How to Disable Comments in WordPress (Old Posts Too)

Plenty of business sites don't need comments. They attract spam, need moderating, and on a service page they can look out of place. WordPress lets you switch them off, but there's a catch that confuses almost everyone: the main setting only applies to new posts. Here's how to turn comments off everywhere, or just where you want, and the middle-ground options worth considering.

Step 1: Turn off comments on new posts

1. In your dashboard, go to Settings > Discussion.
2. Untick Allow people to post comments on new articles.
3. Scroll down and click Save Changes.

WordPress.org describes this setting as the way to disable comments if you don't need them on your website. Every post you publish from now on will have comments switched off.

Step 2: Turn off comments on existing posts

Here's the catch. The setting above doesn't change posts you've already published. To switch those off in one go:

1. Go to Posts > All Posts.
2. Tick the box at the top of the list to select all posts on the page.
3. Choose Edit from the Bulk actions dropdown and click Apply.
4. Set the Comments dropdown to Do not allow.
5. Click Update.

Repeat for Pages if they have comments too. If you have lots of posts, increase the number shown per page under Screen Options first, so you can update more at once.

Turn off comments on a single post

• Open the post and find the Discussion panel in the settings sidebar, then untick Allow comments.
• Or, on the Posts screen, hover over the post, click Quick Edit and untick Allow Comments.

This is useful when you want comments on your blog but not on a particular announcement or landing page.

Your options at a glance

Goal	Where to do it
No comments on future posts	Settings > Discussion
No comments on existing posts	Bulk Edit, with Comments set to Do not allow
No comments on one post	Discussion panel or Quick Edit
Comments only on recent posts	Settings > Discussion > Automatically close comments

The middle ground: close old posts automatically

If you like conversation on new posts but hate spam on old ones, there's a smarter option. Under Settings > Discussion, tick Automatically close comments on articles older than a set number of days. WordPress.org calls this a good way to limit spam comments, and it's what I'd choose for most business blogs, because spammers love old, forgotten posts.

Or keep comments but control them

• Tick Comment must be manually approved, so nothing appears without your say-so.
• Hold comments in the queue if they contain 2 or more links, which WordPress.org suggests catches more spam.
• Require commenters to fill in their name and email.

Real comments from customers can be valuable: they show your posts are read and often contain questions you can turn into new content. So before you switch off comments everywhere, ask whether moderation would solve the problem instead.

What about comments already on your site?

Disabling comments stops new ones, but existing comments may still show depending on your theme. To remove old ones, go to Comments, select them and move them to Trash. WordPress.org notes that comments in the trash are deleted for good after 30 days, so you have a window to restore anything you trashed by mistake.

Check your theme

Some themes show a comments area or a No comments label even after you've disabled comments. If that bothers you, check your theme's settings, or in a block theme, edit the post template in the Site Editor and remove the comments block. My guide to making your website successful covers other small details that make a site look polished, and my website security guide explains why cutting spam entry points helps.

Should a business site have comments at all?

It depends on the job your site does. On a blog where you share advice, comments can build community and show social proof, and the questions people ask are a goldmine for future posts. On service pages, sales pages and your contact page, they're usually a distraction. Most business owners I talk to get more conversation on social media than in blog comments anyway, so switching comments off and pointing people to your social profiles or a contact form is a perfectly sensible choice.

Don't forget media attachment pages

Images and files you upload can have their own attachment pages, and on some sites those pages accept comments too, which spammers love. Turning off comments site-wide in Settings > Discussion covers new uploads, and many SEO plugins also let you redirect attachment pages to the file itself, which removes the problem completely.

My verdict

Untick Allow people to post comments on new articles in Settings > Discussion, then use Bulk Edit to set existing posts to Do not allow. If you'd rather keep conversation on fresh posts, close comments automatically after a set number of days instead. It's the best balance of engagement and peace of mind.

Frequently asked questions

How do I turn off comments in WordPress?

Untick Allow people to post comments on new articles in Settings > Discussion, then save.

Why are comments still open on my old posts?

The Discussion setting only affects new posts. Use Bulk Edit and set Comments to Do not allow.

How do I disable comments on one WordPress post?

Untick Allow comments in the post's Discussion panel, or use Quick Edit on the Posts screen.

Can WordPress close comments automatically?

Yes. Settings > Discussion can close comments on articles older than a set number of days.

What happens to trashed WordPress comments?

WordPress.org says comments in trash are automatically deleted for good after 30 days.