Akismet is a free WordPress plugin that prevents spam from flooding your site. Like Titan Anti-spam & Security, Stop Spammers, and WordPress Zero Spam, it prevents visitors from posting any malicious or spam content on post comments. It also lets you review all the comments in case you want to permit any of them to appear.

You’ll find a status history on the WP dashboard that indicates whether Akismet or a moderator removed any comments. The plugin reveals any URLs left in the post that may lead visitors away to fake or misleading sites. In this way, it protects both your website and audience from any harm. You’ll need an Akismet API key to make all this possible.

Prevent spam on your site

Spammers are eager to get more traffic to their sites or mislead audiences towards a fake site with malware. If they flood your website with their content, it can slow down performance or fill the server’s available storage space. Akismet blocks them before they can post comments, giving you the chance to approve or discard them if they don’t suit your site. Your moderators can also check if any users or visitors should be blocked.

Hidden links

Some spammers place hidden links in their comments to circumvent moderators from removing them. Akismet reveals these links in the dashboard so you can analyze them before approving the content. It keeps your posts safe while also ensuring that they don’t send your audience to harmful sites. 

Personal vs. Business use

If you only want to use Akismet for your personal WordPress site, you can do so free of charge without paying a monthly subscription. Since most websites are designed for businesses, it will set you back on funds, as you’ll be required to pay for the package. Of course, you can expect to pay if you’re running commercial ads or affiliate links, or if the site hosts a long list of products for sale.

Protect your website from harm

Akismet delivers when it comes to anti-spam measures, ensuring no one floods your site with unnecessary content. All it takes is someone with a grudge to post on all your comments with links that harm your website. Fortunately, this plugin lets you check them before they are published.