Today we will check the 5 best WordPress Profanity Filter Plugins. If you are running a site or blog which accepts user-generated content, you are likely to deal with profanity occasionally. Some of your visitors are likely to leave comments or share posts which are vulgar or offensive. If not dealt with quickly, such content can have adverse effects on your site or business.
Visitors are likely to get upset and keep off from your site. Your site might also get blocked by online content filters. This will not only result in a bad reputation for your business, but also the loss of numerous potential clients. To avoid this, it is very important to install profanity filter plugins which will help you moderate the user-generated content on your site (also, check our WordPress Countdown plugin).
Here are some of the profanity filter plugins you could consider:
#1. WebPurify
The WebPurify profanity filter is one of the best tools for dealing with the problem of profanity. The best thing about this filter is that besides English, it also filters words in Italian, Arabic, Italian, Spanish, French, and Chinese. You don’t have to create your own list of blacklisted words since the filter comes with an exhaustive multi-lingual blacklist. Unlike Word Replacer, WebPurify replaces profane words with a string of asterisks, not other words. WebPurify comes with a 7-day free testing period, after which you will be required to pay for an API key to continue enjoying the services (also, check the best WordPress Membership Plugins list).
#2. WP Content Filter
One of the best things about this plugin is that it allows you to filter a section of a word. For example, you can filter ‘care’ in the word ‘carefree’. WP Content Filter also allows you to replace some letters in a word and retain either the first and/or last letter. For example, ‘care’ could be filtered to appear as ‘c***’, ‘c**e’ or ‘***e’.
#3. Word Replacer
This plugin allows you to replace profane words with your own words. However, unlike WebPurify, it does not come with a blacklist. This means that you will have to invest your time in creating a blacklist as well as suitable word replacements. The best thing about this plugin is that you can choose which specific parts of your site you want to filter. For instance, you can set Word Replacer to only monitor comments from visitors. This will save you the trouble of having to check user comments manually (also, check this Comparison post – WP Super Cache VS W3 Total Cache).
#4. Word Filter Plus
Just like Word Replacer, this plugin allows you to replace blacklisted phrases or words with others of your choice. Once you have installed it, Word Filter Plus will automatically scan and filter all the content on your site. However, this plugin does more than just filter profanity. You can also use it to replace any other content on your site without having to do so manually. For instance, if your email address has changed, Word Filter Plus can help you automatically make these changes (also, check this useful post – WordPress default .htaccess file).
#5. Defensio Anti-Spam
This plugin is not only a profanity filter, but also a spam blocker. It is useful for malicious script and content detection, as well as URL categorization. The main disadvantage of this plugin is that it does not work well alongside other anti-spam plugins. This means that you have to deactivate similar plugins before using the Defensio Anti-Spam plugin (also, you can check our WordPress Pricing table plugin).
With the plugins above, you don’t have to suffer the negative consequences of profanity on your site. Pick up the profanity filter that suits you best and install it right away.