The quickest way to disable comments in WordPress is to go to Settings, then Discussion, and untick Allow people to submit comments on new posts. That stops comments on anything you publish from now on. Removing comments from posts already live, or clearing out old spam, takes a couple of extra steps, covered below.
Why bother turning comments off
Plenty of site owners switch comments off for reasons that have nothing to do with being unfriendly. Spam is usually the main one. Leave comments open on an old blog post and within months you will likely find entries pushing dodgy links or fake reviews. Moderating that eats into time better spent elsewhere, and a comment box full of junk links does nothing for the trust visitors place in your site, which matters as much as the SEO fundamentals in our beginner’s guide.
Review spam is its own headache on WooCommerce listings, even though WordPress works well for ecommerce sites generally. Comment forms are also a common entry point for bots probing for weaknesses, something we cover when explaining how to keep a WordPress site safe from malware. None of this means comments are bad. It just means the decision should be deliberate, not a default you never looked at.
Turn off comments on new content
In your dashboard, go to Settings, then Discussion. Under Default post settings, untick Allow people to submit comments on new posts, then click Save Changes. This only applies going forward. Anything published earlier keeps its comment box, along with any comments already sitting underneath it.
Remove comments from posts you already have
Go to Posts, select the posts you want to change, choose Edit from the Bulk actions dropdown, and click Apply. Set Comments to Do not allow, then click Update. Repeat under Pages, which ties into the kind of technical SEO housekeeping that keeps a site tidy over time.
Clear out comments that are already there
Turning off new comments does not remove old ones. Go to Comments, tick Select All, choose Move to Bin from Bulk Actions, and click Apply. Larger sites may need to repeat this a few times, since WordPress only shows a set number per screen. Worth pairing with the wider SEO strategy fundamentals you should already be working through.
Disable comments across the whole site with a plugin
If you manage several sites, or want comments gone everywhere without touching hundreds of posts individually, a plugin is faster. The Disable Comments plugin switches comments off globally or by content type, hides the comment menus from your dashboard, and disables pingbacks too, handy if you have also read about why WordPress sometimes hides your site from search engines by mistake.
| Method | What it does | Best for |
| Discussion settings | Stops comments on new posts only | Small blogs making a one off change |
| Bulk edit | Removes comments from existing content | Sites with a backlog of old posts |
| Comments screen deletion | Wipes existing comments entirely | Clearing out spam |
| Disable Comments plugin | Switches comments off site wide, including pingbacks | Agencies, shops, multi site setups |
Does this affect your SEO
Not really, and it can even help. Comment spam often carries low quality links that add nothing to your site, so removing the option supports SEO services work aimed at keeping a site clean. Keeping pages loading quickly matters far more for rankings than comments ever will. If you run campaigns through a PPC marketing agency or after Google Ads training, a spam free site protects the quality score those campaigns depend on. The same applies with traffic from a social media advertising agency, since junk comments make a poor first impression regardless of the source.
FAQs
Does disabling comments affect SEO?
No, in most cases it makes no measurable difference, and cutting spam links can be a small positive.
Can I disable comments only on WooCommerce product pages?
Yes. Bulk edit product listings the same way you would posts, or use a plugin that targets specific post types.
Will disabling comments delete the ones I already have?
No. Delete them separately through the Comments screen, as covered above.
Get help keeping your WordPress site in shape
Comments are a small setting, but they sit alongside a bigger picture that includes site speed, security, and how well your pages convert traffic from a Google Ads agency London campaign. If you would rather hand the technical housekeeping to someone else, get in touch with Flow20.
