Managing comments on your WordPress site can be time-consuming, especially when dealing with spam or negative feedback.
Disabling comments allows you to streamline your site’s interaction, focusing on content delivery without the distraction of comment sections.
Whether you’re aiming to disable comments on your entire website or on specific posts and pages, WordPress offers flexible options to suit your needs.
This guide will walk you through the steps to effectively disable comments, ensuring your site aligns with your engagement preferences.
Key Takeaways
- Disable all comments: Settings > Discussions > Uncheck “allow people to submit comments on new posts.”
- Disable selective post comments: Posts > Edit > Comments, Do not Allow
- Delete comments: Comments > choose the ones you wish to delete > Move to trash
How To Disable Comments On WordPress
The best way to disable comments for the new posts that you will post here on forwards is by going to settings > discussions > unchecking the third option, which says “allow people to submit comments on new posts.”
Step 1: Log in to your WordPress account
Step 2: Hover on the Settings option on the left panel.
Step 3: Choose Discussions from the popup menu.
Step 4: Uncheck the third option in the Default post settings menu.
Step 5: Scroll down and click on Save Changes.
Note: The setting will affect the new posts and not the old ones. You will have to disable the comments on the old post manually.
How to Disable Comments In WordPress On Individual Pages
To disable the comments on individual pages
Step 1: Log in to the WordPress dashboard and go to posts.
Step 2: Open the Settings panel. It is on the right-hand side.
Step 3: Select the option in front of the discussion. It will look like a blue hyperlink.
Step 4: Select the Closed option.
Step 5: Lastly, click on Save for the changes to take effect.
Note: Doing this will not delete the old comments but will prevent the readers from adding new ones.
Disable Comments On Pages And Posts In Bulk
To disable comments of certain selective posts in bulk, go to All Posts > Check the boxes to select the ones whose comments to disable > Select Edit from the Bulk Actions dropdown menu > Apply > Comments > Do not allow.
Step 1: Go to the All Posts area on your WordPress admin.
Step 2: Select the desired posts by checking off the box in front of them.
Step 3: Click on the Bulk Action option and choose Edit.
Step 4: Now, click on the Apply button next to it.
Step 5: Choose Comments, then click Do not allow.
Step 6: Click on the Update button to save the changes.
How To Delete Unwanted Comments In WordPress?
You can delete unwanted comments by going to the comment section on your WordPress admin.
Step 1: Go to the Comments tab on your WordPress dashboard.
Step 2: Next, you’ll want to select all the comments (ones you wish to delete) and choose the ‘Move to Trash’ option from the ‘Bulk Actions’ dropdown box.
Step 3: Click ‘Apply.’
Why Should You Disable Comments In WordPress?
The most common reasons why you would want to disable comments in WordPress are:
- Reduce Spam: Disabling comments helps prevent unwanted, spammy content that clutters your site.
- Improve Site Performance: Without comments, your pages load faster, enhancing user experience.
- Simplify Management: Turning off comments saves time by eliminating the need for moderation.
- Maintain Focused Content: Without comments, visitors concentrate on your content without distractions.
- Enhance Security: Disabling comments reduces the risk of malicious code injections through comment forms.
- Avoid Negative Discussions: Turning off comments prevents potential trolling and negative interactions.
- Prevent Resource Drain: Managing numerous comments can consume server resources; disabling them helps conserve bandwidth.
- Align with Content Goals: If your site doesn’t benefit from user discussions, disabling comments keeps the focus on your content.
- Maintain Professionalism: Without comments, your site presents a clean, professional appearance without user-generated content.
- Control User Interaction: Disabling comments gives you full control over user engagement on your site.
Can You Enable Comments In WordPress After You Disable It?
You can enable comments in WordPress in the same manner you chose to disable them in the first place.
So, if you disable them for the entire website, go to Settings > Discussions > and recheck the third option, “allow people to submit comments on new posts.”
Similarly, you can also do it for the individual pages by going to those individual pages and simply choosing the Open option from the discussion area of the post.
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Conclusion: You Can Disable Comments On WordPress By Going To Settings & Then Discussions
Whatever the reason might be, disabling comments in WordPress is easy. You can find the “allow people to submit comments on new posts” option in the discussions area of WordPress settings.
Alternatively, you can also disable comments for individual posts or more than one post by selecting those posts in bulk, choosing the Edit option from the dropdown menu, and choosing the Do not Allow option next to the ‘comments’ option.
Reenabling the comments is the same as disabling them. Just follow the same steps and enable them on the last one.
FAQs
On the editor page, click the Settings icon, go to the Page section, and scroll to Discussion. Check “Allow comments” to enable them or uncheck it to disable comments on that page or post.
In the WordPress admin dashboard, go to the left sidebar and click Comments. Use the Bulk Actions drop-down, select Move to Trash, and click Apply to delete all comments from published posts and pages.
Comment moderation lets the creator review all new comments before they appear publicly. This helps maintain content quality and control the number of visible comments.
You can disable comments on the media pages using a separate code snippet, which can be pasted into your functions.php file. Consulting a WordPress expert can be the best way to do it.
