So if you have used WordPress then you likely know that pages and posts give you the option to have comments. Some people love comments and others think they are the bane of their existence by managing them. In this article we will talk about turning off your comments on your blog.
How to disable comments on WordPress? The easiest way to disable comments for WordPress is under the WordPress admin menu look for a tab that says settings. You will to click the discussion tab and under that area you have settings specific to comments. Things like requiring the user to register, closing comments after a certain amount of time, allowing comments on new posts, comment black list and more. You can also edit comments on the page level by using quick edit under the page menu.
If you want more of a tutorial on how to disable comments or you have older posts that you would like to disable comments on then below we go into a more detail. Read below for also learning how to batch big groups of posts which can be a pain to deal with comments.
Why comments have become a problem?
Comments are useful for different situations but it makes not all comments equal. In the raise of robot calls from telemarketers, comment spam has also risen significantly.
Robots which search the web will sneaky include things like links, exploits, and other types of spam into a websites comment. The reasoning behind this is very simple, for every website gets some amount of traffic. If an unlucky soul is not smart enough or uses a plugin, they might allow one of these comments to pass their filtering system.
Once the spammer has a comment place which will approve their comments, they often continue to spam these comments hoping to put more out into the world. It’s a game of numbers that allows them to be successful.
These spammers only need to have a certain amount of success to latch onto a website which allows these types of spam comments and then it never ends. There hope is that people will click the links which are often bad links to begin with but give the spammer a click which is want they want.
So if that is the case I am sure your next question would be well why allow comments in the first place? Because comments are helpful for many reasons but none more so than they have minor significant to Google.
Do comments add to SEO?
No, comments do not add to the SEO or give you any kind of link juice that you might believe it has in it. But it gives Google an idea of how interacted these posts may be with people who are reading the article.
This signals to Google that you post may contain things that people have questions on which then become searchable and lead to people discovering other facts about whatever the article is talking about. Not to mention comments also show other people that you are a real person and willing to interact with them.
But many people will still shut down comments so read on if you are interested in closing down all your comments sitewide.
How to turn off comments for a single post/page?
Before we dive into turning off comments altogether we need to talk about turning them off on a one-off-bases. You may have a certain post that you want to disable comments for if you find that no one is asking good questions.
Inside of the WordPress admin area you will want to find the section that is called pages. Find the specific page that you want to turn off posts for and then click the check box next to that
How to turn off comments website wide?
Turning off comments for a website can be a hassle if you don’t know where to look. Similar to what we talk about above you can turn off website comments explained above. By using the rules listed in the settings you can turn off comments as soon a page or post has been published, this won’t help older pages and posts but it will stop comments on newer pages and posts.
There is two methods you can use to turn off comments one is the bulk edit method is in WordPress. All you have to do is go to pages or posts and click the checkbox at the top of the page. Next to it, it has a drop-down click edit. This will allow you to quick edit comments and turn them off.
If you want to use a plugin, then see below for more information detailing some plugins which can turn off comments.
What plugins can I use to help with comments?
So if you want a plugin in instead of editing comments manually, I can understand that. If you do a search on WordPress repo, you will find that they have several comment plugins but the most popular plugin is Disable Comments with over 1+ million installs. It was last updated six months ago.
Still this plugin allows you to turn off comments site wide which can help you reduce the number of posts which have comments.
Alternatives for Comments
If you are looking for another system to manage your comments, you could also use the program Disqus which can link comments, Facebook comments and everything else together. While some people might not like the thought of using a third party system for comments, they have proven to be an effective method for handling comments.
Disqus is something that can be an easy solution if you aren’t happy with the current WordPress comment system. I would consider it since it’s one of the better comment systems online and it integrates very easy with WordPress.
Related The Questions
How can I stop spam comments? One of the best ways for stopping spam comments is Askimet Anti-spam, it has filters that will require commentators to do certain things before they can post a comment. I have found that just with that plugin you can stop 99% of comment spam which can help you out.
Are there any negatives to turning off comments? There has been nothing that Google or anyone else has seen from turning off comments, your posts will still rank, you just won’t be able to answer questions. I think of comments as both good and bad for a blog.
Conclusion
I hope this has helped you with your comment problems and given you solutions to help stop the spam on your website. If you have any more questions, comment below.
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