Captcha (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Human Apart) was invented to eradicate the spambots from the websites to ease the business owners and the customers. Initially, the captcha was introduced in 1997. Thenceforth, we are using Captcha(s). Now captcha(s) are seen as a hindrance to reaching the desired page and most of the times websites lose the traffic.
Why Do Captcha Alternatives Are Required?
Accessibility is one of the reasons Captcha alternatives are needed. However, there are many reasons we have in our bucket to opt-in captcha alternatives.
Loss Of Business
On average, 85% of website visitors pass the Captcha test when the images get translated into text. It takes 10 seconds to solve one captcha that makes the website less accessible to its users. Also, the number of visitors could decline resulting in less traffic, less money.
It Does Not Give 100% Security Against Spambots
With advancements in technology, there are advanced spambots too. They are smarter and more sophisticated now. Captcha(s) are unable to detect these spambots, and their purpose of existence doesn’t get fulfilled. One can only expect to catch bad or older spambots through Captcha(s).
Not Suitable For Visually Impaired Users
It is difficult for users with visual impairment to solve the text or image Captcha(s) that limits Captcha’s accessibility and makes your website less reachable.
Captcha Alternatives For Accessibility
1. Password Protect WordPress – PPWP Pro
It is a WordPress plugin to protect each page, post, product and category from spambots. Its automatic password generation feature secures the website content.
With PPWP, you can avail of password-protected content for premium users. Also, you can set password expiration limits and entry limits too.
In addition, it has the “sitewide protection” feature that inhibits Google to index that particular page, and due to the password, any unauthorised user will be unable to access the page without the correct password. Moreover, the site will give access even with the direct URL as well.
Also, users feel their accounts are safe with PPWP.
Price: Starts from $178.80 annually
2. Akismet Anti-Spam
It is like a homeowner securing its home itself. Akismet is developed by the creator of WordPress. With 5 million active installations, Akismet Anti-Spam is one of the favourite WordPress plugins.
It seems an appropriate captcha alternative as it automatically filters out the spam comments from the posts, and those are safe in the backend for you to check in case you want to restore any one of them. Further, it supports 70 languages so, whichever language you speak, Akismet will understand you.
Also, you will not need to download it from somewhere else. It comes by default when you download WordPress. All you need is to “enable” and it will start working for your WP website.
Price: Starts from $10 monthly
3. CleanTalk
CleanTalk is considered a “Universal AntiSpam” plugin with over 4,20,000 trusted users. It accumulates the spam comments in the folder that could be deleted automatically if opted. Alternatively, you can simply block the spam comments by restricting a particular country, language, logs of visited URL, and personal black list.
4. Honeypot
Spambots are smart; Honeypot is smarter! It is a simple coding strategy made to attract bots. Spambots fill all the visible forms on the landing page. Considering this fact, Honeypot creates a hidden form through JavaScript or CSS for websites. If the hidden form is filled in, it means it is filled by a spambot.
Through Honeypot, it is to identify a spambot and put it on the blacklist.
Price: Free of cost
5. Antispam Bee
This plugin filters out the spam comments and blocks them automatically as per the settings you would have done like, restricting specific language, country or Gravatar.
You can track the spam comments rate by going to spam statistics on the dashboard and how many spambots have been blocked yet from Antispam Bee. Moreover, you may get a notification about spam activities on the mail.
Price: Free of cost
6. Gamification
While captcha(s) have become monotonous, developers came up with something funny and secure. Users will have to drag things from one place to another for human verification purposes.
Sometimes, it may slow down the speed of the website but generally, it works fine. Also, users find it more convenient than the older captchas.
Price: Starts from $30 monthly
7. No CAPTCHA ReCaptcha Reboot
Google developed a captcha solution that requires a single click from the human for verification. With advanced risk analysis and a 99.8% accuracy rate by Google, now users can conveniently visit your website, and they do not need to spend a lot of time verifying their human identification. Therefore, it increases the conversion rate.
Price: Free of cost
8. Slider
It is one of the easiest captcha alternatives as the user only needs to slide the bar from left to right to validate their human identification. Moreover, the spambot will be unable to see this slider. Also, it does not hang on your phone/laptop.
Price: Free of cost
Conclusion
To eradicate the unwanted spambots, these captcha alternatives could be appropriate for your websites. You can choose any one of them according to your requirements and the size of the business.