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. Carol anne avatar

    I love the new comments box! I think it is a great feature and am glad WP brought it in! X

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      I’m with you on that, Carol anne. Giving us more options is great. And we don’t need to use them all, only the ones we want to use.

  2. Resa avatar

    I’m a fan of the new comments box.

    I’m also a fan of the new Reblog editor. Fabulous.

    Thank you, Hugh!

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Good to hear, Resa. The new comment box is a fantastic new tool for WordPress users.

      1. Resa avatar

        Yes, and thank you for all your tips!

  3. thomasstigwikman avatar
    • Interesting information about the new comment feature that I did not know
    • There were some hickups along the way such as not being able to leave comments at all on certain blogs
    • From now on I will start using more of the new features
    • Thank you for presenting this information

    I was just testing the list feature which I did not know about until I read this post

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      And isn’t the list option great?

      The problem with not being able to leave comments on certain blogs has been around for a long time. It seems that outdated and retired themes are to blame as they can no longer handle updates.

      1. thomasstigwikman avatar

        I see. But the problem with not being able to leave comments seem to be mostly gone now. Six months ago it was a big problem.

        1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

          I believe WordPress found a way around what was causing the problem. Plus, they also persuaded many to change their blog themes to modern ones that are still supported.

          1. thomasstigwikman avatar

            Thank you for the information Hugh

  4. Sourav Halder avatar

    Thank you for the information, I hope this comes in my use.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar
  5. Debbie avatar

    Oh I didn’t know about adding a photo into the comments Hugh! Many thanks for this interesting update, it’s not hard to use at all :)

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Very simple to use, Debbie. And a great addition to WordPress.

  6. Did You Miss Any Of These? Monthly Round-Up - March 2024 avatar

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

  7. BookerTalk avatar

    I can’t believe people are talking about leaving WP just because of this change - they don’t have to use the new features so what’s the problem??? There are other changes WP has made that are far more annoying….

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      But they do have to use the new comments box. There is no way of overriding it. So, if you want to comment on blog posts, you’ll have to use it. But I do agree that allowing this change to make you want to leave WordPress or to stop blogging is very silly. It’s very simple and easy to use and certainly gives those that want to do more with their comments the tools to do so.

  8. Ernie Federspiel avatar

    I like the new comment feature but everybody say’s they can’t leave a comment. When I try it’s no problem. I’m not sure I have it set up right.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      You don’t need to set it up if you’re a WordPress.Com user as it will appear automatically.
      Anybody saying they are not able to comment should report the problem to WordPress.

      1. Ernie Federspiel avatar

        I use WordPress.org with Explorer. I tried what you suggested in prior blog and now waiting to see if it fixed my problem. Thanx for addressing this and your quick response.

        1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

          You’re welcome. Most of my tips about WordPress are for WordPress.Com users, but I know that some of them also work for those who self-host with WordPres.

  9. Liesbet @ Roaming About avatar

    Thanks for explaining this new WordPress feature to us, Hugh. I had noticed a difference in the comment box on other people’s blogs recently and was annoyed that when I started typing my comment, the first letter wasn’t capitalized. Usually, this happens automatically.

    When I start a new paragraph the same thing happens. Maybe this is not WordPress related, but I don’t like that part. On the other hand, having more options when leaving comments – like the task bar above – is nice. The big winner to me seems to be the ability to leave a photo in the comments. Although, in this particular circumstance, I don’t see that plus sign in the box. Maybe because I’m on my iPad. I will investigate this new feature! :)

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      I’ve never noticed the first letter being capitalised, Lisebet. I’ve always had to press the shift key on my keyboard to make that first letter a capital, although if I forget, Grammarly always suggests changing it.

      Regrading the iPad, I have to go into the post via the browser on my iPad to get the ‘+’ icon to appear in the comments box. If I go via the WordPress Reader or the Jetpack App, the new comments box is not available yet.

      You can still leave images in your comments. This old post of mine gives the details.

      Is It Possible To Add Images And Photos To Comments On WordPress? Yes! Here’s How.

  10. Mthobisi Magagula avatar

    Amazing Hugh. WordPress is the best no doubt about that. How about the Jetpack Mobile App? What do you think about it?

    It is so cool too👏

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      I do all my blogging on a desktop computer so I don’t use the Jetpack mobile app, I’m afraid. However, I’ve heard mixed reaction to it.

  11. Marsha avatar

    This is such a cool post, Hugh. I don’t know why I didn’t recognize that it was new. I love the idea of adding a picture. Terri put one in this week, so she must have read this post, too. Thanks for keeping me up to date.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      You’e welcome, Marsha. The new comment box has some great features for those that want to use them.

      1. Marsha avatar

        I can’t wait to check it out.

  12. Pit avatar

    Thanks for that detailed explanation. It is really helpful.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      You’re welcome. I’m glad it helped. Let me know if you any questions about it.

  13. CarolCooks2 avatar

    I don’t mind this comment box and your explanation as always was very clear..thank you Hugh I like that I can add an image if its relevant to the comment 😊If I can ask a question Hugh not related to this post. I have noticed that blogs I have recently followed when they post a new post it appears in my notifications as well as in reader and its getting slightly annoying as my email inbox is also filling up with a notification for everyones comments…

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Hi Carol, you can turn off web notifications by clicking the cog next to your Gravatar profile in the comments box. You can also turn off email notifications of any new comments left on the same menu. However, you can also turn off these settings by clicking on Reader – Manage Subscriptions, and clicking the three dots (known as a meatball menu) next to each blog you follow.

      I hope that helps, but please come back to me if you have any further questions.

      1. CarolCooks2 avatar

        Thank you, Hugh I will try those suggestions when I googled it the answer was some plug in that enables a blogger to do this its just strange that its only new blogs I have followed not older ones but I will definitely try your suggestions as nothing else has worked ..Thank you , Hugh 😊

        1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

          If your blog is self-hosted, a plugin may be the answer, Carol. But if you’re a WordPress.Com user, those suggestions I gave should work.
          This post also mentions the managing subscribers I mentioned in my last comment. The images in the post may be helpful.

          How To Spot And Remove Spammers And Spambots From Your WordPress Blog

          1. CarolCooks2 avatar

            I’m not self hosted I have a subscription to WP not a free blog. ..I have applied your suggestions.so the next few days should let me know if they have solved the problem I will let you know…Thank you, Hugh 😊

            1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

              I hope it works, Carol. WordPress.Com users can all decide which emails and notifications they receive. For example, I unsubscribed from ‘Like’ emails. You can also unsubscribe from a comments thread by clicking the ‘Unsubscribe’ link in the email you get.
              One thing you can’t do is remove any blogs you follow from the WordPress Reader. Once you follow a blog, all new posts from that blog will appear on your WP Reader feed, although if bloggers publish more than once daily, their posts get condensed on the reader.

            2. CarolCooks2 avatar

              Thank you for the info, Hugh I have found it all extremely​ helpful. I hope you are having a great weekend​😊

  14. Jeanne Bryan Insalaco avatar

    Thanks for the update. What frustrates me on comments us when I’m promoted to sign in to leave a comment… no time for that do I don’t leave a comment. I was hoping for an edit button… as I hate seeing a misspelled word after enter!

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Unfortunately, it’s up to each blogger to decide whether somebody who wants to comment has to sign in to be able to leave comments.

      This post may help with further details.

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

      As for being able to edit comments after they have been left on another blog, that’s a great ides. I’ve seen the idea float around and hope that one day it’ll be available on WordPress.

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