9 Ways to Tell if a WordPress Article is Legit

Long gone are the days when the veracity of internet sources was undeniable. Today, www is more like a minefield than a playground. It is difficult to take full advantage of the digital world when a large number of articles are fake and unreliable.

The evolution of the internet has brought many convenient instruments for learning, shopping, and entertaining oneself. Nowadays, you can find various websites publishing any kind of material – from literature study guides to cooking tutorials. It seems as if the internet knows everything and has no blind spots. It may be true but do not rush to believe every word you read.

First of all, make sure you know how to recognize whether a WordPress article is legit or unsafe. There is no doubt WordPress is an amazing piece of software. With almost a third of the entire internet overtaken, this can’t be otherwise. However, things can still go wrong. Servers might get problems and files might be misconfigured.

Many people use WordPress and other free or inexpensive platforms to spread misinformation. Luckily, there exist some reliable methods of checking the reliability of sites. Below we will provide the essentials in detail.

1. Visual Site Security Check

The internet is full of sites that are either fake or scams. This is a bitter truth of life. Scammers monitor “hype” topics and try to play on human emotions to gain personal benefits. Imagine intending to buy an essay paper online and jumping at the bait of a swindler. Quite an unpleasant situation, isn’t it?

Let’s start with the simplest advice. Most people pay little attention to the address bar of their browser. This is a huge mistake. The address bar contains vital information about your protection degree. So it’s time to get used to glancing at it each time you visit a new page.

Remember to check whether a site has an SSL certificate (the most important element is the presence of that “s” letter). In addition, pay attention to the lock icon in the address bar, if there is one.

2. Assess Grammar

A potent piece of evidence against cheaters can be the article’s text evaluation. Writing a quality article for a web resource is a process requiring a decent amount of time and energy. Therefore, if you encounter errors and misprints, it is likely the text isn’t legit.

Indeed, a reliable source does not publish articles that look like they’ve been composed by a poorly educated person. On the other hand, everyone makes random mistakes – even large companies. But if the errors become egregious, you need to think it over.

3. Verifying Plagiarism

Finding spelling mistakes is helpful but what if the article doesn’t contain any? In this case, you may turn to another method of confirming your suspicions. Visit plagiarism checking platforms to investigate the issue. In addition to written material, you may use visual content such as photos or videos. Dropping images into Google and conducting a reverse image search will put all cards on the table.

Verifying Plagiarism

4. Preserving the Traditions: Asking Google

Google has developed a means for website validation tool – Google Safe Browsing Tool. The only thing you need to do is enter the site address in the form and you will receive information about the safety of the resource. These types of online tools use data from various antivirus solutions and other protection instruments to scan sites for threats.

5. Finding Out Who Owns the Site

Another effective method to distinguish a fake article is to look at the website’s physical address. If you find yourself on the site of a large brand with a long history, then there is a high probability that this page is safe.

This recommendation means you must try to find answers to the following questions.

  • Does the topic come from a reputable source?
  • Do you know who has written the article?
  • Does the website correspond to the author?
  • Do the authors acknowledge their involvement in the article writing and provide a link to the site distributing it?

6. Look at the Contact Information

After taking all the above-mentioned steps, you may still have doubts about the safety of the website. Try to find the contact section and, if there is one, contact its owners and check their email address in a search engine for reviews. If you would rather not all anyone, google this email address. If they have a physical address, check it as well. For example, if a marketing company’s address shows up as a grocery store in Malta, it is probably a scam.

7. Excessive Advertising

Of course, the appearance of ads on the screen does not necessarily mean you are dealing with an unreliable WordPress article. Even solid agencies sometimes incorporate promotions in their materials to earn more money. But there exists a difference between a regular amount of ads and heaps of advertising that hinder the effective operation of the site. Remember that advertisements that block content are obvious red flags and point at unreliable sources.

8. The Profile of the Source of Information

Practice shows that in order to expand the audience and, consequently, increase advertising revenue, many sources publish messages that go beyond their thematic specialization. Such articles may include information aiming to explain some events, their scientific foundations, and principles of operation.

Therefore, the articles should not be trusted if the material provided does not relate to their immediate subject. For example, the article with specific advice on the treatment of certain diseases, published in the automotive publication. Surprising, isn’t it? Make sure to trust only those materials that correspond to their website theme.

9. Avoiding Clickbaits

Quality sources value their reputation and do not publish articles with loud or so-called clickbait headlines. The point is that such headings encourage users to click on the article link. Accordingly, click baits are used by those websites whose profits directly depend on the number of page views and the advertising placed on them.

Conclusion

When unreliable information is looming large, it is easy to stop believing everything you see on the internet. Still, legit articles exist, you just have to make some effort to find them.

We hope that reading these recommendations helped you understand that articles need to be read with caution. Stay alert and always submit unknown sites for additional scrutiny.