WordPress is a free and open source blog publishing application. It has a template system which includes widgets that can be reorganized. Moreover this can be done without editing the PHP or HTML code. Widgets are a buzzword that has been given to the sidebar chopping plug-in in WordPress themes. Widgets are gadgets or gizmos that can help personalize your WordPress theme, and enable the user to add or rearrange different components without using HTML.

There seems to be a widget revolution that is going around on the internet. Everywhere you look, you are bound to find news widget, stocks widget, RFF feeds widget, content widgets, photo widgets, video player widgets, etc. It is an application that can be put on a blog, social profile or web page which provides visitors user specific and user friendly information, extra functionality and some fun!

They come in a ready to use format and are visually very attractive in the form of graphs, photos, statistics, numbers, pictures or just anything. It is a simple HTML code which is available on the websites that hosts free widgets. You can copy the HTML code and embed it on your web page.

With so many widgets, how can you choose the right widget for your blog? Read further to find out.

The first thing to look out while choosing the right widget for your blog, or web site is customization. If the widget is customizable, it would be able to fit your blog or website. A customizable widget will make sure that the widget will not clash with the layout, design or color of the blog or the web site. Plus you will be able to maintain some symmetry with the content as well. If your chosen widget cannot be customized, it is best to make sure that it fits with your blog or web site, and does not look different.

The next thing that needs to be considered while choosing the right widget is price. If you have price constraints, you are most likely to choose from the thousands of free widgets that are already available on the internet.

It is also important to study the kind of people and their demographics who would be visiting your blog or website. It is best to choose widgets that would be liked by them. Also make sure that your widgets would work with all browsers.

An important factor in choosing the right widget for your blog or web site, would be one that is relevant to your topic and content, and shares the same display and look of your existing blog or web site. While choosing the right widget for your blog, make sure that the widget can add substance to the existing content. For example, you would not like personal photos on a stock or technology website, or a stock sticker on your photography blog. It is also important to decide which out of the 6 standard sizes of widgets should be used.

Finally even though it may be very tempting to put numerous widgets on your website, do not make the mistake to do so. Only add those that you really need and you would really use. Too many widgets on a blog or a web site, could make it confusing and less efficient to use.

A recent research carried out by means of polling states the top 10 widgets on blogs and web pages are:

• Bookmark This
• Email Subscription
• Picture Badge
• Recent Visitor
• Search Blog
• Snapshot widget
• Twitter Update
• Playlist Video Widget
• Web Poll Widget

Spam, has been described as the scourge of the web, and with good reason. This self serving, irrelevant junk has no place in society, and especially not on your blog. Though Wordpress has many methods of dealing with spam, there are still downsides to receiving spam that you may not have thought about.

That being the case, here are some tips for reducing spam comments in Wordpress.

Even though you may have several methods in place for catching spam comments in your theme, they are still there, living in your database. This means that your database being used to store junk. Think about it as part of your living room where you stack junk mail, and then you are getting the idea.

Another downside, is that good comments get mixed up with all of this, as they can be accidentally marked as spam, and subsequently, they loose their chance to be seen on your blog. These comments could have enhanced your blog, and encouraged debate, but they simply never got the chance. These blogs are known as false positives in the business.

You could argue that if Askimet, or another technique is successful in stopping spam appearing on a site, and that is all you care about, then there is no problem, but remember you could miss the false positive comments, and they could have done wonders for your blog.

Pre Wordpress 2.7, there was a plug-in called “close old posts”, and this feature simply closed trackbacks and comments, after a set number of days. This plug-in has been built into 2.7, but in all likelihood not switched on.

To switch it on, log into Wordpress admin page, and select the settings option. From this select discussion, and when you are brought to the comments settings page, select other comment settings, which is the second section on the page. From this option choose automatically close comments after xx days. Obviously select the amount of days you want the comments open for. The default is 14.

This is a good option, as spammers normally target posts that are older. By using this option you will give enough time for people to read and comment on a post, and so the post still gets its shot at glory, and the spammers get disappointed.

Another good tip for reducing spam comments in Wordpress, is to use a CAPTCHA. Though some find this feature frustratingly annoying, it is a good anti-spam tool. It is also useful if you do not wish to set, or unable to set, the automatically close comments after xx days option.

There is a debate whether CAPTCHAs are accessible are not. We have all used ones where the letters and numbers that you have to type in, to validate a login or a function on a website, are simply undecipherable, so the rule here is to use one that can be read. Also, bear in mind that your readers will find this annoying.

Another tip for reducing spam comments in Wordpress, is to use the trackback validation plug-in. This gizmo will check to see if the blog that has sent you a trackback/pingback, has actually linked to your blog, or is just pretending. If it is found to be invalid, the trackback is sent to the moderation queue, or deleted automatically.

Though these tips on reducing spam comments in Wordpress, will not completely stop spam comments coming through, at least your database will be less cluttered, and false positive comments have a fair chance of seeing the light of day. Remember, that the less spam you have, the better and smoother your blog will run.