{"id":5242,"date":"2020-03-09T15:00:10","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T14:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/?p=5242"},"modified":"2020-12-29T14:34:04","modified_gmt":"2020-12-29T13:34:04","slug":"how-to-moderate-wordpress-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-moderate-wordpress-comments\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Moderate WordPress Comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When we finish reading a blog post or an article on a subject we\u2019re interested in, sometimes we feel like dropping a comment to the author. Whether we want to share our insightful two cents on a particular matter or discuss how much we like or dislike the content (be it written or visual), it\u2019s nice to stumble upon an open comments section. What matters is to stay respectful at all times and not spread unnecessary hate. [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]Any kind of content creation is usually a two-way street. When you post your work online, people are going to read it, view it, analyze it. And if they decide to comment on it, it\u2019s only polite to send them a reply. In WordPress, comments are enabled by default<\/strong>. If you opt to keep things that way, it\u2019ll be of use to learn how to moderate WordPress comments. It\u2019s important to control them, in order to keep away spam, as well as anything abusive or insulting to others.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”68px”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

How to Moderate WordPress Comments<\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]To start moderating comments in WordPress, go to your admin dashboard, and from the menu select Comments<\/strong><\/em>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”]

\n
\n \"WordPress <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=”38px”][vc_column_text]Next you\u2019ll see the total number of comments on your website, as well as how many of them there are in each of these categories \u2013 Mine, Pending, Approved, and Spam<\/strong><\/em>. Once you delete a comment, it\u2019ll appear in the Trash<\/strong><\/em> tab. As you hover over a comment, options for moderating it appear: Approve, Reply, Quick Edit, Spam, and Trash<\/strong><\/em>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”]
\n
\n \"WordPress <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=”38px”][vc_column_text]When a comment is acceptable, you can Approve<\/strong><\/em> it, so it becomes visible on your website.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]To respond to the author, click on Reply<\/strong>.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]If there\u2019s a typo in the comment or some other small mistake, you can make appropriate changes by selecting the Quick Edit<\/strong><\/em> option.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]In order to moderate the comment some more, such as add the author\u2019s details and alter the text a bit if needed, press Edit<\/strong><\/em>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”]
\n
\n \"Author <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=”38px”][vc_column_text]In case there are Spam<\/strong> comments, simply mark them as such. Check if the comment contains multiple links, if the email address is genuine or if the email address even exists. There are websites, such as the email checker<\/a>, where you can enter an email address to verify its validity. And if you\u2019re uncertain how to tell organic comments from spam, this article<\/a> can be of help in that regard.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]Deleting spam is necessary, unless you want to risk having your website removed from Google\u2019s search results. To control it better, you could add an anti-spam plugin to your website<\/strong>. Luckily, WordPress comes with Akismet<\/a> installed. This plugin does a decent job of keeping spam at bay. When you flag a comment as spam, Akismet learns from it, so the next time a similar comment shows up, it\u2019ll automatically move it to the spam folder. To start using it, you first need to activate it from your admin dashboard.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”]
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\n \"Akismet\" <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=”38px”][vc_column_text]Upon activation, sign up for an Akismet account using your WordPress credentials. [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”]
\n
\n \"Sign <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=”38px”][vc_column_text]You can choose one of the three plans available<\/a>, depending on the type of your website. As you choose a plan, you\u2019ll be transferred to a checkout to confirm the purchase (in case you chose one of the two premium packages). You\u2019ll get the API key next. Enter it in the designated field within Akismet settings (from your WordPress dashboard), and connect your website with your Akismet account.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]The thing about Akismet that many people dislike is that it removes some legit comments and marks them as spam. Because of that, you should check the spam box on the regular<\/strong> to ensure genuine comments still appear on your website. Mark the comment that Akismet removed as Not Spam<\/strong><\/em>, and it\u2019ll show up in the Pending<\/strong><\/em> tab.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]Another downside of using this plugin is that it can slow down your website<\/strong>. Also, it doesn\u2019t really block spammers. This means that someone can send you hundreds of spam comments a day, so if you don\u2019t check the spam folder often (even with WordPress automatically deleting spam comments after 15 days), you could end up with clogged disk space.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]But Akismet isn\u2019t the only solution available. There are loads of anti-spam plugins you could try, such as Anti-spam<\/a>, Disqus Comment System<\/a>, comments \u2013 wpDiscuz<\/a>, and others.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

How to Turn Off Comments for Specific Posts<\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]If you wish to disable comments on certain posts and pages, from your admin dashboard go to that post\/page. Next, under Discussion<\/strong><\/em> make sure to uncheck the Allow Comments<\/strong><\/em> box. To find it in Classic Editor<\/strong>, first make sure the Discussion box is ticked. At the top of the screen click on Screen Options<\/em> to check if the option is enabled.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”]

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\n \"Screen <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=”38px”][vc_column_text]Then, scroll a bit down the page to find the Discussion section and disable comments.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”]
\n
\n \"Allow <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=”38px”][vc_column_text]In Gutenberg<\/strong>, you\u2019ll find this option in a lower right side of the screen.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”]
\n
\n \"Allow <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=”38px”][vc_column_text]And if for some reason you wish to disable comments on multiple pages or the entire website<\/a>, you can do that in WordPress in a few simple steps.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”68px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Global Comments Settings Configuration<\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]To modify comment settings on your entire website, from your menu select Settings > Discussion<\/strong><\/em>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”]

\n
\n \"Settings <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=”38px”][vc_column_text]Here, you\u2019ll find multiple options that allow you to specify a myriad of comment-related settings<\/strong>. For instance, you can choose if you wish to receive an email whenever someone posts a comment, or to manually approve comments before they are published. Furthermore, you can set the number of links allowed per comment. As we discussed earlier, some spam comments come with a large number of links, so this is also a great way of controlling them. You can also blacklist comments if they contain certain names, URLs, IP addresses, etc.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]All comments that are held will await your approval in the Pending<\/strong><\/em> comment section.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]In this section you can also choose whether you wish to display avatars on your website or not. WordPress uses gravatars<\/a> by default, but if a user doesn\u2019t have a Gravatar account, you can set a default avatar for them.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]Once you\u2019re done with all the settings, don\u2019t forget to Save Changes<\/strong><\/em>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#f0f0f0″][vc_empty_space height=”50px”][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”top-picks-banner”][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#f0f0f0″][vc_empty_space height=”60px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

In conclusion<\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Comments are a great way of maintaining a nice rapport with your audience. By engaging with them, you can significantly increase your chances of building a solid following and get even more comments<\/a> on your posts. Also, your visitors can perhaps suggest topics they\u2019d like to learn more about, which means new article ideas for you.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”28px”][vc_column_text]Moderating comments can seem like a bothersome and time-consuming activity, but it\u2019s definitely worth it. Legit comments can have a significant impact on your SEO rankings<\/a>, so take your time to go through what your visitors wrote and adjust the discussion settings the way that works best for you. And to stay spam-free, make sure you install an anti-spam plugin. By following these simple steps, you can turn your comments section into a pleasurable read.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Comments are a great way of maintaining a nice rapport with your audience. Learn how to moderate your WordPress comments and turn that section into a pleasurable read. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[14,4,13],"class_list":["post-5242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tutorials","tag-core","tag-tips","tag-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}