Moderating comments
Let readers talk back on your posts, then approve, hide, reply to, or remove what they leave, all from one page.
Readers can leave comments on your blog posts, and nothing they write appears on your site until you say so. Every comment lands in one place in your dashboard, where you approve the good ones, hide the ones you would rather not show, reply in your own voice, and delete anything that does not belong.
Where to find comments
In your dashboard, go to Blog then Comments. The page opens on everything waiting for you.
At the top are your Comment settings. Below them are three buttons that switch which comments you are looking at:
- Pending shows comments waiting for your decision. This is where you start.
- Published shows comments that are live on your posts.
- Hidden shows comments you have taken back down.
Long lists page automatically, so you can work through a busy week without endless scrolling.
Comment settings
The settings panel at the top has four switches. Flip any of them and the change saves straight away.
- Enable comments accepts comments on all of your blog posts. Turn it off and the comment box disappears from your site.
- Require sign-in means only signed-in members can comment. With it off, anyone reading can leave one.
- Auto-publish sends comments live the moment they are written, instead of waiting for your approval. Leave it off if you would rather read everything first.
- Notify on reply emails a commenter when you reply to them, so the conversation actually reaches them.
Auto-publish means unread comments go live
With auto-publish on, a comment appears on your post before you have seen it. It is a fine setting for a small, friendly readership, and a risky one for a post that gets shared widely. If in doubt, leave it off and approve comments yourself.
What each comment shows
Every comment appears as a card with:
- The commenter's name, or Anonymous if they did not give one
- Their email, when they left one. It is for your reference and is never shown publicly.
- Which post they commented on, and the date
- A label showing whether it is pending, published, or hidden
- The comment itself, and any replies underneath it
Approving, hiding, and deleting
Each card carries its own buttons.
- Publish puts the comment live on the post. Use it on anything in Pending you are happy to show.
- Hide takes a published comment back off the post. It is not deleted, so you can publish it again later.
- Delete removes the comment for good. You are asked to confirm first, because it cannot be undone.
Work top to bottom through Pending and the queue empties quickly. Publish what you want to keep, hide what you are unsure about, delete the spam.
Replying to a reader
Replying is the whole reason to run comments in the first place.
- Find the comment and click Reply.
- Write what you want to say in the Your reply box.
- Click Send reply.
Your reply appears indented under the original comment, marked as coming from you. If Notify on reply is on, the commenter gets an email letting them know you answered.
What readers see
Under each blog post on your website there is a comments section.
- If Require sign-in is on, readers are asked to sign in before they can write.
- If anonymous comments are allowed, a reader gives a name and an email (the email is never published) and writes their comment.
- After posting, they are told their comment is waiting for moderation, unless auto-publish is on, in which case it appears immediately.
- Long threads load more comments as the reader asks for them.
Your replies show up in the thread alongside the comments they answer, so the conversation reads properly to everyone else.
Keeping the comments worth reading
- Check in on a rhythm. A short visit every couple of days beats a giant backlog once a month.
- Reply to a few, not all. One thoughtful answer sets the tone for the whole thread.
- Delete spam without guilt. Nobody misses it.
- Hide rather than delete when you are unsure. You can always change your mind.