What is the Akismet plugin and why should I use it?

Put simply, Akismet is a spam filter for your blog. It should be one of the first things you set up and it will help protect your site from a lot of spam. Spam that can be a headache and can even hurt your site's SEO. Imagine having an email account without a spam filter these days? Yes, bad idea. The same applies to your blog.

There are a few steps to activate Akismet. First, click on the Plugin tab in the left hand side of Wordpress and click to "Activate". A BIG blue button will show up, to Set up your Akismet account, click on that. Then, another button but this time its green!

Next, click here to create a Wordpress account if you don't have one (if you already have a Wordpress.com account you'll just log in).

When you create an account or sign in it will give you three options, select to choose Personal Name Your Own price. This is the choice on the left hand side.

You'll notice a preset price to the right. Slide that back to zero. Fill out the rest of the information and check the three boxes if they apply.
 

You'll finally get your API Key. Copy this.

Last, you'll go back to Wordpress and Akismet, drop in the code to complete the activation!

Nicely done! Akismet will now take care of spam on your site.