WordPress comments sections can be the best part of your blog with an insightful discussion. Or wastelands of insults, spam, and general chaos. Which side yours leans toward will depend mostly on your comments and moderate efforts. Here’s a guide to everything you need to know about the moderation of WordPress sites and blog comments and how to do it properly.
But WordPress comments moderation requires much more finesse than you might think. This guide will dig into several tips to help you get through it. We’ll also discuss whether comment sections are necessary and how to improve the default WordPress system.
WordPress Comments Moderation Guide
What is a Spam Comment?
Spam comments are a bit different from spam emails. You’re less likely to see promises of riches in comments and are more likely to notice poor grammar and telltale generic phrases. They usually look something like this: There are some rules of thumb to help you identify spam comments.
- Firstly, the comment doesn’t reference anything specific about your post.
- Secondly, a comment is so general that it could apply to any blog.
- A comment contains an irrelevant link in an attempt to siphon off traffic.
- Comments with links, keywords, and strange characters – This is the most obvious type of spam comment, and you should not have a hard time telling it apart from a real comment.
- Fake Name – If you see a comment left by someone named “Best Mortgage Rates” or “Cheap Printer Ink,” you can tell it’s a marketer trying to spam your site for a backlink.
- Finally, 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 beginners guide to comment moderation is essential).
Comments Moderation in WordPress
You can see all comments on your WordPress website by clicking on the comments menu in WordPress. Moreover, comments moderation for pending approval in WordPress. On the comments page, you will see four different tabs (all comments, pending, approved, spam, and trash). So understanding Comment Status:
Approved: Comments are manually approved by the site admin or automatically approved if you don’t use manual approval.
Pending: Comments that are awaiting moderation.
Spam: Comments identified as spam by WordPress
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 below the comment. Click on Approve to make a comment publicly visible on your website.
To delete comments, hover over a comment, and you will see options for “Edit,” “Reply,” “Spam,” or “Trash.” Use the “Edit” option to modify a comment for any reason. The “Trash” option will move the comment to the trash, which can be restored later.
You can also reply to a comment by clicking on the reply link. Replying to the comment automatically approves the comment as well. So, If you see a comment that looks or feels spammy, you can mark it as Spam.
Meaningful Comments
As a blogger, while WordPress comments moderation, you should expect comments that add value when you are writing a blog post. There are loyal readers who would like to acknowledge and appreciate the blog post by adding quick comments like: “Nice post” and “Thank you for the post.”
These are good for an ego boost but don’t add any real value to your blog article. I always feel like anyone can show appreciation for a post by sharing it on their social network.
Custom Comment Templates
Customize the appearance of comments using custom templates to fit your site’s design and improve user engagement. Clearly define and communicate your comment policy to users. Reserve the right to edit or remove comments that violate your policy. It also promotes a positive commenting environment by responding to comments, asking questions, and encouraging meaningful discussions.
Final Words
Moderating comments on a WordPress website is an important task to ensure that the content on your site remains relevant, respectful, and free from spam. By following these steps, you can effectively moderate comments on your WordPress site. This ensures a positive user experience and maintains the quality of your content. So we hope this guide to everything you need to know about the moderation of WordPress sites and blog comments and how to do it properly has helped you!
