12 October 2022
Are you looking for a way to approve comments automatically for your WordPress blog?
Blog comments have been identified as an essential component of the WordPress core service. It is an excellent way for WordPress users to identify whether their content is valuable to their readers or not. Additionally, comments can boost engagement and traffic to your WordPress website.
If comments could be automatically approved, anyone could post a comment without waiting for an administrator to approve it. It is also possible that these are spam or inappropriate comments.
However, this guide will show you how to approve comments automatically for your WordPress blog.
Let’s get started.
Every WordPress site includes a built-in commenting system. WordPress comments are a great way for readers to interact with your content and post feedback. They also allow you to engage with your audience and enable them to connect with one another.
By default, a comment box will show at the bottom of each post on your WordPress blog. Your readers can use it to leave a reaction or to share their thoughts and opinions about your content. When you approve a comment, it appears on the front end of your site. Then you and other people can respond to the published comment.
The automatic comment approval feature is easily enabled in the WordPress admin panel under the discussion settings. There are two checkboxes that you need to uncheck to allow comments on WordPress.
Simply log in to your WordPress admin panel and click on Settings » Discussion.
Now find the section that starts with the phrase Before a comment appears. You’ll see two checkboxes next to them. Make sure you uncheck them both:
That’s it! WordPress will now automatically approve all comments made on your website or blog.
However, our advice is at least to leave a comment author must have a previously approved comment checked on. This ensures that all comment authors leave at least one comment, which you must moderate before their comments are automatically approved.
The standard WordPress commenting system is great, but it’s quite basic. Fortunately, there are a lot of comment plugins that can help you in creating a more engaging comment section.
The plugins we’ll be discussing below include features like automatic spam protection, social login capabilities, and likes or comment votes. Here are some best WordPress comment plugins.
Jetpack Comments is one of the best WordPress comment plugins. It extends the functionality of the default WordPress comment form with advanced features such as integrated social media logins and like buttons.
The social login function allows your visitors to comment using their WordPress.com, Facebook, or Twitter accounts. Since the majority of people who are online are already logged into their social media accounts, it saves them time to log in to your site using the same credentials. It results in a better experience.
Jetpack Comments is completely free of charge.
Akismet is a robust anti-spam plugin for WordPress that works together with the WordPress native comment system. As a result, it is one of the best plugins for securing your WordPress comment section.
Akismet helps you prevent spam from your WordPress website by automatically scanning all comments and filtering out those that look to be spam.
It also allows you to check the number of approved comments for each user as well as the status history for each comment.
Akismet is free to use. Plans for business sites start at $8.33 per month (billed yearly).
wpDiscuz is a WordPress comments plugin with advanced features such as Reddit-style upvoting and downvoting. Additionally, it offers the option for site owners to enable a comments bubble. This notifies visitors to your website of new comments as soon as they are posted. This can be a really effective method for increasing engagement and showcasing the popularity of your website.
wpDiscuz also allows you to inline questions and feedback within a post. This means commenters may submit comments without scrolling through the comment section.
wpDiscuz is totally free. However, a $99 add-on bundle is available for additional features.
Thrive Comments is a comments plugin for WordPress that works in place of the default WordPress comment form. It encourages discussion by awarding “likes” and badges to the most devoted contributors.
You can also use comments to boost lead generation by encouraging visitors to create an account and sign up for updates. Or you can send users to different pages after they leave a comment.
Additionally, the plugin offers upvoting and downvoting features similar to those found on social media platforms. Plus, it also allows commenters to share their comments on their personal social media profiles.
Thrive Comments start at $47 per year. However, lead generation features require Thrive Leads, which start at $97 a year.
Yoast is one of the best SEO plugins, and we recommend it frequently. We are now going to do the same with Yoast Comment Hacks. It’s called ‘hacks’ because it utilizes the native WordPress comments box and changes it a little to add extra features.
These features include a default minimum comment length to help reduce spam, an email link to react directly to commenters, a redirect to thank first-time commenters, the ability to edit the parent comment, and the introduction of a new, clean design for notification emails.
Yoast Comment Hacks isn’t as feature-rich as some of these other WordPress comment plugins, but it does what it does well.
Yoast Comment Hacks is free to use.
That’s all! We hope this guide shows you how to approve comments automatically for a WordPress blog.
For more, check out these other helpful resources:
Lastly, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on the latest WordPress and blogging-related articles.