Spam. Anyone with a blog or a forum has had unwanted intimate relations with spam and many different spammers. Spammers are the single most persistently annoying, and sometimes confounding, issue a blog or forum owner must deal with. Whenever I start working with a client that has already set up their WordPress site and is now coming to me for some administrative help, one of the first problems that must be dealt with is the spam that has made it through to their posts.

These clients often think that because they have Akismet, and perhaps Bad Behavior or another spam plugin installed, that their site is safe from spammers. It is not and there is a bit to learn if you are to keep your site clean. Some obvious spam, like totally unrelated comments laced with links to filthy sites and pharmaceutical sales pitches, are easily stopped by the WordPress plugins. If you have installed a couple of these, at least 75% of the spam targeting your site will be blocked. But with hundreds of spams coming in every day, blocking 75% is not enough.

Even the newest, most lonely sites will attract spammers. I recently had a client whose site had been up for many months and included over 50 posts. The site had well over 100 comments, but 95% at least were from spammers. Many of these spammers were so good that the client had even responded to the spam comment as if replying to a real person. At the end of this post, I will recommend a few specific WordPress plugins that will help keep out spammers. But first I will give some specific examples and suggestions that anyone, even if not using WordPress, can use to keep spam at bay.

Though there are several types of spam, they all have one thing in common, a desire to get links posted on your site that point back to their spammy websites. They often don’t even care if their links are ever clicked; they just want the links in an attempt to increase the validity of their sites and hopefully return their sites in the results of search engines.

Automated, Trashy, Spam: The biggest spam type is completely automated spam with many red flags that enable spam filters to fairly easily block it out. This spam often includes multiple links to many different sites. Most web blogging platforms like WordPress, etc. do a good job keeping this type out.

Automated, Targeted, Spam: This type of spam, although generated automatically by non-human methods, still tries to slip through by appearing to be related to your post content. These comments often have very generic content, that if you think about it, can be posted on almost any blog article and not always jump out as spam. Here are a few examples:

“It’s strange that we agree so much on this issue yet hail from completely different parts of the globe”
“Thanks for the great article, I enjoyed reading it”
“Good job! What a great post!”
“You got a really useful blog I have been here reading for about half an hour. I am a newbie and your post is valuable for me.”
“I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one nowadays.”
“Thanks for this! I will be reading more of your posts and will come back often.”

These types of comments can fool new bloggers into not only leaving them on their sites, but replying to them in a comment of their own. The best way to deal with these is to look with skepticism at all comments that come in. Think about the content and decide whether it adds anything specific to the conversation on the post. Also click on any link the commenter leaves, including the link to their name. You can quickly tell a spammer by the content of their links.

Spammers have programs that automatically scan the web for posts that mention words like “author”, “book” etc. then post a comment that tries to sneak in by saying something, like “I have read his book once from a friend and it is very encouraging and really worth the read.” They also look for words like “vitamins”, “organic food”, “whole wheat bread” etc. etc. and then generate a comment that looks real. Hard to believe at first, I know, but these sleazy spammers are really that good!

The final kind of spam is a kind that really annoys and falls into two types, both generated by a real person. The first type is a comment posted by a person who uses a genuine sounding name like Susan or David, then tries to make a comment that also seems genuine. Often the comment will be lame because they are hurrying around to many sites leaving similar comments. They key is to look at the link they leave and decide what their motivations for the comment are. The second type of spammer leaves a comment like the first, but instead of making up a “real” sounding name, just uses a keyword as their name. Examples are “SEO Expert”, Houston Real Estate”, or “Lose Belly Fat”.

I require that people use a name, not a keyword to comment on my sites. I also check links and if a link is spammy, I delete it. I may not always delete the comment, but will delete the link. If someone is making a comment just to get a link to their site selling something, I believe they either need to make one heck of an astounding comment or they should be buying an advertisement. This approach requires some flexibility. I have a few regular commentators that leave really good comments that do add to the conversation, but the link to their site is pretty commercial in nature. I let these go. I figure if someone is regularly making well thought out comments then they are contributing in a way that prompts me to allow their link to a sales page of their website.

In short, spam is hard to monitor and spammers are tricky. The best approach is to examine every comment and the link that is left. If you are uncomfortable with anything, you have the control to delete the link, or even the comment. It’s your site so you make the commenting rules. And speaking of rules, it pays to have a few to fall back on. Believe it or not, I have had spammers on my personal site email me asking why I deleted their links. I just point them to my comment policy.

Finally for WordPress users, here are a few spam plugin recommendations.  Number one for most people will be to activate Akismet.  This plugin comes with WordPress and is used by almost all WordPress sites.  Some people do not like or use Akisment, but I have had no trouble with it in all the years I have been writing.  I recommend it but do not check the “auto delete” setting for posts over one month old.  I have also used Simple Trackback Validation for several years to stop trackback spam.  Although not updated in a long time, it still works great with WordPress version 3.1.

For several years and until recently I have also used Cookies for Comments by Donncha O Caoimh.  This plugin worked great for me and others until the last couple of WordPress updates when it started catching some legitimate comments, many by people who had successfully commented on willtaft.com up to one hundred times or more.  Unable to get the issue figured out or resolved, I reluctantly have stopped using it.  I then experimented with various “Captcha” plugins that worked well.  Ultimately I decided that I did not want to require captcha on my sites because I feel it is a hurdle between many potential commentators and conversations on my sites. In a compromise I started using the Growmap Anti Spambot Plugin by Andy Bailey.  This plugin creates a simple check box that must be ticked when a comment is submitted.  It is not my ideal solution as it still requires input from a commentator, but it is simple and so far have not had any complaints from readers.

When WordPress version 2.9 came out, many people started complaining that their scheduled posts were not publishing.  They would check their admin panel and see the dreaded “Missed Schedule” message.  Now there were complaints about this starting with version 2.7, but it really got big with 2.9.  Two of my sites stared with the issue after I upgraded to 2.9.  There were several hacks and suggested fixes that worked for some sites, but not for others.  Eventually WordPress got it fixed.  I am now using version 2.9.2 on my sites and have not had a further problems.

What this shows is that even a program as extensively tested and used as WordPress is not immune to bugs in new releases.  This one is unusual in that it seems to have spanned several releases and was a bug that should have been very obvious.  I think the reason it took a while to resolve is that it seemed to only happen to sites hosted on specific types of servers.  The problem may not have been entirely the fault of WordPress, hence the delay in resolving it.

Anyway this is an example of two things to keep in mind when keeping any software up to date.  When a new version comes out, for example a change from version 2.8 to 2.9, it may be prudent to wait a while before upgrading to see what bugs may be found by the early adopters.  However when a release is a fix for a current version, for example 2.9 to 291 or 2.91 to 2.92, it is important to upgrade right away.  Now that WordPress notifies you right in your admin panel it is much easier to make sure your version is always where it should be.

I recently wrote about WordPress 2.8.  As of the date of this post, we are now up to version 2.8.6.  The developers at WordPress are frequently releasing new versions, each better than the last.  No matter when you are reading this post and no matter what version WordPress is up to, if you use WordPress there is no reason not to be using the latest version!  Each version just keeps getting better and most importantly, more secure.  If you are running a WordPress site and are not on the latest version, stop right now and upgrade.  If you are running anything other than the latest version, you may be taking unnecessary security risks with your site and definitely are missing out on some great new features.

New versions have security improvements over earlier versions and the upgrading procedure has become very easy.  Until recently one of the biggest requests from WordPress users was to have an easier way to upgrade.  The developers gave it to you so no excuses are allowed.  One click upgrade is a big winner for everyone…. Well, maybe not for everyone. I used to get hired fairly oftene to upgrade a WordPress site, but those requests have almost stopped with the latest versions of WordPress.

If you are not absolutely on top of upgrading, backing up, and optimizing your WordPress installation, consider contacting me for help.  In addition to the peace of mind you will have from knowing your hard work is backed up and your WordPress is up-to-date, you will have access to my knowledge of hosting, WordPress themes, and plugins to make your site ever more user and search engine friendly.

Version 2.8 of WordPress continues the trend towards user friendliness.  A year ago many of the emails and questions I received through this website were related to using WordPress after it was installed.  Typically I would install WordPress on a client’s hosting account and then have many emails and phone calls over the next several months as they struggled to learn how to use it.  With the latest versions, especially 2.8, this has changed.

The most common request I get continues to be to do an initial install of WordPress, often including setting up hosting service for the same client.  The second most common request is to reinstall WordPress for someone who used something like Fantastico and then discovered they really should have done a custom installation themselves.  Requests for help with upgrades and day to day use of WordPress have really declined.  This is not necessarily a great thing for those of us in the business of WordPress support, but it is a tribute to improvements the WordPress developers have been making in each new version release.

So if you have been considering using WordPress for a Blog or a Website, doing so is becoming easier and easier.  It is also becoming more efficient for anyone you may hire to provide ongoing WordPress administration and support.  This translates into lower costs, or a lighter workload to maintain your site.

There are still several things you must take care of if you have a website or blog of your own.  The first is to make sure to back up often and to make sure those backups are good.  Second keep WordPress and any plugins you may use up-to-date.  Provide interesting and frequently updated content for your site.  Choose your WordPress theme carefully if you go with a free theme.  Many are not supported or updated as time goes by.  The best thing is to install a SEO friendly premium theme.  You may have to pay for the theme, or you may get it by hiring someone like me to set your site up.  In either case, because the theme developer has an income from their theme development work, the theme will stick around and be well supported and updated.

If you need help getting started, feel free to contact me.  My services for installation of WordPress are quite reasonable and I can usually get to your project with 2 or 3 days.  A few of the websites I have done can be seen at this link. I look forward to hearing from you.

I am sometimes asked if paying someone to help you with administration and maintenance of your website a necessary expense.  The answer I usually give is “yes, if you are not good about doing it yourself”.  The problem with this answer is that it leaves the “good” part of doing it yourself open for interpretation, and that interpretation is usually done by someone fairly new to WordPress.  This concerns me a bit because I know that there are thousands of people using WordPress for their blogs or websites who are doing little or none of the required maintenance and administration.  I know this because a few of them are my own clients.

Most of the time when I set up a website or blog for a client, they eventually want to take over the administration for themselves.  Usually they do take the time to learn how to do this, but in a few cases, they do not.  It is these folks I worry about.  They have learned how to post to their blog.  They have mastered uploading images and other content.  In a couple of cases, they have over 50 posts to their blogs.  But I know they are not even looking at their spam ques, updating their plugins, or occasionally updating to a more recent version of WordPress.  I know a few of them do not ever backup their sites!  Why do they take this dangerous approach to protecting their valuable content?  I think it is usually a time and money issue.  It takes some time to learn to do it yourself.  It takes a little money to have someone else do it for you.

I provide administration and management services for WordPress sites.  Even though I charge by the hour, the cost to clients is generally only between $40 and $60 per month.  For this they get their sites backed up, their plugins updated, their spam que checked, and access to me for emailed questions.  Some of my clients are using their website for personal purposes rather that professional or business purposes.   Usually the professional sees the importance of protecting their site’s content.  Often the person with a personal site feels they can not afford to pay for administrative services and lets it slide.

The individual that I really worry about is the person who sees their website as part of their professional life, but does not feel the can afford the time or the expense to safeguard their content.  I don’t see this that often, only a couple of ttimes with people who are or have been clients.  I have however, heard first hand, many sad stories that could have been easily prevented with a little time or money.  If you have a WordPress site, I strongly recommend you make sure the administration and maintenance necessary to protect your hard work gets done… either by yourself or by someone you pay to do it.  It is so important.

I had a client that could not initially afford to pay me for monthly administration.  She understood that it needed to get done so she suggested she write two posts a month for me on one of my other websites in exchange for me backing up here site and checking her admin tasks twice a month.  As she was a good writer, I readily agreed.  She eventually became a  monthly paid client.  Now she has learned how to do it all herself  but still occasionally writes a guest article.  The key is that when you have a website, certain tasks need to be done one way or another.  If they don’t get done, eventually you may regret it.

The verdict is definitely in and version 2.7 is a winner. Even with my knowledge of WordPress I would not characterize myself as an early adopter of new versions as they are released. This is partly just my nature. But it is also the very realistic view that letting any little bugs or quirks get worked out before installing a new release is a prudent approach. This is an easy path to take with WordPress as old versions are usually very stable and the need to jump on a new version the day it is released is just not there. Now when an update or security release of a version is released, I install that immediately, but sweeping new versions can wait a while without any downside.

WordPress version 2.7 has been out for quite a while now. I am running 2.7.1 on all my sites now and I recommend everyone update. This new version is a winner, plain and simple. For existing users, the new interface may take a day or two to get used to, but it is a huge improvement. I hope they stay with this user interface for a long time. There are also many behind the scene changes that make the software better. One of the biggest pluses of 2.7 is the ability to update WordPress automatically right from your admin panel!

So, if you are still running an older version of WordPress, I say update now. You should be very happy with 2.7.1 and staying updated with future WordPress releases will be very easy. If you want help upgrading to the latest version just contact me. I will upgrade your installation to 2.7.1 for the unbelievably low price of $45.00.

We regularly get a variation on the question: “Should I use WordPress or can I just use Blogger?” My answer has not changed in the year since I wrote this article.  The answer is almost always “WordPress, with one possible exception”.

The only small advantage that Blogger has over WordPress is a somewhat easier installation and maintenance routine. If you are setting up only a small, personal blog, not using it for any business needs, have no budget at all for a web presence, and want to have no need to even think of anything in technical terms, maybe Blogger will work for you. You will have much less control and customizing ability. You will also not have your own domain name. (i.e. you can not have your Blogger site at yoursitename.com.) But it does work for millions of people that want very little from their website, don’t mind how long it takes to get their site known and well read, and don’t care about search engine rankings or name recognition. Think of it this way… It is easier to ride a bike than to drive a car. But if you want to get from San Francisco to Chicago, or even just 10 miles to work tomorrow morning, it will be more efficient to drive a car rather than walk. Blogger is as simple as it gets but you pay for that simplicity in ways that may not be evident at the outset.

I have set up WordPress installations for many individuals and businesses and have really only come across one very small subset of users that have not been able to use WordPress to its fullest potential. If someone has a very limited ability to understand computers and computer programs or does not have the time to install, configure, and maintain a WordPress site, they can still get what they need by hiring one of us service providers to get it up and running for them. However, if they then don’t take the small amount of time required to maintain the site AND don’t want to pay for a very affordable monthly maintenance contract from one of us service providers, they can become quite frustrated. Their site will still work, but they won’t be getting anywhere near the full potential of what it can offer them or their business.

A WordPress site requires a very small commitment of time or a small budget to get the wide exposure needed to successfully grow your web presence. Decide to make this commitment and you will be very happy.

There is no debate that WordPress is one of the most widely used website creation and management programs available. It is free to download and install so the initial cost can be almost nothing. The only things you need are a domain name and your own hosting account. But what if you have a small business and don’t want to spend the time to install and maintain WordPress yourself? What if you feel that you don’t have the limited technical skills needed? Then there are plenty of services available from websites like this one that will help you for far less than the cost of hiring a programmer/developer to build you a hand-coded html site.

WordPress for Small Business Needs

WordPress can be used to handle virtually any web presence need a small business has. In addition to incorporating the well known WordPress blogging platform, WordPress is a powerful Content Management System (CMS). With WordPress you can make a website with any number of stand alone pages and content and also have a blog page where you can put up interesting and original content to keep your customers coming back to your site.

What is a Content Management System?

It is software program that lets you create and manage the pages on your web site. WordPress is one of the easiest programs available to build your web presence through a content management system. It is not only very powerful, but with the built in tools can be easily learned and used by almost anyone. WordPress can even be used to set up a traditional website that does not even include a blog. Because WordPress was designed for ease in managing changing content, a WordPress website can easily be kept at the top of the Search Engine Rankings. Changing content and frequently updated websites are loved by search engines like Google. WordPress makes it easy to publish new content without having to know a bit of computer programming. This website is using WordPress as a very simple CMS.

How Costly is a WordPress Site?

When you install, configure, and maintain a site yourself, the cost is almost free. To hire me just to install and configure WordPress so you can then take it over can cost as little as $55.00. To hire me to set up a website similar to this one and provide some initial support and training would cost only $160.00. If ongoing maintenance and support is desired so that a person can concentrate on their business and on providing fresh content for their site, monthly service and support plans start at only $49.00 per month. WordPress is a very powerful and affordable option whether you do everything yourself or hire someone to do everything for you.

If you have any questions or comments, you can leave a comment here or contact me directly. I will be happy to answer any question you may have.

One of the great things about having your own WordPress site is the huge number of plugins available to you. A WordPress plugin is a small software program written to either change or add to the way WordPress works by integrating or “plugging into” the main WordPress program.  These plugins can do everything from add a small functionality to just one part of your blog to change the overall appearance and function of whole parts of your website.  There really is no limit to what they can do and there are thousands of plugins that have been written for WordPress.  The official WordPress.org repository has over 3,500 and growing and is located at this link.  In addition there are many other plugins that are available outside of the official WordPress site.

Because of the open nature of the WordPress software, people can design WordPress plugins to do almost anything they need.  Many of these plugins were designed by people who just wanted to have some additional feature that was not available with the core WordPress program.   Others have drastically changed the way certain parts of WordPress function.  After designing and implementing the plugin on their own sites, plugin authors often discover that hundreds or even thousands of other WordPress users want the same thing.

How can you navigate the wealth of WordPress plugins to decide which ones you might want to try?  Generally the first plugins on a website are installed as a result of recommendations from other people, or installed as a part the initial WordPress installation by a website services provider like myself.  Not surprisingly I am often asked which plugins I recommend to people.  Of course there are as many answers to that as there are websites, but I do have a few that I recommend everyone at least try and that I include as part of my WordPress installation service.

Stay tuned for future posts where I will cover the plugins I consider essential for any WordPress site.  As always, feel free to comment below or contact me directly if you have any WordPress questions.

The nature and frequency of WordPress software updates is a much discussed issue in the WordPress world.  With WordPress version 2.7 about to be released to the world, now is a good time to summarize my approach to these updates.

WordPress updates come quite often and sometimes, like in 2.7 really change the core program or its user interface.  Because of this there have formed two camps of WordPress users.  The first loves the frequent updates and changes, the second resists them.  I think there are two main objections that those in the latter camp have.  The number one concern I hear is that the update process is complicated, with too many critical steps for the average user of WordPress to be comfortable with.  The second concern is that once a WordPress user gets familiar with the interface of the version they are using, they do not want to have to learn how to use a new version that has changed much of that user interface.  The WordPress developers have a reputation for downplaying these two concerns, but I can sympathize and even have the concerns a bit myself.

To be fair to the developers of WordPress, I think the idea that they are unreceptive to these two concerns is a bit unfounded.  The very fact that they are always working on updating and improving the WordPress software indicates they are working with the end user’s best interests at heart.  In fact the most recent versions of WordPress have made the updating of plugins very easy and automatic.  WordPress 2.7 aims to make the updating of the core program easier, but we will have to wait and see if that is successful.  On a more concerning note to some, the 2.7 version may significantly change the entire user interface.  Supposedly it is an improvement and easier to learn, but existing users will still need to put in some time to adapt to the changes.

So, what is my recommendation on updating?  I think at this point you should be on the latest release of whatever version you are using.  As I write this, I myself am on WordPress 2.6.5 which is the latest version available.  This will change as new versions are released, but if you are using a release other than the latest, it should be at most one version back.  Even though I have no trouble with the WordPress updating process, I still usually wait a few weeks or so after each new release before upgrading.  With the extensive beta testing that goes on with the WordPress software, this waiting is probably unnecessary, but old habits sometimes die hard! (Update): WordPress version 2.7 incorporates an automated update process. This should be well received and loved by all users!

Stay tuned for the expected release of WordPress 2.7!  I will write a post here once it has been out for a few days and I have done the upgrade.