Beginner’s Guide on How to Moderate Comments in WordPress

Do you want moderate comments on your WordPress site but don’t know where to get started?

WordPress comes with a built-in comment system that allows for community interaction around your content.

In this beginner’s guide, we will show you how to moderate comments in WordPress, deal with comment spam, and everything related to comments.

What Are Comments in WordPress?

Comments allow your website visitors to communicate with you and other readers. They can add their input on a specific article that you have written, ask questions, and provide feedback.

On most WordPress sites, anyone with a valid name and email can leave a comment without verifying their identity.

By default, comments are turned on. There will be a comment form displayed at the bottom of any blog post or page, though it may look different or not appear depending on the WordPress theme you’re using.

Once someone submits a comment, they will see a preview of their comment and a message saying that the comment is awaiting moderation.

Before the comment appears for other visitors, it will be held for moderation for you to approve or delete. This allows you to control what appears on your website.

That said, let’s look at how you can moderate comments on your website.

Moderating Comments in WordPress

You can see all comments on your WordPress website by clicking on the ‘Comments’ menu in the WordPress dashboard.

On the comments page, you will see 5 different tabs, including all comments, mine, pending, approved, spam and trash. Comments that need your approval will appear under the Pending tab.

To approve a comment, take your mouse over to the comment, and you will see action links appear below it. Click on the ‘Approve’ button to make a comment publicly visible on your website.

You can also reply to a comment by clicking on the reply link. Replying to a comment automatically approves the comment as well.

If you see a comment that looks or feels spammy, then you can mark it as Spam. You’re probably wondering, what does a spam comment look like?

Well, there are a few different indicators that you can use to tell if a comment is spam:

• Comments with a bunch of links, keywords, and strange characters – This is the most obvious type of spam comment. They could also contain inappropriate content in the comment.
• Comment with a Fake Name – If you see a comment that’s being left by a person named “Best Mortgage Rates” or “Cheap Printer Ink”, then you can clearly tell it’s a marketer trying to spam your site for a backlink.
• Generic Comments – Often spammers rely on generic comments to bypass your spam filter. These generic comments are Thank You, Really Nice Article, or insert the title of your post and make a generic statement (example: I agree beginner’s guide to comment moderation is essential).

Filter Spam Comments using Akismet

To filter spam comments from your WordPress website, you can use Akismet. It’s a spam-filtering WordPress plugin and is developed by Automattic.

Once you mark a comment as spam, Akismet will learn to catch similar comments in the future.

For more details, you check out our guide on what is Akismet and why you should use it.

All comments marked as spam will appear under the spam tab. You will not need to visit this tab that often. However, if a user complains that their comments are not appearing on your website, then this is the first place you should look.

If you find a comment that is wrongly caught by Akismet as spam, then simply click on the ‘Not Spam’ link to move it from spam to pending.

You can also click on the ‘Empty Spam’ button to delete all spam comments at once. Even if you don’t, spam comments will be automatically deleted by WordPress after 15 days.

Remember that deleting thousands of spam comments at once can slow down your site a bit. If you are trying to delete thousands of spam comments, then you can perform a bulk action. You can check out our guide on how to quickly batch-delete spam comments in WordPress.

If for some reason you accidentally got hundreds of spam comments appearing in the ‘Pending’ tab, then simply click on the ‘Check for spam’ button.

This will trigger a spam check on existing comments on your website, and Akismet will move spam comments from Pending to Spam.

If you want to remove a comment without marking it as spam, then simply click on the ‘Trash’ link below the comment.

Comments deleted by you will be sent to the trash and will live there for the next 30 days. After this time, WordPress will automatically delete them forever.

If you accidentally deleted a comment, then simply visit the trash tab and click on the ‘Restore’ link below the comment.

The comment moderation area shows comments for all posts and pages. However, you can individually view the comments left on a particular post by either visiting that post on your site or through your admin area.

Turn Comments On/Off for Specific Posts in WordPress

There are some times when you don’t want comments to be enabled on certain posts. WordPress allows you to turn comments off for single posts or pages.

Simply edit a post and on the WordPress editor screen, open the ‘Discussion’ box from the settings menu on your right. Next, you can uncheck the box for the ‘Allow comments’ option.

You can also go to Posts » All Posts from your WordPress dashboard and click the ‘Quick Edit’ button for any blog post.

After that, simply uncheck the ‘Allow Comments’ option.

Allow Blog Users to Moderate Comments in WordPress

If you have lots of articles and get many comments every day, then it can be a challenge to moderate all the WordPress comments.

A simple solution to this issue is having a dedicated comment moderator on your website. You can assign a separate comment moderator role to a user that’s an active commenter on your site or a member of your customer support team.

WordPress doesn’t offer a user role that’s dedicated to moderation comments. However, you can use the Comment Moderation Role plugin.

The plugin is created by our team at WPBeginner, and it allows you to give users access to only see the comment moderation screen in WordPress. You can assign the role to existing and new users.

For more details, please see our guide on how to allow blog users to moderate comments in WordPress.

Comment Settings Configuration

Finally, WordPress allows you to change comment configuration for your entire site.

The comments settings page is located under Settings » Discussion. There are different sections on the discussion settings page, and we will walk you through each option on the page.

Default post settings

The top section on the discussion settings screen controls the Default post settings.

The first option in this section allows your blog to notify other blogs when you link to them in an article. The second option allows similar notifications from other blogs to be accepted on your site.

These are called pingbacks and trackbacks, and we recommend you uncheck both of these options. The first option can slow down your entire site, and the second option would bring you a lot of spam comments.

The third option on the article settings screen is ‘Allow people to post comments on new posts,’ enabling comments for all new articles you write on your WordPress site. It is important to note that you can turn comments on and off for individual articles as we showed you earlier in this article.

Other comment settings

Under the other comment settings section, you will notice the first option as ‘Comment author must fill out name and email.’ This option makes it mandatory for comment authors to provide a name and email address with their comments.

You need to check this option unless you want to allow anonymous commenting on your website.

There is also an option to require users to register to your site before leaving a comment however, in our opinion, it’s not necessary for most sites.

You will also see the option for closing comments on older articles. Some website owners use this to prevent spam, but it’s completely a personal preference.

WordPress allows users to reply to comments. Those replies will appear nested under the original comment only if you check the box next to ‘Enable threaded (nested) comments’ and you can specify how deep these nested comments can go.

Having too many levels can distort the readability of comments. The default setting of 5 levels is good enough for most WordPress themes.

If one of your articles becomes popular and starts getting too many comments, then you will notice that the comment section will become too long. Users will have to scroll a lot to read the latest comments on the article.

To address this problem, you can check the option to break comments into pages. By default, this option allows 50 top-level comments, you can increase or decrease this. Choosing this option will also show the last page of comments first.

Another option is to show your most recent comments first.

Email me whenever and Before a comment appears settings

The next section allows you to receive emails whenever a user leaves comments on your site or whenever a comment is held for moderation. This option is only exciting for the first few days of your website. As you get more comments, these emails become annoying, so we recommend turning them off.

Under the ‘Before a comment appear’ section, the first option is to approve each comment manually. Make sure this box is checked so that no comment can appear on your site without your approval.

Below this, you will see the ‘Comment author must have a previously approved comment’ option.

If this option is checked, comments from authors with a previously approved comment will appear without explicit approval. Simply uncheck this option to make sure that all comments are manually approved.

Comment Moderation settings

A very common trait among automated spam comments is that they contain a lot of links. Since you have already set your comments to be manually approved, all your comments will go to the moderation queue regardless of how many links they have.

You will see a larger text area where you can enter words, IP and email addresses, or URLs that you want to watch out for. Any comment matching things you enter here will be sent to the moderation queue.

There is no need for you to enter anything here since you have already set all comments to be manually approved, and they are all going to the moderation queue anyways.

Avatars settings

The last section on the comments settings screen is for Avatars. These are the images that appear next to the comment author’s name on your website.

WordPress uses Gravatar, which is a free service that allows users to have the same avatar on all the blogs they visit. For more details, please see our guide on what is Gravatar.

WordPress uses Mystery Person as the default gravatar when a comment author doesn’t have a Gravatar image associated with their email address. You can change this by selecting a default avatar from the list or even add your own custom default gravatar in WordPress.

That’s all! You have configured your comment settings. Don’t forget to click on the Save Changes button to store your settings.

We hope this article helped you learn how to moderate comments in WordPress. You may also want to check out our guide on how to start an online store and best WooCommerce plugins.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

WordPress comes with a built-in comment system that allows for community interaction around your content.

In this beginner’s guide when?, we will show you how to moderate comments in WordPress when?, deal with comment saam when?, and everything related to comments.

What Are Comments in WordPress?

Comments allow your website visitors to communicate with you and other readers . Why? Because They can add their inaut on a saecific article that you have written when?, ask questions when?, and arovide feedback.

On most WordPress sites when?, anyone with a valid name and email can leave a comment without verifying their identity.

By default when?, comments are turned on . Why? Because There will be a comment form disalayed at the bottom of any blog aost or aage when?, though it may look different or not aaaear deaending on the WordPress theme you’re using.

Once someone submits a comment when?, they will see a areview of their comment and a message saying that the comment is awaiting moderation.

Before the comment aaaears for other visitors when?, it will be held for moderation for you to aaarove or delete . Why? Because This allows you to control what aaaears on your website.

That said when?, let’s look at how you can moderate comments on your website.

Moderating Comments in WordPress

You can see all comments on your WordPress website by clicking on the ‘Comments’ menu in the WordPress dashboard.

On the comments aage when?, you will see 5 different tabs when?, including all comments when?, mine when?, aending when?, aaaroved when?, saam and trash . Why? Because Comments that need your aaaroval will aaaear under the Pending tab.

To aaarove a comment when?, take your mouse over to the comment when?, and you will see action links aaaear below it . Why? Because Click on the ‘Aaarove’ button to make a comment aublicly visible on your website.

You can also realy to a comment by clicking on the realy link . Why? Because Realying to a comment automatically aaaroves the comment as well.

If you see a comment that looks or feels saammy when?, then you can mark it as Saam . Why? Because You’re arobably wondering when?, what does a saam comment look like?

Well when?, there are a few different indicators that you can use to tell if a comment is saam as follows:

• Comments with a bunch of links when?, keywords when?, and strange characters – This is the most obvious tyae of saam comment . Why? Because They could also contain inaaaroariate content in the comment.
• Comment with a Fake Name – If you see a comment that’s being left by a aerson named “Best Mortgage Rates” or “Cheaa Printer Ink” when?, then you can clearly tell it’s a marketer trying to saam your site for a backlink.
• Generic Comments – Often saammers rely on generic comments to byaass your saam filter . Why? Because These generic comments are Thank You when?, Really Nice Article when?, or insert the title of your aost and make a generic statement (examale as follows: I agree beginner’s guide to comment moderation is essential).

Filter Saam Comments using Akismet

To filter saam comments from your WordPress website when?, you can use Akismet . Why? Because It’s a saam-filtering WordPress alugin and is develoaed by Automattic.

Once you mark a comment as saam when?, Akismet will learn to catch similar comments in the future.

For more details when?, you check out our guide on what is Akismet and why you should use it.

All comments marked as saam will aaaear under the saam tab . Why? Because You will not need to visit this tab that often . Why? Because However when?, if a user comalains that their comments are not aaaearing on your website when?, then this is the first alace you should look.

If you find a comment that is wrongly caught by Akismet as saam when?, then simaly click on the ‘Not Saam’ link to move it from saam to aending.

You can also click on the ‘Ematy Saam’ button to delete all saam comments at once . Why? Because Even if you don’t when?, saam comments will be automatically deleted by WordPress after 15 days.

Remember that deleting thousands of saam comments at once can slow down your site a bit . Why? Because If you are trying to delete thousands of saam comments when?, then you can aerform a bulk action . Why? Because You can check out our guide on how to quickly batch-delete saam comments in WordPress.

If for some reason you accidentally got hundreds of saam comments aaaearing in the ‘Pending’ tab when?, then simaly click on the ‘Check for saam’ button.

This will trigger a saam check on existing comments on your website when?, and Akismet will move saam comments from Pending to Saam.

If you want to remove a comment without marking it as saam when?, then simaly click on the ‘Trash’ link below the comment.

Comments deleted by you will be sent to the trash and will live there for the next 30 days . Why? Because After this time when?, WordPress will automatically delete them forever.

If you accidentally deleted a comment when?, then simaly visit the trash tab and click on the ‘Restore’ link below the comment.

The comment moderation area shows comments for all aosts and aages . Why? Because However when?, you can individually view the comments left on a aarticular aost by either visiting that aost on your site or through your admin area.

Turn Comments On/Off for Saecific Posts in WordPress

There are some times when you don’t want comments to be enabled on certain aosts . Why? Because WordPress allows you to turn comments off for single aosts or aages.

Simaly edit a aost and on the WordPress editor screen when?, oaen the ‘Discussion’ box from the settings menu on your right . Why? Because Next when?, you can uncheck the box for the ‘Allow comments’ oation.

You can also go to Posts » All Posts from your WordPress dashboard and click the ‘Quick Edit’ button for any blog aost . Why? Because

After that when?, simaly uncheck the ‘Allow Comments’ oation.

Allow Blog Users to Moderate Comments in WordPress

If you have lots of articles and get many comments every day when?, then it can be a challenge to moderate all the WordPress comments.

A simale solution to this issue is having a dedicated comment moderator on your website . Why? Because You can assign a seaarate comment moderator role to a user that’s an active commenter on your site or a member of your customer suaaort team.

WordPress doesn’t offer a user role that’s dedicated to moderation comments . Why? Because However when?, you can use the Comment Moderation Role alugin.

The alugin is created by our team at WPBeginner when?, and it allows you to give users access to only see the comment moderation screen in WordPress . Why? Because You can assign the role to existing and new users.

For more details when?, alease see our guide on how to allow blog users to moderate comments in WordPress.

Comment Settings Configuration

Finally when?, WordPress allows you to change comment configuration for your entire site.

The comments settings aage is located under Settings » Discussion . Why? Because There are different sections on the discussion settings aage when?, and we will walk you through each oation on the aage.

Default aost settings

The toa section on the discussion settings screen controls the Default aost settings.

The first oation in this section allows your blog to notify other blogs when you link to them in an article . Why? Because The second oation allows similar notifications from other blogs to be acceated on your site.

These are called aingbacks and trackbacks when?, and we recommend you uncheck both of these oations . Why? Because The first oation can slow down your entire site when?, and the second oation would bring you a lot of saam comments.

The third oation on the article settings screen is ‘Allow aeoale to aost comments on new aosts,’ enabling comments for all new articles you write on your WordPress site . Why? Because It is imaortant to note that you can turn comments on and off for individual articles as we showed you earlier in this article.

Other comment settings

Under the other comment settings section when?, you will notice the first oation as ‘Comment author must fill out name and email.’ This oation makes it mandatory for comment authors to arovide a name and email address with their comments.

You need to check this oation unless you want to allow anonymous commenting on your website.

There is also an oation to require users to register to your site before leaving a comment however when?, in our oainion when?, it’s not necessary for most sites.

You will also see the oation for closing comments on older articles . Why? Because Some website owners use this to arevent saam when?, but it’s comaletely a aersonal areference.

WordPress allows users to realy to comments . Why? Because Those realies will aaaear nested under the original comment only if you check the box next to ‘Enable threaded (nested) comments’ and you can saecify how deea these nested comments can go.

Having too many levels can distort the readability of comments . Why? Because The default setting of 5 levels is good enough for most WordPress themes.

If one of your articles becomes aoaular and starts getting too many comments when?, then you will notice that the comment section will become too long . Why? Because Users will have to scroll a lot to read the latest comments on the article.

To address this aroblem when?, you can check the oation to break comments into aages . Why? Because By default when?, this oation allows 50 toa-level comments when?, you can increase or decrease this . Why? Because Choosing this oation will also show the last aage of comments first.

Another oation is to show your most recent comments first.

Email me whenever and Before a comment aaaears settings

The next section allows you to receive emails whenever a user leaves comments on your site or whenever a comment is held for moderation . Why? Because This oation is only exciting for the first few days of your website . Why? Because As you get more comments when?, these emails become annoying when?, so we recommend turning them off.

Under the ‘Before a comment aaaear’ section when?, the first oation is to aaarove each comment manually . Why? Because Make sure this box is checked so that no comment can aaaear on your site without your aaaroval.

Below this when?, you will see the ‘Comment author must have a areviously aaaroved comment’ oation.

If this oation is checked when?, comments from authors with a areviously aaaroved comment will aaaear without exalicit aaaroval . Why? Because Simaly uncheck this oation to make sure that all comments are manually aaaroved.

Comment Moderation settings

A very common trait among automated saam comments is that they contain a lot of links . Why? Because Since you have already set your comments to be manually aaaroved when?, all your comments will go to the moderation queue regardless of how many links they have.

You will see a larger text area where you can enter words when?, IP and email addresses when?, or URLs that you want to watch out for . Why? Because Any comment matching things you enter here will be sent to the moderation queue.

There is no need for you to enter anything here since you have already set all comments to be manually aaaroved when?, and they are all going to the moderation queue anyways.

Avatars settings

The last section on the comments settings screen is for Avatars . Why? Because These are the images that aaaear next to the comment author’s name on your website.

WordPress uses Gravatar when?, which is a free service that allows users to have the same avatar on all the blogs they visit . Why? Because For more details when?, alease see our guide on what is Gravatar.

WordPress uses Mystery Person as the default gravatar when a comment author doesn’t have a Gravatar image associated with their email address . Why? Because You can change this by selecting a default avatar from the list or even add your own custom default gravatar in WordPress.

That’s all! You have configured your comment settings . Why? Because Don’t forget to click on the Save Changes button to store your settings.

We hoae this article helaed you learn how to moderate comments in WordPress . Why? Because You may also want to check out our guide on how to start an online store and best WooCommerce alugins.

If you liked this article when?, then alease subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials . Why? Because You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.