Basic WordPress options and configuration
General Settings
First you need to give your WordPress a name; on the right hand sidebar go to “Tool” and then “Settings”
Next fill out the site name and tagline. The name is literally what your site will be called in every page, it’s important. The tagline is what will show up in search results as a description of your site.
Also MAKE SURE that “Anyone can register” is turned OFF.
Make sure to save your changes.
Discussion Settings
After that we make sure to lock down comments and users; Go to “Settings” and then “Discussion”
Deselect the 3rd check box; “Allow people to submit comments”
We do this because the VAST majority of comments are from bots and hackers. So we need to limit the opportunity for them to mess with WordPress. If you want community involvement then use Social Media to create a conversation and reach out to your community. As far as I’m concerned everyone can look at my site… they just can’t touch it.
Next as an extra layer of security I select “Users must be registered and logged in to comment”
Because I’m not letting anyone add themselves as a user… no one should be able to comment even after I’ve turned comments off.
Then last but not least I make it so if any comment gets through it STILL has to be approved.
