9 Plugins New WordPress Users Must Install on Their Blogs
Seasoned WordPress users will have no problem finding and installing the plugins they need, but for newbies, or inspiring bloggers to be, finding the right plugins can be a daunting task. To help new WordPress users to get use to their blogs quickly, here are 9 plugins that I would strongly recommend any new user to install.
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How to Set Your Own Default Gravatar in WordPress
You have seen it in most WordPress blogs: If the commenter’s profile does not come with its own gravatar, the Mystery Man icon is shown instead. Kind of ugly, isn’t it?
What if you can add your own custom gravatar and make it show up in the comments, won’t that be a good way to beautify your blog as well as brand yourself?
Luckily, in WordPress, this can be easily done. You might need to dabble into some coding, but I assure you that it is just a matter of copy/paste the code into the correct files and some minor editing. Follow along and we will guide you through.
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5 Ways To Reduce Comment Spam On WordPress Blogs
If you have a self-hosted WordPress blog which is quite popular, the most annoying thing is fighting WordPress comment spam on a regular basis. Every time you login to WordPress dashboard, you see a whole lot of spam comments waiting to be deleted. Either you have to delete them manually or let them die in the spam queue.
The latter option is not recommended as it will increase database size and the resource loading time. Hence, you have to find and fight your way to prevent spam comments in WordPress. This article describes some of the proven techniques which can be used to reduce WordPress comment spam.
Before we go any further, let’s understand what exactly is a spam comment.
A spam comment is a comment which is posted automatically in blogs, websites, forums etc by automated bots, scripts or software. Some people use scripts and automated bots to target high traffic websites for posting comments. Typically, a spam comment is full of irrelevant keywords and hyperlinks and does not care about the discussion or article where the comment is posted.
In short, a spam comment is an evil form of shameless self-promotion and trying to get quick links for traffic or SEO. [Read more...]
WordPress: How to Separate Pingbacks From Comments
With the popularity of social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, there has been an increase of pingbacks and external comments. Therefore, some bloggers find it easier to separate the two, so it’s easier for their readers and themselves to distinguish between the two. This can be done in two ways: Using a WordPress plugin or manually changing your blog’s code.
What are pingbacks and trackbacks?
Pingbacks and trackbacks are very similar, but other than using different communication technologies (Pingbacks use XML-RPC; Trackbacks use HTTP POST), there are only minor differences. Pingbacks are a way of keeping track of other blogs who have linked to your blog posts within their own blog posts. In order to do this, external blogs have to use your blog post’s hyperlink. Trackbacks work the same, except the blog post’s hyperlink is not placed within an external blog post. They are usually placed in an area specified for trackbacks. Additionally, pingbacks automatically will find the URLs; while trackbacks are done manually.
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Leave A Comment Anywhere On The Web
Everyone has an opinion, whether they’d like their opinions to be viewed or not is up to them; however a majority like their voice to be acknowledged and this is what iComment is for.
With this browser app compatible with Firefox and Internet Explorer, you can leave a comment on any page of the web you’d like and it can be viewed by anyone. iComment turns any page on the web into a discussion board or chat.
How to Add Facebook Comment System to Your Site
Now if you are keen to implement the Facebook comment system in your site, here’s how you can do so:
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