How to Disable Comments in WordPress Properly

At some point, almost every WordPress site owner asks the same question:
Do I really need comments on my website?

For blogs and communities, comments can still make sense. But for business websites, landing pages, documentation portals, portfolios, or product sites, comments often create more problems than value. Spam, moderation overhead, security concerns, and performance issues quickly outweigh the benefits.

Disabling comments in WordPress sounds simple — until you try to do it properly.

Why Disabling Comments Is More Complicated Than It Looks

WordPress was built with blogging at its core, and comments are deeply integrated into the system. They exist not only in post settings but also in templates, database structures, REST API endpoints, and admin screens.

This means that simply unchecking a box in one place rarely disables comments completely.

Many site owners disable comments on new posts, only to discover that:

• old posts still accept comments
• comment forms still appear in themes
• admin menus still show comment-related sections
• REST API endpoints remain active

A partial solution often creates inconsistency — comments are “disabled” in theory but still visible or accessible in practice.

The Common (But Incomplete) Ways People Disable Comments

Most users start with WordPress’s built-in options. They disable comments for future posts in the discussion settings or manually turn them off per post.

This approach has several limitations.

It does nothing for existing content unless each post is edited individually. It doesn’t remove comment forms from themes. It doesn’t hide comment-related UI in the admin area. And it doesn’t address comment functionality at a system level.

As a result, comments linger — half-disabled and confusing.

Why “Properly” Matters

Disabling comments properly means more than stopping new submissions.

A proper solution should:

• disable comments consistently across all content
• remove comment forms from the frontend
• clean up comment-related admin interfaces
• prevent accidental re-enabling
• avoid breaking themes or plugins

In other words, comments should behave as if they never existed — unless you intentionally turn them back on.

Global vs Per-Post Comment Control

One of the biggest mistakes is treating comments as a per-post decision on sites where comments are never used.

For most non-blog websites, comments are a global choice, not an editorial one. Either comments are part of the site’s strategy — or they aren’t.

Global control is safer because it:

• eliminates human error
• keeps behavior consistent
• reduces maintenance overhead
• prevents edge cases after updates or migrations

This is especially important on sites with many authors or long publishing histories.

Performance and Security Considerations

Even when comments appear disabled, WordPress may still load comment-related code, queries, and endpoints.

This has real consequences:

• unnecessary database queries
• increased attack surface for spam and abuse
• more complexity during updates
• cluttered admin interfaces

Properly disabling comments helps reduce this overhead and keeps WordPress leaner and easier to maintain.

Why Plugins Are Often the Right Tool

Because comments touch so many parts of WordPress, plugins designed specifically to disable them can handle the job more thoroughly than manual configuration.

A good plugin doesn’t just toggle a setting. It understands how comments interact with:

• post types
• themes
• admin menus
• REST API
• future updates

This ensures that comment behavior remains predictable over time, even as WordPress evolves.

Keeping the Option to Re-Enable Comments

Disabling comments properly does not mean locking yourself into a permanent decision.

A well-designed solution allows comments to be re-enabled cleanly, without data loss or broken layouts. This flexibility matters if a site’s strategy changes later.

The key is control, not destruction.

When You Should Disable Comments Completely

Disabling comments makes sense for:

• company and business websites
• landing pages and marketing funnels
• documentation and knowledge bases
• portfolios and showcase sites
• product pages where support happens elsewhere

In these cases, comments rarely provide value and often create unnecessary noise.

Final Thoughts

Disabling comments in WordPress isn’t about removing a feature — it’s about aligning the platform with the purpose of your site.

Doing it partially leads to confusion. Doing it manually leads to inconsistency. Doing it properly creates clarity, stability, and peace of mind.

If comments don’t serve your website’s goals, they shouldn’t be there at all. And when you disable them, it’s worth doing it the right way.