akismet is a spam checking plugin that you really should have activated if you allow any form of commenting on your blog posts or pages.

In order to Activate the spam checking you first need to obtain an API key.

WordPress.com is the fully hosted platform for WordPress. If your site is hosted by your chosen hosting company then you are using the self-hosted version of WordPress from WordPress.org. Compare the two flavours.

But it’s a good idea to create an account on WordPress.com because

1. You can define your profile and create a Gravatar
2. You need it if you want to use jetpack
3. You can get an API key that you can use for akismet

So, why not do the following…

1. Sign up to WordPress.com and choose a blog address OR Sign up for just a username on WordPress.com

   Wordpress.com signup

   Register an account with WordPress.com so that you can create a profile with a gravatar and obtain an Akismet API key
2. Navigate to Akismet.com
   

   Akismet

   Visit Akismet.
3. Choose Get a WordPress key and say goodbye to comment spam
4. Click on the Sign Up link of your choice (e.g. Personal), then click on Sign up with WordPress.com
5. Choose “I already have a WordPress.com account”
6. Sign into Akismet with your WordPress.com account
   

   sign into Akismet with your WordPressdotcom account
7. Authorize the connection with WordPress.com
   

   Authorize Akismet - part 2
8. Select a plan (again?)
9. Complete your First name and Last name fields. Seems a bit silly if you’re already signed in to WordPress.com then choose Continue
10. You should get to see your shiny new Akismet API key

    Akismet shiny new API key
11. Follow the instructions to copy and paste the key into your Akismet configuration

Finding your Akismet API key

If you ever need to retrieve your Akismet API key

1. Navigate to the Akismet home page (see screen shot above)
2. Click on the Akismet WordPress.com Sign In button
3. Sign into Akismet with WordPress.com Connect
   

   Authorize Akismet
4. Reveal your Akismet API key
   

   Akismet account - reveal API key

   Click on reveal to see your API key. Copy this into the clipboard so that you can paste it into Akismet settings