you how to take measures to safeguard your site against these threats. 

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The WordPress Comment System Explained: All You Need to Know

by Simon Keating February 25, 2022 2 comments

Comments are the lifeblood of many websites. They help you build a community around your brand, encourage discussion and engagement, provide valuable feedback, and even improve your search engine rankings. Whether you have a blog, service-based business, eCommerce store, or any other type of website, comments can be invaluable.

So let’s take a step back and explore the WordPress comment system and look at how to manage comments on your WordPress site.

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The Best WordPress Comment Plugins Compared (2022 Review)

by Simon Keating February 9, 2022

Comments can be incredibly valuable, no matter what type of WordPress site you own. They’re an opportunity to build community, answer questions, receive feedback, and even increase your search engine rankings.

WordPress provides a default comment system that, in many cases, has all the features you need to accept and respond to comments. However, there may be times you want to customize the design or functionality to increase engagement or serve a specific purpose. You can do this thanks to a variety of free or premium plugins.

Let’s take a look at why you might want to use a plugin, how plugins compare to the default WordPress comment system, and how the most popular WordPress comment plugins stack up.

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How to Block a Specific IP Address from a WordPress Website

by Rob Pugh January 26, 2022

Let’s face it: the internet isn’t always a safe place and malicious attacks can come from anywhere. But one good solution to protect your site from hacks and spam is to block malicious IP addresses.

Fortunately, you don’t have to be a tech whiz to protect your site. By understanding how IP addresses work and how you can manage them on your WordPress website, you can help prevent spam and secure your data.

In this article, we’ll introduce you to IP addresses and cover why you might want to block some of them. We’ll also show you how to find and remove any problematic ones. Finally, we’ll share three extra ways to prevent WordPress spam.

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How to Stop User Spam Registrations in WordPress

by Simon Keating January 26, 2022

Offering a user registration feature on your website can be a great way to generate leads and encourage brand loyalty. On the other hand, it can also make your site vulnerable to spam registrations.

Fortunately, there are ways to reap the benefits of registrations without opening your site to bad-faith users. By taking some simple precautions, you can block bots and hackers from creating accounts and accessing your WordPress dashboard.

In this post, we’ll discuss why user registration spam can damage your site. We’ll then share eight ways to stop these unwanted signups. 

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Version 4.2.2 of the Akismet WordPress Plugin is Now Available

by Christopher Finke January 24, 2022

Version 4.2.2 of the Akismet plugin for WordPress is now available. This update contains the following improvements:

  • Better compatibility with Formidable Forms
  • Fixed a bug that could cause issues when multiple contact forms appear on one page.
  • Updated the delete_comment and deleted_comment actions to pass two arguments to match WordPress core since 4.9.0.
  • A new filter that allows comment types to be excluded when counting users’ approved comments.

To upgrade, visit the Updates page of your WordPress dashboard and follow the instructions. If you need to download the plugin zip file directly, links to all versions are available in the WordPress plugins directory.

The Best Anti-spam Plugins for WordPress (2022 Review)

by Simon Keating January 20, 2022

Nobody likes spam. Well, except for the spammers.

But spam plagues every single website, no matter its size. It shows up in comments, contact form submissions, and user registrations. And not only is it annoying and time-consuming to deal with, it can be damaging for your reputation and your website.

So how do you prevent it? Let’s take a closer look at spam, learn why a plugin is your best solution, and compare the best anti-spam plugins for WordPress.

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