Using hCaptcha for WordPress to Block Bots on the Login Page
Spambots and other automated scripts constantly probe the internet looking for weaknesses in WordPress websites. hCaptcha for WordPress is designed to identify these bots and prevent them from accessing your site.
In this post you’ll learn all about hCaptcha for WordPress and see how it fits into the overall strategy for securing the login area on your website.
Table of Contents
- What is a Turning Test, CAPTCHA and hCaptcha?
- hCaptcha for WordPress
- Using the hCaptcha for WordPress plugin
- Want to learn more about logging into WordPress?
What is a Turning Test, CAPTCHA and hCaptcha?
Before we begin, let’s define a few things.
The Turing test
The Turing test was first proposed by English mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing in 1950 to determine if machines could think. In this test, a human evaluator judges whether answers to natural-language questions are from a human or a machine.
CAPTCHA
CAPTCHA is an acronym for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. A typical CAPTCHA is a distorted image of a word. Correctly deciphering the word is the challenge for the user.
In this case, a computer administers the CAPTCHA to a human. This is called a reverse Turing test.
reCAPTCHA is a popular CAPTCHA implementation where challenge words originally came from digitized books. Assembling the solved challenges helped digitize books until it was
Google acquired reCAPTCHA in 2009 and repurposed it to identify images.
hCaptcha
Developed in 2017, hCaptcha is a privacy-focused alternative to reCAPTCHA. Like its predecessors, hCaptcha protects websites from spambots and other automated tools.
In this case, the Turing test requires site visitors to read a phrase and select specific images from a set of similar imagines. For example, the test may begin with a gallery of nine images of random vehicles. A successful Turing test would require the user to select only the trains from the other vehicles.
Notably, websites that use hCaptcha can earn revenue online by solving CAPTCHAs.
hCaptcha for WordPress

hCaptcha for WordPress is a free plugin that has been available on the WordPress repository since 2019. Once installed and configured, the plugin will present the hCaptcha Turing test on the the WordPress login page.
Obtaining the hCaptcha keys
Before proceeding, be sure you have created a free hCaptcha account and logged into the hCaptcha website. Once logged in:
- Click the
Sites
link in the top menu then click theNew Site
button. - Add a
Name
andDomain
for the site. The remaining defaults should be fine as shown below. - Click the
Save
button to complete the site addition and return to theSites
area where your new site should be listed. - Click the
Settings
button for the new site. Copy theSitekey
for use below. - At the top-right, click your profile icon and then click
Settings
. Copy theSecret key
for use below.

Default settings for a new site in hCaptcha.
Installing the plugin
To install the plugin:
- Login to your WordPress backend using an account with
administrator
privileges. - One the left sidebar choose
Plugins > Add new
. - Search the available plugins for
hCaptcha for WordPress
. - Once located in the search results, click the
Install
and then theActivate
buttons.
Configuring the plugin
To configure the plugin:
- One the left sidebar choose
Settings > hCaptcha
. - Enter the
Sitekey
andSecret key
you saved from the hCaptcha website (above). - Select
Enable hCaptcha on Login Form
. - Scroll to the bottom and click the
Save
button.
Using the hCaptcha for WordPress plugin
If everything is set up correctly, you should now see the hCaptcha challenge similar to that shown below. Clicking the I am human
select box triggers the Turing test.
If you are getting a lot of failed login attempts or a lot of traffic on your login page, consider using the hCaptcha plugin. Be sure to warn any administrators of the change as some legitimate users may be surprised and confused by the extra login steps required.

Want to learn more about logging into WordPress?
If you’re interested to learn more about logging into WordPress, check out our detailed guide. It has lots of information and resources on accessing, securing, and customizing the WordPress login area.