Protecting Your Website with reCAPTCHA on WordPress

As website owners, we all know how important security is for our online presence. Protecting your website from bots and spam is crucial for maintaining its integrity. Thankfully, Google has provided a free security tool called reCAPTCHA to alleviate those concerns.

What is reCAPTCHA?

reCAPTCHA is a free security tool created by Google to protect websites from spam and abuse. It detects if users are human or bots by presenting them with challenges. These challenges consist of identifying images, selecting specific tiles containing certain objects, or typing in distorted texts. Once the user successfully completes the challenge, reCAPTCHA confirms that the user is human and not a bot. As a result, website owners receive fewer spams, and bots are prevented from performing illegal activities on their websites.

Benefits of reCAPTCHA

Here are some of the benefits of adding reCAPTCHA to your website:

1. It prevents bots from performing illegal actions on your website.
2. It reduces the amount of spam you receive on your website.
3. It protects your website from online threats.
4. It keeps your website safe and secure for your users.

Setting up reCAPTCHA on WordPress

Step 1: Signing up for reCAPTCHA

The first step in setting up reCAPTCHA on WordPress is to sign up for an API key on the reCAPTCHA website. You will then be asked to enter a label for your site, choose your reCAPTCHA version, enter your website’s domain name, and register. Keep your API keys in a safe place, as you will need them later.

Step 2: Installing and activating the reCAPTCHA plugin

To install reCAPTCHA, go to your WordPress dashboard, click on “Plugins” > “Add New”, and search for “reCAPTCHA by BestWebSoft.” Wait for the plugin to install, and then activate it. You will then be taken to the plugin settings page.

Step 3: Configuring the reCAPTCHA plugin

For configuring the reCAPTCHA plugin, you will need to enter your site key and secret key, choose the pages where you want reCAPTCHA to appear, and save the changes.

Step 4: Adding reCAPTCHA to your forms

Edit all your forms and add the reCAPTCHA shortcode ([bws_google_captcha]) where you’d like the reCAPTCHA to appear. For instance, if you want to add reCAPTCHA to your contact form, go to “Contact” > “Contact Forms,” click on the contact form you want to edit, add the shortcode, and save the changes.

By following these simple steps, you have successfully set up reCAPTCHA on your WordPress website, and it is now more secure and protected from bots and spam.