Category: Blogging Tips

Exploring Multiple Avenues: How to Contact WordPress for Support: 6 Best Ways

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts44 Comments

Whether you’re a seasoned developer or a novice blogger, there might come a time when you need assistance or have questions about your WordPress site.

Have you ever had to contact WordPress? What’s your preferred method and experience of contacting them?

Light blue image with the words 'Exploring Multiple Avenues: How to Contact WordPress for Support: 6 Best Ways' in white text.
What’s your preferred method to contact WordPress?

During the ten years I’ve been blogging, I’ve contacted WordPress many times for support with my blog. I’ve always received good support from them.

From reporting bugs to getting answers to my questions and getting deals on renewing my WordPress plan, they’ve always been helpful and friendly.

But does the level of support vary depending on which WordPress plan you have?

Fortunately, WordPress offers various channels for users to seek help and find solutions to their queries. In this blog post, we’ll explore how you can contact WordPress for support.

WordPress Support Forums

The forums cover various topics, from general troubleshooting to specific plugins or theme-related queries.

This is my preferred way of contacting WordPress as their staff (Happiness Engineers) get involved in your query, as do other blogging community members.

Users worldwide share their knowledge and assist each other in the forums. You can post your questions, describe your issues, and receive helpful responses from experienced WordPress users, moderators, and WordPress staff.

I’ve helped bloggers out with their queries and questions on the forums.

Next time you have a question or a problem with your blog, give the Forums a go. I’ve had great success with them. And who knows? It may be me who responds to your question or query.

Click the following link to go to the WordPress.Com Forums.

Official WordPress How-To Documentation

Before reaching out for help, the official WordPress how-to documentation is worth checking out.

These comprehensive resources provide detailed information about WordPress features, settings, and troubleshooting tips.

Many common issues have step-by-step solutions outlined in these guides, making it an excellent self-help option.

Click the following link to go to the Official WordPress How-To Documents.

WordPress Support via Email

For more personalised assistance, you can contact WordPress support via email. The official WordPress support email address can only be accessed by completing a form – Contact Us.

When reaching out through email, be sure to provide detailed information about your issue, including the name of your blog, which WordPress plan you are on, which WordPress theme you use, which device you are using, and details of the device’s operating system.

The more details you provide, the easier it is for the support team to understand and address your problem.

Social Media Channels

WordPress is active on various social media platforms, including X and Facebook.

You can follow official WordPress accounts and use these platforms to ask questions or seek assistance. Community members and WordPress developers often actively monitor these channels and may respond to your queries.

I’ve spoken with WordPress staff on X and have found them professional, helpful and friendly. After talking to them on X, I even got a discount code for renewing my WordPress plan.

WordPress on X.

WordPress on Facebook.

Live Chat Support

This can be a quick way to get real-time assistance.

If you’re lucky enough to have a WordPress plan that offers Live Chat, it’s an instant way of getting help from a staff member at WordPress, although I have found that Live Chat isn’t always available.

Although I’ve always had much success with Live Chat, it can sometimes be time-consuming.

As well as having details of your blogging problem or question, give details of which device and operating system you are using. Screenshots of errors or bugs are also helpful and help resolve issues quickly.

To find out if your WordPress plan has Live Chat, click the question mark icon in the top right of your screen and click the ‘Still need help‘ button, and you’ll see a list of options available to you.

Image showing where to access Live Chat on WordPress
Live chat is great for getting an instant response from WordPress.

Users with a free or starter WordPress plan or those on a monthly subscription cannot access Live Chat.

Hire a WordPress Developer

Hiring a WordPress developer might be the best solution for complex issues or customisation requirements. However, this could be an expensive option.

If you do go down the route of this option, I’d recommend you ask around first to find out if anybody can recommend a computer savvy who knows their way around the WordPress platform. Asking the blogging community is always a good option.

If you want to hire a member of the WordPress staff to sort out problems with your blog, contact them via email at support@wordpress.org.

WordPress isn’t always at fault, but sometimes they are.

You only have to look at the WordPress Forums to see that some problems are caused by users rather than WordPress. They’re usually not following the correct procedures or do not understand how something works.

I recently saw a user blame WordPress because they could not add images to their posts. It turned out that they’d never reduced the size of the images they were downloading into their media library; hence, they’d run out of media space.

Some bloggers also give out incorrect information to other bloggers. I had to step in when one blogger said everyone had to be logged into WordPress to leave comments on any WordPress blog. That is not true, and I corrected them explaining that all bloggers can choose via their blog settings whether or not readers had to be logged into WordPress to be able to leave a comment.

So, WordPress are not always at fault.

Of course, the WordPress platform will have bugs like any online site and platform, but WordPress will only know about them if you report them. Don’t sit back and hope that somebody else will do the job.

Sometimes, problems can be related to just one blog.

I recently had a problem with my blog, which only seemed to be affecting me. I stopped getting email notifications of new comments being left on my blog posts.

From the moment I reported the problem, the WordPress staff I spoke with on the Forums were not only accommodating and kept me updated, but they finally got to the bottom of what was causing the problem and fixed it.

My blogging friend Colleen Chesebro also reported problems around some Full Site Editoring themes. WordPress has since withdrawn some of the themes without any notice to users. They’d launched these themes too soon without proper testing, so sometimes, WordPress can be at fault.

However, I hear that current changes to the FSE Themes make them easier to use and install. I think the very least WordPress could have done was give notice first to those using the FSE themes they were going to withdraw.

For now, I’m sticking with my Classic theme, which WordPress still supports (along with over 50 other Classic themes).

Finally, whenever contacting WordPress, please be friendly. Treat them how you expect them to treat you. Being angry, impatient or nasty does nobody any good.

Conclusion:

WordPress has built a robust and supportive community that caters to users of all skill levels. Whether you prefer community-driven forums, official documentation, or personalised support via email, various channels are available to help you navigate any WordPress-related challenges.

By exploring these options, you can ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience as you build and manage your WordPress blog.

What’s your experience with reporting problems to WordPress? What methods do you use to report problems? Are you currently experiencing any issues with WordPress? If so, what are they and have you reported them to WordPress? Share your experiences in the comments section.

Click the buttons below to follow Hugh on Social Media

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

Why I’m Delighted WordPress Has Fixed This Annoying Bug

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts41 Comments

In my recent blog post, Experiencing Problems With Leaving Comments On WordPress? This Is What I Found. Read This Post Now, I shared details of two problems I was experiencing connected to comments on WordPress.

Light blue image with the words 'Why I'm Delighted WordPress Has Fixed This Annoying Bug,' in white text
If you don’t report problems to WordPress, how will they know about issues with their platform?

I am thrilled to inform you that the issue I reported regarding the ‘Email me new comments‘ checkbox when leaving a comment has been successfully resolved by WordPress.

Image highlighting the 'Email me new comments' button on WordPress
Click the ‘Email me new comment’ button to get an email notification of when somebody has replied to a comment you left them.

So here’s what happened: When you checked the ‘Email me new comments‘ box, things went a bit haywire. You not only started getting email notifications for comments on that specific post, but you also got bombarded with notifications for comments on other posts on that blog, even if you hadn’t left a comment or picked the ‘Email me new comments‘ option. Your inbox was basically drowning in a sea of WordPress emails. Crazy, right?

Now, when you select the ‘Email me new comments‘ option, rest assured that you will only receive email notifications for comments posted on the exact same post where you have left a comment.

Why do I tick the ‘Email me new comments’ box?

Not only do I get informed via email when I get a reply to a comment I’ve left, but reading other blog posts’ comments always helps me with ideas for new posts. Sometimes, comments can be as interesting as the post they’ve been left on.

I can also definitely lend a helping hand when bloggers reach out for assistance in their comments. Moreover, I take great pleasure in rectifying any misinformation that comes my way. Just the other day, I came across a comment where a blogger erroneously mentioned that having a WordPress account is a prerequisite for leaving comments. Allow me to assure you that this information is not accurate. Indeed, anyone can participate in the discussion without the need for a WordPress account.

One problem remains

The problem I reported concerning no longer getting email notifications when somebody leaves a comment on any of my posts has still not been fixed. However, WordPress has assured me that they’re still working on fixing it.

I’d be interested in knowing if anybody else is experiencing problems with not getting email notifications when comments are left on their posts. Please let me know in the comments section.

Are you experiencing any problems with leaving or receiving comments on blog posts? What are they, and have you reported them to WordPress?

Click the buttons below to follow Hugh on Social Media

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

Have You Discovered These Two New Excellent WordPress Features? And Where Have Reusable Blocks Gone?

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts51 Comments

You may already be acquainted with these exciting new features I’ve recently uncovered on WordPress. However, I wanted to discuss them in case some of you are still unaware of their existence or unsure about how they function. Let’s delve into these remarkable additions and explore their potential!

Light blue image with the words 'Have You Discovered These Two New Excellent WordPress Features? Where Have Reusable Blocks Gone?' in white text.
New features you may like to try out on WordPress.

Send Test email.

I absolutely love this new feature! It’s incredibly handy because not only do I get to double-check my email notifications for my new blog posts before hitting the publish button, but it also serves as a safety net to ensure that my blog post is flawless and error-free. This is a game-changer for me!

Note – this feature may not be available to WordPress free plan users.

Before scheduling or publishing a new blog post, click the ‘Send test email‘ button, and WordPress will send you an email showing the excerpt and a link to the post.

Where can I find the ‘Send test email’ button?

Under the ‘Publish‘ settings of the draft of your post. Ensure you open the ‘Newsletter: Everyone‘ section to see it.

Here’s a screenshot.

Image highlighting the Send Test Email' button on WordPress
Send test emails for all your WordPress new post notifications.

Not only can you check that the excerpt of your blog post is correct, but you can also click the link within the email to open the post and verify that everything is as it should be.

So, no more –

  • Missing images
  • Uncentred captions
  • Upsidedown images
  • Misplaced images
  • Images and text overlapping
  • Missing blog post titles
  • Missing headings
  • Missing words
  • Spelling mistakes
  • Forgetting to close comments
  • Broken videos or YouTube links
  • Broken links/pingbacks

Of course, spelling and grammar mistakes may still appear, but at least you now have another way of checking and editing a post before it’s published.

A new way to showcase previous blog posts.

Most bloggers like to showcase previous blog posts so those who missed them the first time can catch up.

There are various ways to promote older blog posts on newly published posts. This is a new blog post template that WordPress has added to ‘Patterns‘ to help promote previous posts. In fact, WordPress has added lots of new ‘Blog Post’ templates. Here’s one I selected.

Where can I find Blog Post templates?

  • On a draft post, click the ‘+‘ symbol to add a new block and select ‘Patterns.’
  • On the menu that opens, click on ‘Blog Posts‘ and select from the many templates on offer.
Image highlighting where to find Blog Posts Templates on WordPress
Select a ‘blog posts’ template from the many on offer.

You can also select the ‘Blog Posts’ block for the same job.

Each template has many settings you can play around with. For example, I set the template I displayed above to two rather than three columns (displays as one column when viewing on a mobile phone). You can also change the background colour and text colour of the template.

On the template I used, up to six posts can be displayed, with new blog posts added as you publish them.

Unfortunately, I could not find a way of choosing which blog posts I wanted to feature in the template I chose, but some of the templates allow you to do this.

The one drawback I have noticed about my chosen template is the inability to set links to open in a new tab. As a result, users clicking on any of the links will lose their current page. To address this issue, I highly recommend including the ‘Blog Post Template‘ at the end of each post. This way, readers can easily navigate to related content without losing their place on the page.

Where did all my reusable blocks go?

Synced patterns have replaced Reusable blocks, offering a unified creation experience for new pattern functionality on WordPress. Any reusable blocks you’ve created for your blog can now be found under ‘Patterns.’

Go to ‘Patterns’ – ‘My Patterns‘ for a list.

Image highlighting where to manage reusable blocks on WordPress
Reusable blocks can now be found under ‘Pattern.’

Not sure what a reusable block is? My post, ‘What Is A Reusable Block On WordPress? How To Create One And Save Yourself Lots Of Time,’ gives full details.

How to manage reusable blocks.

  • Ensure you view your blog’s dashboard in ‘Classic‘ view. When writing this post, it won’t work when viewing in ‘Default‘ view (WordPress are aware of the problem).
  • On the draft page of a post, click the three dots (options button) in the top right-hand corner of the page.
  • Click ‘Manage Patterns‘ in the new menu that opens.
Image highlighting how to manage reusable blocks on WordPress.
Click ‘Manage Patterns’ to manage reusable blocks.
  • A page will open that lists all your reusable blocks. This is where you can edit or delete them.
Image showing a list of reusable blocks (now Patterns) on WordPress
A list of reusable blocks

IMPORTANT NOTICE – Please exercise caution when deleting a reusable block that has been previously used in your posts. Deleting a reusable block will result in its disappearance from all associated posts, and a notification will be displayed indicating that the block is no longer available. It is crucial to be mindful of this consequence to avoid any unintended disruptions to your content.

Have you explored any valuable new features on WordPress, or are you already utilising the ones I’ve mentioned? Are reusable blocks an essential part of your workflow? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section, and don’t hesitate to ask any questions.

Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.

Follow Hugh on his social media platforms by clicking the buttons below.

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

Stressed Or Feeling Guilty About Blogging? Please Read This Post. Let’s Keep Blogging Fun

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts100 Comments

It’s happening again. Bloggers are saying that blogging is stressful or makes them feel guilty.

Blogging is becoming a chore.

They don’t have time to read and comment on all the blog posts of all the blogs they follow.

They’re constantly apologising for not reading, commenting or publishing new blog posts.

They don’t have time to keep up with a blogging schedule they set themselves.

They feel obliged to read and comment on everything because those bloggers read and comment on their blog posts.

Let’s get something straight about blogging. Nobody expects you to read and comment on all their blog posts.

Image with a light blue background with the words 'Stressed Or Feeling Guilty About Blogging? Please Read This Post. Let's Keep Blogging Fun' in white text.
Do you suffer from blogging stress or guilt? Read this post.

Just because Susan and Jenny read and comment on all of each other’s blog posts doesn’t mean you have you. And believe me when I say that Jenny and Susan won’t have always read each other’s blog posts. They may have left comments, but those comments don’t prove they read the post.

Nobody cares if you don’t read and comment on all their posts.

Nobody says it’s your obligation to read and comment on all their posts because they read and comment on all your posts.

Nobody? Well, not quite. The only person who may feel obliged or think they must read and comment on all the posts of the blogs they follow is you.

One of the biggest pitfalls of blogging is feeling obligated.

Once again, I’ve been reading blog posts, comments, and social media posts where people ask for advice because blogging has got to the stage of stressing them out and/or making them feel guilty.

They seem to feel that not reading and commenting on every post is some kind of a blogging crime and will land them in blogging jail.

I’ve written before about the stress and guilt blogging can bring (if you allow it) and know exactly how these bloggers are feeling, having been through the whole blogging ‘feeling guilty’ trip myself.

So, allow me to explain why you never need to feel stressed or guilty about blogging or never need to apologise for not reading, commenting or publishing blog posts.

Why did you start your blog?

One of the reasons why I signed up for WordPress was because I thought blogging would be fun.

One year in, I became very stressed and guilty because I couldn’t keep up with reading all the new blog posts published by the bloggers I was following.

I was following way too many blogs, many of which didn’t interest me anyway.

Some days, I found myself doing little else but reading and leaving non-engaging, spammy comments on blog posts. You know the types of comments. Things like ‘Great post,’ ‘I enjoyed this’, or one-worded comments that meant nothing.

Some of the bloggers I was following were publishing more than one post daily, and I soon found myself apologising to people for not reading their posts or not being on WordPress 24 hours a day!

Then it struck me that I was not doing the main thing I’d come here to do – write!

Although I possess a few superpowers, I’m afraid that one of them is not being able to read every new blog post from bloggers I follow.

I began to see this as a problem. Blogging was becoming a monster, and I was doing everything possible to make me want to fight it.

Then, one morning, I woke up, switched on my computer and got that horrible feeling I would get when I didn’t want to go to school or go to work.

I soon realised that I had two choices about blogging. Either I gave it up, or I had to change the blogger I had become.

It didn’t take me long to make my choice. After all, I’d created my blog to write and share my thoughts with anybody who stopped by and wanted to listen to what I had to say.

I decreased my reading time and began to write more.

I stopped following every single blogger who followed my blog. If they didn’t have an ‘about me‘ page so I could find out more about who they were, or they blogged about subjects that did not interest me, then I did not follow back.

If bloggers kept sending me messages begging me to follow their blog, I ignored them.

I stopped feeling guilty for not following back.

As time passed, I began to unfollow bloggers whose blog content I didn’t find interesting anymore.

I stopped reading blog posts that did not interest me, regardless of who had written and published them.

I unfollowed some bloggers who continued to fail to respond to questions or acknowledge comments other bloggers and I were leaving on posts.

I didn’t feel guilty about this because it freed up time for me to write, read, and comment on blog posts that interested me.

If you find yourself in a situation where blogging makes you feel guilty and/or stresses you out, then you need to face the questions I was asking myself.

I’m afraid there’s no magic answer.

What worked for me may not work for you, but whatever you do, ensure you do all you can to make blogging fun again.

Isn’t that the reason why you came here in the first place?

Take control of your blog and stop feeling guilty about not reading and commenting on every blog post or for unfollowing blogs that you no longer have any interest in.

Sure, you may lose some followers along the way (don’t we all?), but it’s not going to finish you off as a blogger.

In fact, they probably didn’t read your blog posts anyway and will have left short, non-engaging comments just to prove they visited, so it’s no big deal (unless your only interest is how many followers you have).

If, like me, you decide to stay (and I hope you do), your blogging passion will return.

Remember – Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint!

Have you ever found yourself feeling guilty or stressed out because of blogging? Are you somebody who keeps apologising because you’ve been unable to spend as much time as you like reading and commenting on posts? How did you get over feeling guilty or stressed out by blogging? Leave me a comment and join the conversation.

Photo showing Hugh's desk with a computer screen showing Hugh's home page of his blog.
Blogging should always be about enjoyment and fun.

Follow Hugh on Social Media. Click on the links below.

If you enjoyed this post and want more like it, enter your email address and click ‘Subscribe’ to stay up-to-date with my latest content.

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

What Do You Feel About Blog Commenting? This Is What Two Bloggers Think

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts
Light blue image with the words 'What Do You Feel About Blog Commenting? This Is What Two Bloggers Think' in white text
Are you leaving the right comments?

Comments play a vital role in fostering vibrant discussions within the blogosphere. They are the lifeblood of meaningful engagement, adding depth and diversity of perspectives to any topic.

But recently, commenting on blogs seems to be going in the wrong direction. 

My recent blog post, ‘What Kind Of Comments Are The Best To Leave On Blog Posts?‘ got many of you discussing various types of comments, but more importantly, the non-engaging comments that sadly seem to have become more popular than comments that spark valuable engagement, discussions and conversations.

If you haven’t read the post, please do and add your voice to the various debates. 

Today, I have the pleasure of presenting two captivating blog posts penned by talented bloggers about the subject of comments.

These insightful pieces delve into the diverse range of comments they receive on their blogs, offering a glimpse into their personal perspectives and emotional experiences.

The first is from blogger and writer Brenda, who blogs at Curiosities, Castles and Coffee Shops. Click the following link to read Brenda’s post and join the discussions her post has sparked.

Introductions over Coffee #11

The second post is from blogger and author Erika, who blogs at Share Your Light. Click the following link to read Erika’s post.

JUST A THOUGHT… – HAS IT CHANGED?

I urge those of you who enjoy engagement, discussions and conversations on blog posts to read both posts and add your thoughts to the discussions that Brenda and Erika have ignited on their posts.

I’m closing comments off here so that comments can be left on the posts I’m promoting today.

A big thank you to Brenda and Erika for taking the courage to open up about leaving comments – a subject many bloggers shy away from.

Follow Hugh on Social Media. Click on the links below.

If you enjoyed this post and want more like it, enter your email address and click ‘Subscribe’ to stay up-to-date with my latest content.

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

How To Find Free Photos And Images On WordPress: Why You Should Use Them.

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts44 Comments

I’ve published many posts about the perils of using copyrighted images and photos. Several bloggers I know have been fined for downloading copyrighted images and photos, including when they reblogged posts.

Did you know that WordPress offers free, high-quality images and photos to enhance the visual appeal of your WordPress website or blog?

You’re searching for the right image for your new blog post. Rather than doing a Google search in a separate tab — and running the risk of using an image you don’t have rights to — use the free images and photos WordPress offers.

Light blue image with the words 'How To Find Free Photos And Images On WordPress: Why You Should Use Them' in white text
Did you know that WordPress offers users free photos and images?

To avoid any chances of being fined for using copyrighted images and photos, the best advice is to always try and use your own photos and images in your blog posts.

Of course, you could choose not to include any images or photos, but given that posts that include photos or images get 70% more traffic, you should add at least one image or photo to all your blog posts.

Where Do I Find The Free Images And Photos WordPress Offers?

  • Add an Image block to your blog post.
  • Click on the ‘Select Image‘ link to open a new menu.
  • The free images and photos are under ‘Pexels Free Photos‘ and ‘Openverse‘.
Image highlighting where to find Pexels Free Photos and Openverse in the media library of a WordPress blog.
WordPress offers hundreds of free images and photos to all WordPress users.

Pexels Free Photos

  • When you click Pexels Free Photos, a new window will open that includes a search bar.
  • Add a description of the image or photo you are looking for in the search bar and click the ‘Search‘ button.
  • Look through the results, click the image you want to use and click the ‘Select‘ button.
  • Click the ‘Load More‘ button at the bottom of the page to see more results.

When you select an image from Pexels Free Photos, it is downloaded to your media library. Remember to add information about the image to help readers with sight impediments and who may use speech software on their devices.

WordPress will have already completed the title of the image or photo and added credit details, so the only information you need to add is Alt Text and Description.

Openverse

Openverse works like Pexels Free Photos. It’s a search engine for openly licensed media, which gives access to over 600 million Creative Commons licensed and public domain image and audio files. All files can be used free of charge.

You can use the search box to find content licensed for commercial use and content that may be modified.

If you use any images or photos from Openverse, they are downloaded to your media library. You’ll need to complete the Alt Text and Description boxes, giving the image/photo details.

It’s Not Only WordPress That Offers Free Images And Photos.

Several websites offer free images that you can use on your WordPress website. These websites curate collections of high-quality images that are free to use, often under various Creative Commons licenses. Here are some popular websites you can explore:

Review and respect the license terms associated with each image when using images from these sites. Providing proper attribution to the photographer or the source is always good practice.

WordPress Plugins

Another convenient way to find free images within your WordPress editor is by using plugins specifically designed for this purpose. These plugins integrate with popular free image websites, allowing you to search and insert images directly from your WordPress dashboard.

Some notable plugins for finding free images include:

Installing and activating these plugins will add additional options to your media library, making browsing and selecting free images for your content effortless.

Note: Plugins are not available on all WordPress plans.

Image SEO Best Practices

While finding free images for your WordPress blog is essential, optimising any images or photos you use for search engines is equally crucial. Following some basic image SEO best practices can improve your blog’s visibility and attract more organic traffic. Here are a few tips:

  • Use descriptive filenames and alt tags that reflect the image content.
  • Optimise image file sizes to improve site loading speed.
  • Add relevant captions and descriptions to provide more context.
  • Ensure images are responsive and look good on all devices.

By incorporating these strategies, you enhance the visual appeal of your content while improving your blog’s overall SEO performance.

Let’s Wrap It Up.

  • Finding free images and photos for your WordPress website or blog is easier than ever.
  • Whether you explore the WordPress options, leverage free image websites, or use dedicated plugins, the possibilities are abundant.
  • Adhering to image licensing requirements and optimising your images for SEO will ensure a visually appealing and optimised blog.

So go ahead and utilise the resources available to you, and make your WordPress blog shine with stunning images that complement your content!

Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Disclaimer: Always review and respect each image’s terms and conditions and licensing rights. The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice.

Where do you get the images and photos you use on your blog? If you have any questions about using free images and photos on your blog, leave them in the comments section. Alternatively, please join the discussion and conversation if you’d like to add any information about using free images and photos.

Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.

Follow Hugh on his social media platforms by clicking the buttons below.

If you enjoyed this post and want more like it, enter your email address and click ‘Subscribe’ to stay up-to-date with my latest content.

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

Is Your Blog Under Attack? Yes, It Is. 4 Easy Ways You Can Protect It

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts40 Comments

Every day, our blogs come under attack from various elements.

Just like protecting our families, pets, and anything else we value, we should do all we can to protect our blogs from threats.

Image with light blue background with the words 'Is Your Blog Under Attack? Yes, It Is. 4 Easy Ways You Can Protect It' in white text
Are you doing enough to protect your blog from threats?

Threats come in all sorts of forms, but there are a few simple steps you can put in place to keep your blog safe.

1. Comments

What do you do if you receive unfriendly comments or comments that do not agree with what you have said in your blog post?

I’ve blogged for nearly ten years, and, in that time, I have received a handful of comments that were not only very personal but were rude, racist or homophobic.  

Because I moderate all comments before they appear on my blog, I was able to stop these comments in their tracks. They were of the nature that did not call for a reply, and I simply marked them as spam and deleted them.

And it wasn’t only me that some of these unfriendly comments are aimed at.  

I often see rude, unfriendly comments and spam appear on other blogs. Not only can they be shocking in their nature, but in many cases, the very name of the commenter can also be very offensive. 

Unfortunately, Akismet, the WordPress software that blocks unwanted spam, doesn’t always catch all of it. So, monitoring all comments before they are published on your blog posts is worth considering. 

Follow these steps to set up monitoring comments.

For the purpose of this post, instructions are via the ‘Default” view of your blog’s dashboard.

  • Click Settings – Discussion on your blog’s dashboard.

Image highlighting the Settings and Discussion options on the dashboard of a WordPress blog.
Click Settings and Discussion
  • On the Discussion Settings page, scroll down to the ‘Before A Comment Appears‘ box and slide open the button next to ‘Comment must be manually approved.’
Image highlighting the 'Comment must be manually approved' button on the Discussion Settings page of a WordPress blog.
To approve all comments, select the ‘Comment must be manually approved’ button
  • Click on the ‘Save settings‘ button. 

You may also have noticed an option to allow comments to be posted straight away from people who have previously had comments approved by you. 

Image highlighting the 'Comment author must have previously approved comment' button on a WordPress blog.
Selecting the ‘Comment author must have previously approved comment’ means you don’t need to approve those comments.

For bloggers who are dealing with hundreds of comments daily, this is a great time-saving option as you don’t need to manually approve them. 

However, be wary. Somebody who may have left a perfectly friendly comment on an earlier post could also leave an unfriendly comment on a future one.

How to deal with people who don’t agree with you

Sometimes, I receive comments from people who may not agree with what I have to say, but that’s a part of the whole blogging experience. 

However, providing their comment has been written in a friendly and professional manner, I will approve it. 

Nobody should tolerate rudeness or bad manners, so don’t allow any of these kinds of comments to appear on your blog. 

If comments are unfriendly, rude or make you feel threatened, mark them as spam.

Allowing unfriendly, rude comments to appear on your blog can make your blog look unfriendly and unwelcoming, especially to new visitors.

And consider removing anyone who leaves a rude comment, or one that threatens you or another blogger, from your subscriber list. My post ‘How To Spot And Remove Spammers And Spambots From Your WordPress Blog‘ gives full details.

Look after your fellow bloggers

If you see a rude comment or one that is spam on a blog you follow, inform the blog’s owner of the problem. They’ll probably thank you for looking out for them.

How to block certain bloggers or readers from leaving comments

Further down the same page on the Discussion Settings dashboard, you’ll see two boxes entitled ‘Comment Moderation‘ and ‘Disallowed comments.’

Image highlighting the Comment moderation and Disallowed comments boxes on WordPress.
This is where you can blacklist other bloggers and comments

These boxes are where you can add certain words, the web address of a blog, the email address or the internet protocol of a user you want to block. 

Comments will be held in a moderation queue if they contain anything you have added to the Comment Moderation box.

Comments will be sent to the trash bin if they match anything you have added to the Disallowed Comments box.

2. Internet trolls

If you are unlucky enough to find that an internet troll has decided to try and make your blog their new home, ignore them. 

Whatever you do, don’t engage in any conversations with the internet troll. Whether through comments or if they try to contact you through your ‘contact me’ page, ignore them. 

Internet trolls will do all they can to get you to react to what they have said. They may even try to get some of your readers to engage with them by responding to comments they have left, so never approve their comments.

Don’t give internet trolls the satisfaction of acknowledging them in any shape or form. 

Remove any comments, and don’t allow them to upset you in any way. Add them to the ‘Disallowed Comments‘ box. They’ll soon get the message and move on.

3. Back-Up

How would you feel if you woke up one morning and found that all your blog content had disappeared? 

It’s the stuff of nightmares, so be kind to your blog and make sure you back up its content regularly.

Depending on your WordPress plan, your blog can be backed up via Jetpack – Backup on your blog’s dashboard. If you don’t have this facility, consider saving all your blog posts via an external server or hard drive.

If you’re already writing your blog posts on Word, Pages or any other writing software such as Grammarly, ensure you save the documents on the iCloud (if you have access) or on another hard drive.

Don’t lose all your hard work by not backing up your blog.  

4. Anti Virus Software

Always update anti-virus software on your device to protect your blog and ensure you have the latest version. 

If hackers can get access to well-known websites, then they may be able to get access to your computer\device.

Malware could allow cybercriminals to take control of your computer, log your keystrokes, or access your personal information and financial data, which could lead to identity theft. So, not only could your blog be at risk from hackers, but so could your bank details and other personal information.  

Remember to keep all other software on your computer up to date and use the latest software versions of any website you visit regularly.

WordPress.Com users will always have the latest version of WordPress as WordPress download updates directly. Those who have self-hosted blogs should ensure they have the latest updates installed. 

This all may sound nightmarish, and you may ask yourself who would want to attack your blog, but every blogger should take it seriously. Don’t become a victim. 

However, whatever you do, keep enjoying your blogging experience. 

Although attacks on our blogs are happening constantly, your anti-virus software (and the software supplied by WordPress) deals with most threats without you knowing about it.

Let’s Wrap It Up.

  • Make sure you protect your blog from any online attacks.
  • Don’t approve any comments that are unfriendly, rude, or racist towards you or any other bloggers.
  • Consider moderating all comments before they appear on your blog.
  • People may disagree with what you say in your posts. Only approve their comments if they’ve been written in a friendly and professional manner.
  • Unsubscribe and or/block trolls and unfriendly readers from your blog.
  • Never respond to comments from trolls or allow their comments to appear on your blog.
  • Remember to regularly back up your blog or save your blog posts on an external hard drive.
  • Keep anti-virus software updated on your devices.
  • Ensure you’re using the latest version and tools of WordPress.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with us about protecting your blog from unwanted attention and attacks? Do you have any questions? Join the discussion by leaving me a comment with the details.

Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.

Follow Hugh on Social Media. Click on the links below.

If you enjoyed this post and want more like it, enter your email address and click ‘Subscribe’ to stay up-to-date with my latest content.

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

Is It Possible To Add Images And Photos To Comments On WordPress? Yes! Here’s How.

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts50 Comments

Have you seen images and photos in the comments section of blog posts and wondered how they were left there? It’s something I’ve written about before and, given the many changes at WordPress since I last wrote about it, deserves an update.

Light blue image with the words 'Is It Possible To Add Images And Photos To Comments On WordPress? Yes! Here's How.' in white text
Yes, it’s possible to leave photos and images in comments on WordPress blogs

When it comes to adding images and photos to comments, we have to be careful with what we add. We should always ensure the photo or image has a connection to the subject of the post we’re leaving the comment on. And not only that.

If a blogger invites readers to leave photos and images (such as in a photography challenge), then go ahead and leave them.

However, leaving an image or photo just for the sake of doing so is frowned upon by many bloggers, who will mark them as spam. And given that blogs are attacked by spammers daily, I don’t blame bloggers marking uninvited images and photos as spam.

I’ve added images and photos to the comments sections on my blog posts and the comments I have left on the blogs of other bloggers. However, unless I’ve been invited to leave an image or photo, I won’t leave them.

While many bloggers will be happy for you to leave images and photos, it’s always polite to ask first.

How to add images and photos to your comments

  • Add the image or photo to your WordPress media library.
  • Once the image has been added, click it and click the edit button to open it.
Image highlighting the 'Edit' button of a photo in the WordPress media library.
Click the edit button of the photo or image you want to add to a comment.
  • On the righthand side of the screen, you’ll see a window where you can add details about your image. It’s important to complete these details (see the image below).
  • Click the ‘Copy‘ button in the URL box.
Image highlighting the URL address of an image or photo in the WordPress media library.
Copy the URL address of the image or photo.
  • Paste the URL address into your comment.
  • Do not, at this stage, submit your comment as you need to edit one part of the text within the link.
  • Carefully delete the ‘s‘ from the ‘https‘ at the beginning of the link address, so it reads ‘http‘. (If you do not delete the ‘s‘ the image will not show in the comment).
  • Ensure your link ends with ‘.png’ or ‘.jpg’. If it doesn’t, delete any text after ‘.png’ or ‘.jpg’.
  • You can now submit your comment.

The image will now show on the comment. However, remember that if you are leaving an image in a comment on another blogger’s blog, they may have to approve it (and may even remove the link to the image) before it shows up.

I’ve only found this to work on WordPress.Com blogs. On self-hosted blogs, only the link to the image is visible rather than the image appearing. However, those clicking on the link will see the image.

Note – Not all images and photos will show if the security settings on your web browser are set high. However, this does not affect the photos or pictures you leave in the comments of your own blog posts. I recommend that you not change the security settings on your web browser.

Let’s wrap it up.

  • Yes, it is possible to insert images and photos into comments on WordPress.
  • After inserting the URL address of the image, ensure you remove the ‘s‘ from the beginning of the URL so that ‘https’ becomes ‘http.’
  • Only leave images and photos in comments if invited to do so or if you have asked for permission to do so first.
  • If the security settings on your web browser are set high, images and photos may not show. However, this does not affect the photos or pictures you leave in the comments of your own blog posts.

Want to give inserting an image or photo into a comment a go?

Leave me a comment with the link to your image. Perhaps it can be a photo of your latest book cover or of a family pet. I’ll leave it up to you, but only family-friendly images and photos, please.

If you have any further questions about inserting images or photos into the comments, leave them in the comments section.

Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.

Follow Hugh on social media. Click the buttons below.

If you enjoyed this post and want more like it, enter your email address and click ‘Subscribe’ to stay up-to-date with my latest content.

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

How To Spot And Remove Spammers And Spambots From Your WordPress Blog

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts54 Comments

Is your blog plagued by spam, spammers and spambots? Do they annoy you? Do you know they’re even there and the damage they could be doing?

Allowing spammers and spambots to follow your blog makes it easier for them to attempt to flood your blog with spam comments. In turn, this opens the floodgates to your readers becoming the victims of scams or having their computer, tablet or phone infected with malware.

Light blue image with the words 'How To Spot And Remove Spammers And Spambots From Your WordPress Blog' in white text.
Is your blog infected with spammers and spambots?

There are many different types of spammers in the blog world. From those who leave uninvited links, those who flood your posts with pleas to check out their blog and follow them, and comments from spambots; they can all be a nuisance.

Some spammers are easy to spot. The clues are in their name.

Image highlighting the name of a spammer
The name of some spammers gives them a way straight away.

Some spammers try a little harder to trick you.

Image highlighting the web address of a comment from a spammer
Always check the web address of where a comment has come from.

The above comment may sound genuine, but just look at the web address where it’s come from.

Recently, many blogs on WordPress have been flooded with spam comments from dog breeders. My blogging friend Renard at Renard’s World wrote about them.

I’ve witnessed some bloggers approve and respond to the comments from these spambots. The comments look genuine, but they’re not. Here’s an example of a spam comment from one of the dog breeders.

Image showing a spam comment from a dog breeders spambot on a WordPress blog
Comment from a dog breeders spambot

Approving and allowing comments from spammers and spambots onto your blog posts will damage the ranking of your blog. It may also end up resulting in genuine readers clicking on links in comments or visiting the sites of these scammers resulting in them becoming victims of scams or having their computer infected with malware.

These spammers often leave messages on posts that look authentic and nice, but they never mention anything about the contents of the posts (other than saying they like them) and often trick bloggers into believing they are genuine.

Spammers who follow your blog will also click the ‘like’ button on all your posts in the hope that other readers will see their gravatar icon, and visit their site. Once there, the reader puts themselves in danger of being scammed or having their device infected.

How Do You Spot Comments From Scammers and Spambot?

WordPress has recently improved the subscribers’ page of a blog. Not only has this helped spotting spammers and spambots, but it’s easy to remove them as subscribers to your blog.

Here’s a screenshot of a comment from a spambot. I’ve highlighted the spammers name for instructions on how to unsubscribe them from following your blog further down in this post.

Image of a comment from a spambot on WordPress
Make sure you remove spammers from following your blog.

The Akismet Anti-Spam software that WordPress provides is excellent at dealing with spam, but it doesn’t catch it all.

Comments from spammers rarely have an image in their Gravatar, but spammers are now getting clever and inserting an image in their profile (like the one in the previous image).

Here’s how to spot, check and remove spammers and spambots as subscribers to your blog.

  • Make sure you are viewing your blog’s dashboard in ‘Default‘ view.
  • Copy the name of the spammers blog.
  • On your blog’s dashboard, go to ‘Users‘ – ‘Subscribers.’
Image highlighting "users' - 'Subscribers' on the dashboard of a WordPress blog.
Click Users – Subscribers
  • On the ‘Subscribers‘ page you’re taken to, paste the spammers blog’s name in the ‘search box.’
  • If the spammer is following your blog, their name will show in the results.
  • Click the three dots next to the blog you want to remove.
  • Click the ‘Remove‘ button to unsubscribe the blog from following you.
Image highlighting the steps to take to remove a spammer from following your blog.
How to remove a spammer from following your blog.
  • The spammer has now been unsubscribed from following your blog.

Spammers who follow your blog are more likely to try and flood your blog posts with spam comments because they get notifications when you publish new posts. You can mark any such comments as spam, but I’d recommend you unsubscribe them from following your blog.

Of course, there is nothing stopping spammers from subscribing to your blog again, but every time they follow, unsubscribe them. As I have found out with those dog breeder spammers, they soon get fed up of having to keep subscribing to your blog.

Let’s Wrap It Up

  • Don’t allow spammers, scammers or spambots invade your blog or stress you out.
  • Spotting spammers, scammers and spambots is easy to do. Follow the guide in this post.
  • Never approve or respond to spam comments.
  • If you’re unsure a comment is from a spammer, check out their website address first.
  • Always unsubscribe spammers, scammers and spambots from your blog. Follow the guide in this post.
  • Although the Akismet Anti-Spam software that WordPress provides catches the majority of spam, it won’t catch all of it.
  • Approving and allowing comments from spammers and spambots onto your blog posts will damage the ranking of your blog. It may also end up resulting in genuine readers clicking on the links in their comments or visiting their website and becoming a victim of scams or having their computer infected with malware.
  • Look after your readers, not the spammers, scammers or spambots.

How do you deal with spam, spammers and spambots on your blog? Share details in the comments section.

Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.

Follow Hugh on social media. Click the buttons below.

If you enjoyed this post and want more like it, enter your email address and click ‘Subscribe’ to stay up-to-date with my latest content.

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

9 Hidden Useful Tools You May Not Know About On The Posts Page Of A WordPress Blog

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts63 Comments

Have you noticed the three horizontal dots next to your blog posts when viewing the ‘Posts‘ page of your blog’s dashboard on WordPress? If not, you’re missing out on some useful tools that will help save you time when blogging and make your blog posts appeal to even more readers.

Light blue image with the words '9 Hidden Useful Tools You May Not Know About On The Posts Page Of A WordPress Blog' in white text
Have you discovered these 9 hidden blogging tools on WordPress?

For the purpose of this post, I’m viewing my blog’s dashboard in ‘Default‘ view.  

These three horizontal dots are known by numerous names, my favourite being a ‘Meatball Menu.’

Not sure what I’m referring to? Here’s a screenshot pointing out the meatball menu on the dashboard of the posts page of my blog.

 

Image highlighting a meatball menu on the posts page of a WordPress Blog
The Meatball Menu.

When you click on the meatball menu against a post, the three horizontal dots change to three vertical dots (known as a kebab Menu), and nine options appear.

Let’s investigate each option. 

Edit

  • Click this button to edit or update a post. Useful when spotting mistakes. Don’t forget to press the Update button to save any changes you make. 

View

  • This button does more than just show a preview of your post. It also offers the option of previewing the post as it appears on a desktop computer, tablet and phone. You should always preview your posts before publishing them.
Image showing the display menu when clicking the 'view' option on the posts page of a WordPress blog.
See your post in desktop, tablet and phone form.
  • The Search & Social button (at the bottom of the menu) allows you to preview your post as it appears on Facebook, Twitter (now known as X), and a Google search. 
  • I recommend you always preview your post first to ensure they are mobile-friendly, especially given that most people now read blog posts on tablets and phones. 

Promote With Blaze

Blaze is a way to pay to have a post advertised by WordPress, putting it in front of thousands of new readers.

You can advertise a post or page on some of the millions of pages across WordPress.com and Tumblr from $5 per day. This option is not available to bloggers who have a free WordPress plan.

Stats

  • Click ‘Stats‘ to check a post’s latest daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly stats.
  • For some WordPress plans, you can view a post’s stats for emails opened and how many people who got the email clicked the link to view the post.  
  • You can also view who clicked the ‘like‘ button on the post and how often ‘like‘ has been clicked. 

 

Image showing stats for a blog post when clicking the stats option in the kebab menu
What’s behind the ‘Stats’ option?
  • Under ‘Post Likes‘, hover your mouse over any of the profile icons to display the blog name of the blogger.
  • Click on an icon to view a list of that blogger’s blog posts, how many posts they have published, how many followers they have, a list of their most popular tags, and a follow button (WordPress.Com bloggers only). This is a great way to find new blogs to follow.
  • If you’re already following a blogger who has clicked ‘like‘, the ‘follow‘ button will be replaced with the word ‘following.’ 

 

Image showing details of a blog of somebody who clicked 'like' on a post.
Are you following somebody who clicked ‘like’ on your post?
  • To unfollow, click the ‘Following‘ button. 

Comments

View all the comments that have been left on a post.

Along the top, you can view the following information for a post. 

  • The number of comments it has received.
  • The number of comments that are pending (waiting for approval).
  • The number of comments that have been approved.
  • The number of comments you or WordPress have marked as spam.
  • The number of comments that have been sent to the trash folder.
  • Your replies to comments also show on this page.

You can also sort comments by newest first and oldest first.

With just one click, the ‘bulk edit‘ button allows you to perform a command (approve, un-approve, send to spam, send to trash). However, the ‘bulk edit‘ is only done per page, so if the post has many comments, you’ll need to bulk edit each page.

Image showing options in the comments section of a WordPress post.
An easier way to view comments on a post.
  • You can also perform the following under the comments link –
  • View the post.
  • Approve a comment.
  • Mark and send a comment to the spam folder.
  • Send a comment to the trash bin.
  • Like a comment.
  • Edit a comment.
  • Reply to a comment.

To the right of each comment is a ‘User Info‘ button. Clicking on this button reveals the following information. 

  • The name of the commenter’s WordPress blog. 
  • The commenter’s email address.
  • A link to the commenter’s blog/website.
  • The IP address of the commenter.

You’ll also see a ‘Block User‘ button when clicking ‘User Info.’ If you press ‘Block User,’ any further comments from that user on any of your blog posts are sent directly to your WordPress trash folder. 

Share

  • This neat button allows you to auto-share details of the post to the social media accounts WordPress have an auto-share facility with which you have connected to your blog.
  • Click on the ‘Share Post‘ button to share the post.
Image showing the auto-sharing facility behind the 'sharing' option on WordPress.
Have you set up auto-sharing for your blog posts?
  • The preview button displays your post’s appearance on Facebook, Twitter (now X), LinkedIn, Mastodon, Instagram Business and Tumblr (provided you have set up auto-sharing with them).
  • You can also manage all your social media auto-share connections by clicking on ‘Manage Connections.’  

Copy Post

  • This is my favourite of all the options on the kebab menu.
  • Not only will clicking on this button duplicate your post, but the categories and tags of the post are also copied over. 
  • This is especially beneficial if you run a daily/weekly/monthly blog challenge, series, or promotional posts on your blog.
  • It’s saved me lots of time by not copying, pasting, or redoing links, images, text, tags, and categories. 
  • I also use the ‘copy post‘ function for posts with the same layout (such as my ‘Wordless Wednesday’ posts. 
  • However, if you write excerpts for your blog posts (and I recommend you do), remember to change the excerpt before publishing the post. Otherwise, the excerpt may not make sense. 

Copy Link

  • A link to the post is copied to the clipboard of the device you are using. You can paste the link into an email, message, website, blog post, comment, etc. 

Trash

  • Clicking this button will send your post to the trash folder.
  • You can reinstate the post from the trash folder if you accidentally clicked it.

Let’s wrap things up.

  • There are nine hidden options available to WordPress.Com users on the page that displays their blog posts (and pages).
  • The options are hidden behind a menu known as a meatball menu.
  • The meatball menu opens up a kebab menu listing all available options.
  • Some of the options do exactly as they say on the can.
  • However, other options lead to lots more options and functions.
  • The comments option has a hidden ‘Block User‘ button – great for blocking comments from spammers or those you don’t want leaving comments anymore.
  • No need to copy and paste – The copy option copies an existing blog post and copies over the categories, tags and any images you have on that post, saving you lots of time.
  • It’s worth checking out all the options, especially as some are time-saving functions.

I hope you have found this post useful. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section.

Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.

Follow Hugh on social media. Click the buttons below.

If you enjoyed this post and want more like it, enter your email address and click ‘Subscribe’ to stay up-to-date with my latest content.

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.