Should I disable comments on my blog, or should I leave them enabled? It’s a common question that many WordPress users ask themselves when launching a new blog. Ultimately, it ends up being a very personal choice, and there’s no clear right or wrong approach. However, if you fall on the “nay” side of the equation, then you’ll need a way to disable comments because the default WordPress setting is to enable them on all new posts.
Fortunately, there is a very – and I mean VERY – easy way to disable comments in WordPress. It’s so easy that it only takes six clicks from start to finish. I will show you how to do it, and afterwards, I will share an alternative option that allows you to take a more granular approach.
Disable comments in WordPress: step-by-step 💡
To pull this off, you’re going to use a free WordPress plugin called OrbitFox:
The plugin actually comes bundled with over ten helpful features that can modify your WordPress site in different ways.
However, unlike many multi-use plugins, it doesn’t have a complicated navigation system. All features are displayed on a single, intuitive settings screen, and activating any single feature is as simple as clicking a toggle button.
That includes disabling comments.
Here’s how to do it:
1. Install and activate Orbit Fox
From your WordPress dashboard, do the following:
- Make your way to the lefthand side menu and lick on Plugins → Add New Plugin.
- Type “Orbit Fox” into the plugin search bar near the top right.
- Once it populates, tap on Install, followed by Activate.
If you’re keeping count, that’s four clicks and two typed words so far – and you’re almost at the finish line.
2. Turn off comments
With Orbit Fox activated, all you have to do is find it on the left-hand side menu in the WordPress dashboard and click on it.
This will bring you into the Orbit Fox settings screen. Look at the right side column and find the Disable Comments box. Tap on the toggle button, and you’re done.
No, really. That’s it.
Six clicks to victory. 🍾
It’s probably the easiest thing you’ll do this week.
Middle ground approach to disabling comments in WordPress 🪚
The method I showed you above is short, sweet, and effective, but what if you want to take a more fine-tuned approach to disabling comments instead of nuking them altogether?
Well, there’s a free plugin for that too:
The Disable Comments plugin allows you to control where and how you disable comments. So instead of disabling them sitewide, you can choose to only disable them on posts, or only on pages.
In addition, the plugin offers settings that let you control the behavior of comments left on your site. For example, you can remove the “site” field from the comment form, which reduces spam backlink attempts.
Overall, the features are straightforward, but in case you do need clarification on anything, just hover over the green question mark next to any feature. You’ll see a purple tooltip box appear that will explain it in more detail.
Besides the main disable comments area, the plugin also has a delete comments area, which is just as easy to navigate. It lets you delete all existing comments across your site or pick only selected categories like posts, pages, unapproved comments, and so on.
Overall, it’s a great way to manage comments on your WordPress site.
Other middle ground approaches 🛣️
While the previous option offers an excellent compromise between doing nothing and disabling comments across your whole site, many blog owners and site managers have come up with other middle-ground solutions. Depending on your circumstances, you might want to try one of them if you think they might work better for you.
Here are some ideas:
- If your blog covers topics that are either controversial or polarized, then comment sections have the potential to turn into online battlefields. Take CNN, for example. They used to receive endless streams of comments on their articles – many of them were hateful. To address the issue, they turned off comments and shifted their audience to social platforms so they could comment there instead.
- Each additional comment on a blog post requires yet another database ask/request, which takes time and can add up to a slow-loading page. If this is a concern, then consider implementing lazy loading, which can help mitigate the problem.
- Besides the Disable Comments plugin I shared, there are other plugins that can improve your WordPress comments section in various ways. Take a moment to browse through them.
- Lastly, if your site is receiving loads of comments, starting a WordPress forum to improve interaction amongst readers can be a great way to redirect the comments elsewhere, while still facilitating the growth of your online community.
Do you have any questions about disabling comments in WordPress or any of the middle ground approaches? Are there any other comment-related strategies that have worked for your blog? Drop them in the comments below.
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You can also add .entry-comments-link {display: none} to the Additional CSS section of your Appearance -> Customize settings. That removes the comments link altogether.
Thank you for the tip Michael!
I’m reading step 5 where you say to go to the media file and click edit and then I should see a discussion box. I don’t see that. Is it because I’m using WordPress.com not .org?
It should be there. Don’t forget to check in Screen Options. The discussion section might not be displayed by default.