Have you noticed the new style comment box on WordPress?

In line with the Block editor, WordPress has rolled out a new cool comment box on most WordPress blogs. While I’m writing this post, I still see a few blogs with the old-style comments box, but I’m confident all WordPress blogs will soon display the block-style comment box.

The new style comments box appears on blog posts, but not when you add your comment via the comments box on the WordPress Reader.

Light blue image with the words 'The Amazing New WordPress Comments Box: What It Does' in white text
This new comments box can do more than just leave comments

For the purpose of this post, I’m using an iMac desktop computer.

Here is a breakdown of what users can do when leaving comments on blogs with the new block-style comment box.

What does it look like?

This is what the new style comment box looks like.

Image showing the new style block comment box on WordPress
WordPress Block Style Comments Box

It looks very simple, doesn’t it? And it is very easy to use. Your Gravatar image appears in the bottom left corner.

The comments box looks like this as soon you click in the box.

Image showing
Click inside the box to start typing your comment.

Notice the difference? A toolbar has opened along the top, and an ‘+‘ icon has appeared inside the comments box. Let’s examine what they do. I’ve numbered some icons in the following image.

Image highlighting the features of the toolbar on the block style comments box on WordPress
Features of the toolbar
  1. Block being used.
  2. Aline text
  3. Bold
  4. Italic
  5. Pingback link

1 – This is the type of block being used when commenting. It will always be the Paragraph block by default, but you can switch to the List or Quote block by clicking on it. If you change it to the List or Quote block, a new toolbar will appear.

2 – Use this icon to align text to the left, right or centre.

3 – Use this icon to make the text bold.

4 – Use this icon to make the text italic.

5 – Use this icon to create a pingback.

Most readers only use text when leaving comments and they will never feel the need to align it or make it bold. However, many bloggers want more.

You can now insert other blocks into the comments box by clicking the ‘+‘ icon. For example, you can now easily insert an image in your comment by clicking the ‘+‘ icon and choosing the Image block.

Image showing an image placed into the block-style comments box on WordPress.
Copy and paste the URL address of the image you want to add.

How cool is that? (not the photo of me, but the fact that I can add an image to the comments). This is especially good for participating in photography challenges without creating a blog post or when explaining something where including an image or screenshot helps.

I want to mention that you can create pingbacks in your comments. Pingbacks are powerful and can help boost visitors to your blog. We could already add pingbacks when using the Classic view on our blog’s dashboard but we can now finally do it using the Default view.

Image showing how to create a pingback in the comments box on WordPress
Create pingbacks in your comments.

Are you unsure how to create a pingback? My post, The Power Of Pingbacks: How To Create One, provides full details.

Before submitting your comment, remember to click the small settings cog next to your Gravatar photo to open a new menu. Why?

Image showing the new menu that opens when clicking the settings button next to a Gravatar profile in a Block-style comments box on WordPress
Click the settings cog next to your Gravatar picture for a new menu.

Not only will the menu that opens confirm if you are logged into WordPress, but you can also sign up to receive web and mobile notifications for posts on the blog you are leaving your comment on, get email notifications of new posts, and receive email notifications of any new comments left on the post (including a response to your comment from the blog host).

Press the ‘Comment‘ box to submit your comment.

Is this true?

I’ve heard that some bloggers are threatening to stop leaving comments or are thinking of leaving WordPress because of the introduction of the new block-style comment box.

Given that the bare minimum somebody has to do to leave a comment is to type their comment into the box, I find it hard to believe that people are threatening to stop leaving comments or leaving WordPress because of the introduction of this new comments box. If you are, please reconsider your decision.

The new block-style comments box is not hard to use; it’s just a little different!

Update

Users can now disable blocks in comments. Go to Settings – Discussions, and in the ‘Comments‘ section of the page, turn off ‘Enable blocks in comments.’ Remember to save the change.

WordPress’s new comments box style is a refreshing update that enhances the user experience. Its modern and intuitive design makes interacting with comments more enjoyable. If you have any questions about it, feel free to leave them in the comments section. I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.

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131 responses to “The Amazing New WordPress Comments Box: What It Does”

  1. V.M.Sang avatar

    Well, I’m not about to leave WP. Having read your post, it seems to me that the change is positive. Thank you for the help in this post.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      You’re welcome. Yes, this change to the comments box is a positive one, especially to those of us who wanted to be able to do more with our comments.

  2. Mac's Opinion avatar

    Oh well. Seems this might not be a feature for self hosed WordPress blogs. I tried it and I still get the old style comment form.
    Back to my wpDiscuz plugin for now I guess.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Afraid I can’t help with self-hosted sites, but I hope this new comments box becomes available to those on self-hosting platforms.

      1. Mac's Opinion avatar

        Oh yeah, forgot to update you. It seems self hosted blogs now have the new comment block. Goodbye WpDiscuz. Lol.

        1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

          That’s great to hear.

  3. Mac's Opinion avatar

    Well, huh. I may just ditch my comment plugin that I’m using now because I didn’t like the old style. Not sure why people say they’ll stop leaving comments when this actually makes commenting a whole lot easier. Doesn’t make sense to me.

    Thanks for the heads up Hugh!

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      I can’t understand why some bloggers refuse to have anything to do with the Block editor. It’s as if it’s some kind of monster. But imagine how dull and boring WordPress would be if they never made any changes.

  4. Dan Antion avatar

    I like the block comment box. Having the B/I options is much better than guessing if the site supports markdown and remembering the keystrokes required. I’ve always been somewhat reluctant to leave links, unless necessary or invited. I think I’d extend that to images as well, but I like that the option is there.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      I have no problem leaving links or images in the comments section of my own posts, but, yes, I always ask first if I can leave any in the comments sections of another blogger’s blog unless invited to do so, Dan.

      I’m glad you like the new style comments box. It’s got many useful features for those of us that want them.

      1. Dan Antion avatar

        And, it presents no problem if you don’t want those features.

        1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

          Absolutely, Dan. That’s why I don’t understand people who get upset with these changes. Use what you what and ignore the rest.

  5. Natalie Ducey avatar

    Hi, Hugh, just wanted to let you know that your Twitter @ is missing a few letters. I noticed it when I shared it on Twitter. Hope that helps!

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Thanks, Natalie. I’ve no idea where they got that Twitter name from, but I’ve updated it now. It seemed to be still working when clicking on the name, though.

  6. Stevie Turner avatar

    Thanks for the info, Hugh.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      I’m glad it has helped, Stevie. Was there anything in the post that you found particularly helpful?

      1. Stevie Turner avatar

        Clicking the pingback icon, I think.

        1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

          Pingbacks are powerful because they tell SEO that sites they lead to are being endorsed, so it’s great that we can now include them when commenting.

  7. OIKOS™- Art, Books & more avatar

    Thanks again for sharing useful information, Hugh! You are so great in explaining such things, to make them understandable by everyone. I am seriously awaiting the day, when WP reads our thoughts, and comments completely by itself. Lol Best wishes, Michael

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Now there is a thought about WordPress in the future, Michael. That’s an interesting one.

      I’m glad the post has helped. And thank you for the feedback on how I explain these types of post.

  8. Brenda avatar

    Good morning Hugh. I hope its not too wet in Wales.

    Great, informative post as ever and some great conversations in your comments too. 😁 I think I’ll need to move away from using the reader so I get access to the full functionality. I agree, this seems like a good step forward and I don’t understand why it would make people want to stop leaving comments or leave WP. I know some people don’t like change, but this is a positive one. My instinct is maybe they just see the change and react without really understanding it.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      It’s a shame the WP Reader does not have this new comment box yet, Brenda. But who knows? Maybe WordPress will introduce it sometime?

      I often read posts from people complaining about changes on WordPress and how those changes have caused them problems, but often these people jump in too quickly before checking everything out or taking some time to find out more about the changes. This often results in the user causing the problems rather than the host platform. Too many bloggers seem to be in a rush all the time rather than taking their time. As I often say in some of my posts, ‘Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint.’

  9. […] The Amazing New WordPress Comments Box: What It Does […]

  10. beetleypete avatar

    I wasn’t going to stop commenting, but this new change did irritate me, mainly because of the change to the spacing. Thanks for your detailed explanation of the uses of the new box, it has helped me understand it, as I am completely non-technical when it comes to computers. You don’t appear to have a reblog button, so I am unable to reblog to my followers.

    Best wishes, Pete.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Hi Pete, thanks for sharing a link to this post. I’m glad it helped. I’ve had some people come over from your post to visit my blog. I appreciate that very much, so thank you.

      I removed the reblog button from my blog a few years ago due to copyright problems and a number of other reasons. Strangely, I seldom see bloggers reblogging anymore. Here’s a link to my post that explains why I chose to remove the reblog button from my blog.

      Is Reblogging Dead? Why I Have Removed The Reblog Button From My Blog

      1. beetleypete avatar

        Thanks for the link, Hugh. I am still very much a ‘Reblogger’, I have already done one this morning. 😀

        Best wishes, Pete.

        1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

          OK, Pete. But please do be careful with what you reblog, especially any posts containing photos or images. I’ll leave a link to a post Deborah Jay wrote for my blog on what happened to her 10 years after reblogging a post that contained images that were protected by copyright and not free to use or download.

          Why I Was Threatened With Legal Action After Reblogging On WordPress – A True Story And Guest Post by Deborah Jay @DeborahJay2

  11. Bernie avatar

    Thanks for the insight. My problem is that now comments are hidden in who they are from and many, especially in real life friends, don’t leave their names.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Is that a problem, though? Some readers do not like giving their details online. There is a setting on WordPress that you can switch on to force people to leave their details when leaving comments. However, switching it on could reduce the amount of comments you get. This post has all the details. –

      Are You Getting ‘Anonymous’ Blog Comments? How To Stop Them.

      1. Bernie avatar

        I just like to be able to connect with people, and a comment from “someone” isn’t very personal, so it’s hard to always respond appropriately. Once it was my cousin and her next comment made it seem like I should have known that, but there is no way to know. I certainly won’t stop WP because of it.

        1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

          That’s good to hear. Sometimes, we can guess who the person is from the comment left.

  12. JenT avatar

    Hugh, I’m so glad you were inspired to write this post about the changes to the comment box and happy to know that no one here is leaving because of this change. :)

    The sign-in issue frequently happens when commenting on WordPress.com websites that have their own domain and it’s been like that for a while now. If someone is already signed in to their WordPress.com account, they can “sign in” right from the comment box by clicking the big W icon that appears there once you add something to the box, even if the icon isn’t highlighted.

    I was especially excited to see a blog post embed in the comments.

    Thanks again for the info and insights!

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Thanks, Jen.

      You may have seen on one of the comments above that WordPress advised to untick the setting for blocking third party cookies. And it seems it has worked and Terri is now not always getting the ‘sign into’ WordPress; message when she is already signed in. I think that may help a lot of people who are experiencing the problem. But thank you for your advice about signing in too.

      This new comments box is very exciting with all the features it offers. I think it’ll prove a big success amongst the majority of bloggers.

      1. JenT avatar

        I did read that, Hugh, and happy to know it works for Terri. Enabling 3rd party cookies in Firefox hasn’t been a complete solution to the problem for me. I still have to log in again on many WordPress.com sites.

        The new possibilities for sharing content in comments is really wonderful for increasing engagement. More engagement is always better. :)

  13. Xena avatar

    Thanks for this information and tutorial. I didn’t take time to learn about using blocks. I still don’t understand their purpose. Even now, I save my posts as drafts and go back to edit in the classic view. The theme I use is like me — from the Word Press dinosaur age, and I do wonder if the new comment design will appear on my blog. I suppose I’ll find out when some of my older followers from the dinosaur age comments. :-)

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      The Block editor not only brings blogs into the 21st century, but offers bloggers lots of excellent tools, many of which are time-saving. The Classic editor also has its own block. I’ve seen this new comment block on blogs where the author uses the Classic editor, so it’ll probably appear on your blog soon unless the theme you’re using has been retired and has bugs which prevent its use.

  14. leslieccd215dca1 avatar
    leslieccd215dca1

    Another informative post, I’m learning from you!

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      I’m happy to help. Thank you.

  15. Eugi avatar

    I love the new comment block, Hugh, and thank you for giving us the rundown on its features. I see it on most blogs, including mine. Your posts are so helpful and I appreciate all you do. 

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Good to hear it’s on your blog, Eugi. I don’t think it will be long before it appears on all blogs unless a blogger has a theme that has its own unique comment box.

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