How to add reCaptcha in WordPress comment form

How to add reCaptcha in WordPress comment form: Steps to generate reCaptcha keys, reCaptcha version tips, WordPress reCaptcha plugins and related FAQs.

This post includes guide to setup Google reCaptcha with WordPress comment form for spam protection.

You will get step by step information from Google reCaptcha setup to WordPress reCaptcha plugin setup. In this post you will also get suggestions for reCaptcha version selection, WP plugin selection and more related detail FAQs about reCaptcha and WordPress integration.

Let’s check out guides to make a comment form spam free.

How to register new site on Google reCaptcha admin console and get keys

Before using Google reCaptcha in your site, you need to register your site on Google reCaptcha admin console.

reCaptcha v2 and v3 are free versions. You can register your site for any of this version and use it in your site.

Following are steps to register a new site on Google reCaptcha admin console.

1. Open reCaptcha admin console page.
2. Sign in with your Google account (Create account if account not exists).
3. Go to “Register a new site” form page.
4. Fill out label, reCaptcha type (v2 suggested) and domains detail.
5. Confirm form detail, accept terms of services and submit form.
6. Now, you can get reCaptcha “Site key” and “Secret key” from “Settings > reCaptcha keys section”.

Which reCaptcha version is good for WordPress comment form and why?

Google reCaptcha version 2 (v2) is good for WP comment form. There are two reasons to use reCaptcha v2.

First: reCaptcha v2 shows “I am not a robot” checkbox in all cases. It means users need to take action all time. reCaptcha v3 shows captcha based on score. It means captcha will not shown to all users.

Second: reCaptcha v2 badge and checkbox will be display in form area, which looks proper. reCaptcha v3 badge shows in footer with sticky position and always display on page.

So, if you want to apply more strict comment form protection and user friendly behavior, then reCaptcha v2 is a good option.

How to add and set up Google reCaptcha in WordPress comment form?

WordPress plugins for reCaptcha is an easy and good option to add Google reCaptcha in comment form.

“reCaptcha by BestWebSoft” and “Advanced noCaptcha & invisible Captcha (v2 & v3)” are free and good plugins. You can install these plugins from the WordPress dashboard plugins setting.

Note: Before continuing for plugin install and setup, you need to decide the reCaptcha version. In the plugin setting, you need to set keys and versions based on created Google reCaptcha keys (v2 or v3).

Following is a list of steps for WordPress reCaptcha plugin install and setup process.

1. Open “Add Plugins” page from WordPress dashboard Plugins setting.
2. Search with reCaptcha plugin name (e.g., reCaptcha by BestWebSoft).
3. Now, click install and activate the plugin.
4. Next, open the plugin settings page.
5. Set reCaptcha keys, Select “Version …” and comment form in settings.
6. Test reCaptcha and “Save Changes”.

What is the benefit of reCaptcha in comment form?

The main benefit of reCaptcha in comment form is to stop spam comments.

WordPress comment form only validates the existence of value in form. It means if any user continuously submit a form with spam content, it will be successfully submitted all the time.

Now, if you add reCaptcha in form, users need to pass captcha before submit form. This practice stops continuous spam comments. By adding reCaptcha validation, you will also be able to stop direct post comment requests.

Is reCaptcha stop all spam comments in WordPress comment form?

No, reCaptcha or any other captcha validations are not able to stop spam comments 100%. But, you will definitely reduce and stop spam comments using reCaptcha.

For example, when you publish a new post in WordPress, you may notice that, new spam comment comes for a new published post. Multiple duplicate spam comments is also one example.

For above example spam comments, you can try reCaptcha and it will definitely work to stop such comments.