If you don't wish to allow visitors to comment on your site, the best solution is to disable comments.
To disable all commenting on all new pages and posts, first login to Wordpress, then from the Dashboard:
- Click on "Dashboard" > "Settings" > "Discussion Settings".
- Under "Default article settings", uncheck the options “allow people to post comments on new articles” and "Allow link notifications...".
- Optionally, if you allow user account registration on your site, check "Comment author must be registered and logged in to comment" to limit comments to authenticated accounts.
To delete all comments on all published posts (or pages):
- Click on "Dashboard" > "Comments".
- Select the comments you want to delete, click "Bulk Actions", select "Move to Trash", and then click the "Apply" button.
To stop comments on selected posts in bulk:
- "Dashboard" > "Posts" > "All Posts".
- Select all the posts for which you wish to delete comments, then click on "Bulk Actions" > "Edit" > "Apply".
- A new option "Bulk Edit" will open up where you can choose the "Do Not Allow" option for comments and pings.
- Click "Update" to save options.
To disable comments on media files (bulk options not available):
- Click on"Dashboard" > "Media Library", then select the media file and click on "Edit".
- From the top right of the screen click "Screen Options" and check the "Duscussion" checkbox.
- In the "Discussion" box at the bottom of the screen, uncheck "Allow comments" and "Allow trackbacks and pingbacks on this page".
- Click "Update: button to save options.
Full explanation of "Dashboard" > "Settings" > "Discussion Settings" options:
- Requiring moderator to approve the comment before it is published: This not only catches bots and spam, but also helps to prevent a comment from appearing right away on the frontend of your site. It will appear on your dashboard in the comments queue where you’ll have to deal with it.
- Blacklisting IP addresses, usernames or emails: blacklist known offenders, and even a partial match to the list will be blocked. You can also add a bit of code to .htaccess to block known malicious IPs.
- Requiring the user to register: Can bring down both spam and the volume of comments.
- Approving comment authors: Save time by approving comment authors. Subsequent comments will pass through easily.
- Closing comments on older articles: Specify the number of days after which comments will be stopped. Spammers generally target older posts, so closing comments will cut down on spam.
- Limiting links: This can thwart spammers who like to leave as many links as possible with their comment.
- Be notified when you receive comments: If you keep yourself abreast with new comments, you can act swiftly on unwanted ones.
