How to Fix ‘Comments Are Closed‘ in WordPress (Beginner‘s Guide)

Are Comments Not Showing on Your WordPress Website? Here‘s How to Fix It
Comments are an essential part of many WordPress websites. They allow your visitors to engage with your content, ask questions, share feedback and participate in discussions. Comments help build a sense of community and can even boost your search engine rankings by keeping your content fresh and relevant.

So it can be frustrating when you expect to see comments on your posts, but instead encounter the dreaded message: "Comments are closed."

If this is happening on your WordPress site, don‘t worry – it‘s usually an easy issue to resolve. In this in-depth guide, we‘ll walk you through how to troubleshoot and fix comments not showing in WordPress step-by-step.

Why Are Comments Closed on My WordPress Website?
There are a few reasons you might see the "Comments are closed" message on your WordPress posts or pages:

1. Comments are disabled globally in your WordPress discussion settings
2. Comments are turned off for that specific post or page
3. Comments are automatically being closed after a certain number of days
4. A plugin conflict or theme incompatibility is preventing comments from displaying properly

The good news is that all of these issues are fixable. Let‘s go through how to resolve each of them one by one.

Method 1: Enable Comments Globally in WordPress Discussion Settings
The first place to check is your global WordPress discussion settings. Here you can control the default comment settings that apply to your entire website.

To access discussion settings:

1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard
2. Go to Settings > Discussion
3. Under "Default post settings", make sure "Allow people to submit comments on new posts" is checked
4. If you want comments to always be open, even on older posts, uncheck the box that says "Automatically close comments on posts older than X days"
5. Click "Save Changes" at the bottom of the page

After enabling comments globally, visit one of your posts to see if the "Comments are closed" message is gone and the comment form appears. If so, great! You‘ve resolved the issue.

However, sometimes you may still not see comments even after enabling them in Discussion settings. If that‘s the case, move on to method 2.

Method 2: Enable Comments on Individual Posts or Pages
Even if you have comments enabled globally, they can still be turned off on a per-post or per-page basis. This allows you to selectively disable comments on certain posts/pages while leaving them open on others.

To check if comments are enabled for a specific post or page:

1. Go to Posts > All Posts or Pages > All Pages in your WordPress dashboard
2. Hover over the post/page title and click "Edit"
3. In the post/page editor, look for the "Discussion" meta box in the right sidebar
4. Make sure the "Allow comments" box is checked
5. Update or publish the post/page

If the "Discussion" box is missing, click on "Screen Options" at the top right corner and make sure "Discussion" is checked.

Sometimes the "Discussion" meta box is hidden by default, especially if you‘re using the new WordPress block editor (Gutenberg).

To enable it in the block editor:

1. Click the Options icon (three dots) at the top right
2. Select "Preferences"
3. Go to the "Panels" tab
4. Turn on the "Discussion" toggle
5. Click the Options icon again to close the preferences popup

After enabling comments on the post or page, check to see if the comment box is now visible when viewing that piece of content.

Keep in mind that you‘ll need to repeat this process for each post or page where you want comments enabled. To save time, use the bulk actions method described next.

Method 3: Enable Comments on Multiple Posts at Once Using Bulk Actions
If comments are disabled on many posts or pages, it would be tedious to edit each one individually. Thankfully, WordPress lets you bulk edit posts and pages to toggle comments on or off.

Here‘s how:

1. Go to Posts > All Posts or Pages > All Pages
2. Select the checkbox at the top of the posts/pages list to select all items on the current page (or select individual posts/pages)
3. Choose "Edit" from the "Bulk actions" dropdown
4. Click "Apply"
5. In the bulk edit area, find the "Comments" dropdown and select "Allow"
6. Click "Update" to apply the change to all selected posts/pages

Note that bulk editing will update all selected posts/pages, overriding their individual comment settings.

So if you want a mix where some posts/pages have comments enabled and others disabled, you‘ll have to edit those individually or in smaller batches.

After bulk updating, spot check a few of the posts/pages to make sure comments are now enabled.

Method 4: Troubleshooting Theme or Plugin Conflicts
If you‘ve tried all the methods above and are still seeing the "Comments are closed" message, the culprit could be a theme or plugin incompatibility.

Some themes may have built-in options that turn off comments or display the "closed" message even when comments are enabled in your WordPress settings.

You can check if your theme is the issue by temporarily switching to a default theme like Twenty Twenty-One:

1. Go to Appearance > Themes
2. Activate the Twenty Twenty-One theme or another default WordPress theme
3. Check to see if comments are working properly with the default theme

If comments work with the default theme, then your regular theme is likely the problem. Reach out to the theme developer for help or consider switching to a more compatible theme.

Similarly, a plugin conflict can also break WordPress comments. Some plugins like Disable Comments are designed to turn off comments site-wide.

Other plugins may cause unintended conflicts that prevent the comment box from appearing.

To troubleshoot plugin issues:

1. Deactivate all your plugins (don‘t worry, you can reactivate them later)
2. Check if comments are working without any plugins active
3. If comments work, reactivate plugins one by one until you find the culprit
4. If a plugin is incompatible, reach out to the plugin developer or find an alternative plugin

By methodically testing your theme and plugins, you can isolate any conflicts and resolve the "Comments are closed" error.

Bonus Tips to Manage WordPress Comments Effectively
Once you have comments enabled and working on your WordPress site, it‘s important to manage them effectively. Here are some tips:

1. Install a good anti-spam plugin like Akismet to automatically filter out spam comments
2. Moderate comments by requiring manual approval before they appear on your site (go to Settings > Discussion to configure moderation options)
3. Establish a commenting policy and make sure your visitors understand your rules for acceptable comments
4. Respond promptly to comments to encourage engagement and make your visitors feel valued
5. Use a plugin like Yoast SEO or AIOSEO that adds a checkbox to close comments on individual posts for more flexibility and control
6. Consider disabling comments on pages where they are not needed, such as your About or Contact pages

By following WordPress comment best practices, you can foster a vibrant community on your website while keeping the conversation friendly and on topic.

Frequently Asked Questions About WordPress Comments
Still have questions about enabling or managing comments? Here are answers to some common ones:

How do I allow comments on posts but not pages?
To enable comments on posts but not pages, make sure "Allow people to submit comments on new posts" is checked under Settings > Discussion. Then edit each page individually and uncheck "Allow comments" in the Discussion meta box.

Why are some comments not showing until I approve them?
By default, WordPress puts certain comments in moderation, such as those containing links or coming from new commenters. To review moderated comments, go to Comments in your dashboard. You can approve, delete or mark comments as spam in bulk.

How can I stop spam comments on my WordPress site?
To combat comment spam, install the free Akismet plugin. It compares comments against a global database of known spam and filters them out automatically. Make sure to configure your Akismet settings and moderate comments regularly to keep spam under control.

Is it good or bad for SEO to enable comments in WordPress?
Generally, comments are good for SEO because they keep your content fresh, add relevant keywords, and increase engagement. However, too many low-quality or spammy comments can negatively impact your rankings. As long as you moderate comments and keep the discussion high quality, they are beneficial for SEO.

Fix WordPress Comments Today for a More Engaging Website
Comments are a powerful way to build community and boost engagement on your WordPress site. Don‘t let a "Comments are closed" error prevent your visitors from joining the conversation.

By following this troubleshooting guide, you can quickly identify and resolve issues with comments not appearing in WordPress.

Whether you need to enable comments globally, on specific posts, in bulk, or track down a theme or plugin conflict, the solution is usually straightforward once you know where to look.

Use the tips and best practices in this post to keep the discussion on your site active and constructive. Respond to comments, moderate effectively, and keep spam under control.

With comments up and running smoothly, you can transform your WordPress site into an interactive hub that both you and your audience will love.

Do you have any other questions about troubleshooting WordPress comments? Let us know in the comments below!