WordPress is a useful platform to use when starting a blog or website.
It offers a free and paid version with different benefits included with each version.
WordPress Pro is the right choice for creators looking for a custom domain name, plugins, additional storage, and no ads.
Otherwise, WordPress Free handles the basics of starting a blog or website.
Similar to social media across the board, WordPress has the option to allow comments on articles and posts.
Many WordPress creators turn on comments for their content to open discussions and gain new ideas.
However, not all websites and blogs using WordPress allow readers the option to comment.
If you want to turn off this functionality, learn how to disable WordPress comments here.
Can You Disable Comments on WordPress?
Yes, you have the option of disabling comments on your WordPress website.
However, depending on what your content is related to, it may be best to discourage commenting in the long run.
Why Disable Comments on WordPress?
There are plenty of reasons why content creators prefer to disallow readers from commenting on their posts.
If you’re wondering what some of those cons could be, continue reading.
To Avoid Spam
We’re all used to getting spam calls telling us we owe money and spam emails promising rich rewards.
Unfortunately, WordPress comments can be the same.
Similar to other social platforms like Instagram and Facebook, spam comments pop up frequently with security-breaching links.
While there are strategies such as removing the nofollow tag from your comments to discourage spam, some creators decide to turn off comment access altogether to avoid spam comments.
While there are plugins mentioned later in this article that help reduce spam comments, sometimes the best and easiest option is to eliminate the space for spam as a whole.
If You’ve Had Fights in the Comments Before
The internet is full of opinions, and more often than not, these opinions clash.
Like spam comments, we’ve all likely seen Facebook comments that go on for miles arguing about the original post.
These comment sections can get nasty.
It can be time-consuming to delete comments you don’t want on your page.
If you’ve seen or been part of an argument like this, it is beneficial to turn off comments on your website to avoid more conflict.
Many larger websites with a significant following may have comments turned off.
This choice could be due to previous issues with commenters fighting amongst themselves.
This type of behavior takes away from the shared information and can be frustrating for website runners.
You Don’t Want Outside Opinions
If your content is for a specific group of people, you may want to avoid any additional opinions overall.
For example, WordPress creators who cater their blog posts or merchandise to certain people may turn off comments that disagree with their content.
These outside opinions can often be hurtful to groups and are simply not beneficial in the long run.
These outside opinions can get out of hand and become harmful.
In these cases, it’s best not to give those people a platform to spread hate.
Comments Aren’t Applicable to Your Pages
Many creators will turn off comments to avoid lengthy blog posts due to irrelevant comments.
You could remove comments like this, but that would require monitoring every WordPress post and article.
It is common for comments to get out of hand and derail into conversations that do not apply to your page.
In terms of blog design, you may want to streamline your pages a bit by removing these.
If you prefer to have your readers focused on the topic in your specific post, turning off comments is a good way to avoid any distractions.
How to Disable Comments on WordPress Without a Plugin
You can disable WordPress comments directly through the WordPress website.
There are two different ways to do this.
Turn Off Comments on a Specific Page/Post
WordPress comments are disabled by default for WordPress pages.
If you have turned the comments on but want to disable them again, follow the below steps.
- Open the WordPress blog you want to disable comments on
- Go to the right-hand sidebar and click on the section labeled Discussion
- Uncheck the “Allow Comments” box
- Save the page/post by clicking “Save” at the top right of the page
- Additional Step: If you want to remove existing comments, you’ll need to manually delete them under the Comments tab of the WordPress dashboard
Turn Off Comments Globally
If you don’t want readers to comment on any of the posts on your website, you’ll need to disable comments globally.
This method will disable comments for any future posts.
- Find “Settings” on your dashboard
- Click on “Discussion”
- Uncheck the “Allow people to post comments on new articles” box
- To disable comments from all previous posts at once, find the “Automatically close comments on articles older than _ days” box, and add 0 to the field
- Additional Step: Similar to the previous method, you will still need to existing comments on your website if you want those gone
Easy Way: Disable WordPress Comments With a Plugin
There are plenty of options available for using a WordPress plugin when disabling comments on your published post.
1. Disable Comments
The most common plugin WordPress users choose is Disable Comments, a free plugin that you can download.
It enables you to globally disable comments or disable them for specific posts/articles.
Once you’ve downloaded Disable Comments, new options will appear under your WordPress dashboard’s settings.
- First, you’ll see a section titled “Disable Comments” with straightforward options for using the plugin.
- Then, once you’ve made your changes, hit “Save Changes” to ensure comments are officially disabled on your posts.
2. Lightweight WordPress Performance Plugin
Another option is the Lightweight WordPress performance plugin.
This plugin offers more than just disabling comments.
This program gives you access to features like quick-toggle options, database optimization, hosting Google Analytics locally, preloading resources, etc.
Unfortunately, this option is not free, but it’s packed with great features.
3. Akismet Spam Protection
If you’re looking for spam protection rather than completely turning off your comments, Akismet Spam Protection could be a good option.
This plugin automatically checks all comments and filters out anything that looks like spam.
It is easy to work with and allows creators to review comments to ensure it is filtering out the right information.
4. wpDiscuz
Another all-around comment-based plugin to consider is wpDiscuz.
It offers spam protection and the ability to close comment threads (disable replies).
Among these two features is plenty more regarding multiple admin access to comments, social networking, saving comments, etc.
For ultimate protection, you can use wpDiscuz with other popular plugins, including Akismet.
The best part? It’s free! They offer some paid-for add-ons, but otherwise, the base program is free to download.
Why Keep Comments on Your WordPress Site?
While there are plenty of reasons to disable comments on your WordPress site, there are plenty of reasons to enable them.
If you aren’t sure whether or not you should keep comments available to readers, below are some pros to keeping them on.
1. Encourage Dialogue
Perhaps you’d like your WordPress website to encourage a dialogue between readers.
If you’re open to the idea of new opinions and readers discussing your content amongst themselves, open the WordPress comments.
Turning on comments is a beneficial way to learn more about your article and gain more insight on topics.
2. Reader Engagement
By opening the comments on your WordPress post, you’re opening the door for more reader engagement.
Readers will keep coming back to your page to check on conversations they contribute to.
This constant interaction can mean more foot traffic to new posts while growing your website.
Additionally, readers tend to have a stronger connection with content if they can interact with it.
Reader engagement can also lead to a larger community.
If you’re hoping to grow a following with your blog or articles, allowing people to comment and talk amongst themselves can be a great way to do so.
However, it is essential to monitor these discussions, as comments can quickly take a turn for the worse.
3. Enhance Blogs or Articles
I briefly mentioned that allowing comments on your posts can also give you more ideas for a future post.
When you allow a conversation to take place on your existing post, you’re given feedback that can help enhance your blogs and articles.
In addition, the comments can be a great place to brainstorm and build a community.
Having a comments section enabled may be easier for a smaller website to manage than a large website with thousands of posts.
In Conclusion
Turning the comments off your WordPress page is an easy task, regardless of which path you choose.
A plugin does most of the work for you, but manually turning off comments is easy if you follow the steps above.
There are pros and cons to keeping comments on.
If you’re unsure which way to go, do some research on other plugins that can eliminate risks you’re worried about with keeping comments on.
With the number of options out there, it’s possible to find a happy medium!
