WordPress Comments Moderation Guide
WordPress comments moderation requires a lot more finesse than you might think and in this guide, we'll share all you need to do it right
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 depends mostly on your comments moderation efforts. But, WordPress comments moderation requires a lot more finesse than you might think and in this guide, we’ll share all you need to do it right. That’s why, in this article, we’ll dig into several tips to help you get through it. We’ll also talk about whether comments sections are necessary, and how to improve the default WordPress system.
WordPress Comments Moderation Guide
What is 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 just about any blog.
- A comment contains an irrelevant link in an attempt to siphon off traffic.
- Comments with a bunch of 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 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.
- 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 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). 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 the comment. Click on Approve to make a comment publicly visible on your website.
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, then you can mark it as Spam. You’re probably wondering what does a spam comment look like? Soo the first paragraph again.
Meaningful Comments
As a blogger, while WordPress comments moderation, when you are writing a blog post, you should expect comments which add value. 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 they 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.
